:00:28. > :00:33.Thank you. We turn to topical questions and we start with question
:00:34. > :00:37.number one from Ben MacPherson. Thank you. To ask the Scottish
:00:38. > :00:44.government what action is being taken in Scotland following the
:00:45. > :00:48.recent terrorist attack in London. I offer my heartfelt condolences to
:00:49. > :00:54.all those affected by the dreadful incident in London on the evening of
:00:55. > :00:56.the 3rd of June. Following the incident in London, the first
:00:57. > :01:01.Minister chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government's is a Beams
:01:02. > :01:04.committee, which included Police Scotland, to consider the impact of
:01:05. > :01:09.the incident and the required response here in Scotland. The first
:01:10. > :01:12.Minister has also received a briefing from the Deputy National
:01:13. > :01:16.Security Council eyes. The Scottish government officials are engaged
:01:17. > :01:23.with UK government officials to keep the implications for Scotland under
:01:24. > :01:27.review. As with the response to the incident in Manchester, Police
:01:28. > :01:30.Scotland increased visibility of armed and unarmed officers on the
:01:31. > :01:36.streets in Scotland over the course of the weekend. Further events
:01:37. > :01:40.taking place in Scotland over the next 14 days have also been reviewed
:01:41. > :01:45.to ensure that the right level of policing is in place to meet the
:01:46. > :01:49.operational requirements and also to provide public reassurance. Planning
:01:50. > :01:54.for the general election is included within this review. However,
:01:55. > :02:00.security measures are only one part of the solution. The responsibility
:02:01. > :02:05.to tackle violent extremism is one we all share. The most important
:02:06. > :02:10.challenge for us all is to work towards creating cohesive and
:02:11. > :02:16.resilient communities within which the terrorist message will not
:02:17. > :02:21.resonate. In times of adversity, how communities in Scotland have shown
:02:22. > :02:29.that they will stand side-by-side to send a shared message of tolerance
:02:30. > :02:35.and of unity. I found the Cabinet secretary for that answer and, like
:02:36. > :02:39.him, all of our thoughts, I'm sure, and condolences are with the victims
:02:40. > :02:43.at this time, their families and their communities. Following the
:02:44. > :02:50.terror attack in Manchester on the 22nd of May and in London on
:02:51. > :02:52.Saturday the 3rd of June, can the Cabinet secretary confirmed that the
:02:53. > :02:57.Scottish government and Police Scotland will continue to work
:02:58. > :02:59.closely and engage with communities across Scotland to provide
:03:00. > :03:06.reassurance and ensure no communities feel marginalised,
:03:07. > :03:13.isolated or vulnerable? Yes, I can. In the wake of the terrorist attack
:03:14. > :03:19.in Manchester on the 22nd of June and the attack in London on Saturday
:03:20. > :03:23.evening, the Scottish Government and Police Scotland have continued to
:03:24. > :03:27.engage with communities across Scotland to provide reassurance and
:03:28. > :03:33.also to ensure no communities feel marginalised, isolated or
:03:34. > :03:38.vulnerable. Police Scotland continue to monitor hate crime incidents on a
:03:39. > :03:44.daily basis and review these on a regular basis to identify any
:03:45. > :03:47.significant rise in tensions within communities. So I can confirm that
:03:48. > :03:51.an assurance that this is work with the Scottish government and Police
:03:52. > :03:55.Scotland will continue to take forward with other partners to
:03:56. > :03:59.ensure that those who wish to peddle a message of hate or exploit the
:04:00. > :04:05.situations are not able to do so in our communities here in Scotland. I
:04:06. > :04:10.thank the Cabinet secretary for that answer and in his first answer he
:04:11. > :04:14.talked about community cohesion, which is clearly extremely important
:04:15. > :04:19.in ensuring that there is one in Scotland, where people live in
:04:20. > :04:23.peace. Can he outlined what action the Scottish Government is taking to
:04:24. > :04:28.ensure that Scotland is a welcoming place for all of those who have
:04:29. > :04:34.chosen to make Scotland their home? Well, as a nation, we have a long
:04:35. > :04:42.and proud history of welcoming people to our country from various
:04:43. > :04:44.nationalities and faiths and we as a government art committed to
:04:45. > :04:49.continuing to support integration into our communities here in
:04:50. > :04:52.Scotland. It is vital that we continue as a country to send out a
:04:53. > :04:56.very strong and welcoming message that Scotland is a place where you
:04:57. > :05:02.are welcome and you are particularly welcome if you have chosen to make
:05:03. > :05:06.your home here. Over a number of years, we have invested in a range
:05:07. > :05:08.of different measures to make Scotland a welcoming place,
:05:09. > :05:13.including investing over ?100 million to 2021 in promoting
:05:14. > :05:17.equality and tackling discrimination. We have also
:05:18. > :05:24.published a race equality framework for Scotland, which is proposing
:05:25. > :05:30.will race equality. We have Scotland's first new Scots refugee
:05:31. > :05:33.integration strategy, which ran from 2014 to March 2017. These are
:05:34. > :05:37.measures we have taken to make Scotland a welcoming place and a
:05:38. > :05:41.place where hate crime has no place and as a government we will continue
:05:42. > :05:47.to work with agencies, ensuring that messages taken forward. Thank you,
:05:48. > :05:54.Presiding Officer and could I add the thoughts of the Scottish
:05:55. > :05:59.Conservatives to the condolences to those affected by the most recent
:06:00. > :06:05.monstrosity and play some effort our thanks to the reactions of the
:06:06. > :06:08.emergency services in both Manchester and London. While no one
:06:09. > :06:13.wishes to see a further increasing the number armed officers across
:06:14. > :06:17.Scotland, if it is required - and we did see an uplift in the number of
:06:18. > :06:19.armed officers earlier in this term - what assistance will Police
:06:20. > :06:27.Scotland require if there is a further need for an uplifting armed
:06:28. > :06:31.officers across Scotland? As I set out to parliament last June,
:06:32. > :06:37.following an assessment of the level of firearms capability Police
:06:38. > :06:43.Scotland hand, following the attacks that took place in Paris in 2015, it
:06:44. > :06:47.was identified that a further uplift in firearms capability should be
:06:48. > :06:50.deployed within Police Scotland. Since that statement was made to
:06:51. > :06:53.Parliament, Police Scotland have been undertaking an extensive
:06:54. > :06:57.training programme to have an increase in their firearms
:06:58. > :07:02.capability. That workers now at a very advanced level and Police
:07:03. > :07:08.Scotland have stepped up their firearms capability to a level which
:07:09. > :07:12.was necessary, which demonstrates the level of capacity that Police
:07:13. > :07:15.Scotland now have in their firearms capability, as they've been able to
:07:16. > :07:20.do so without the requirement for any military support in meeting that
:07:21. > :07:24.demand. I am confident from the information which we have been
:07:25. > :07:29.provided with by Police Scotland, they believe that existing firearms
:07:30. > :07:33.capability is sufficient to meet existing needs, however as with all
:07:34. > :07:35.of these things, they are kept under constant review and should Police
:07:36. > :07:39.Scotland feel there is a requirement for that to change in the future,
:07:40. > :07:43.that is a matter which will require to be considered not just by this
:07:44. > :07:50.parliament but by the public of Scotland and stakeholders across the
:07:51. > :07:53.country. Thank you. We are all shocked at the attack at the weekend
:07:54. > :07:57.and our thoughts are with the victims and their families. This is
:07:58. > :08:01.the third terror incident within three months that we have had to
:08:02. > :08:04.experience and while it is right that the focus is on the capacity
:08:05. > :08:08.and deployment of our police officers and intelligence service,
:08:09. > :08:12.can I ask the Cabinet secretary what advice the Scottish Government can
:08:13. > :08:16.give to people who may be feeling vulnerable after witnessing the
:08:17. > :08:18.terrible events on Saturday night, but who have also taken strength
:08:19. > :08:25.from watching a concert in Manchester on Sunday evening? One of
:08:26. > :08:28.the early actions that was undertaken by Police Scotland
:08:29. > :08:35.following the terrible incident in Manchester and also in London was to
:08:36. > :08:38.deploy specialist officers at transport hubs to meet any
:08:39. > :08:41.individuals who had travelled from Manchester, who had witnessed the
:08:42. > :08:44.events, and who travelled from London who may have witnessed the
:08:45. > :08:48.events of Saturday night, in order to provide them with any advice or
:08:49. > :08:50.information and to take any information they may have that could
:08:51. > :08:59.help to support the investigation. This was then shared the agencies
:09:00. > :09:02.responsible for investigating these matters, in Manchester the
:09:03. > :09:05.Manchester police, and in London Metropolitan police. Alongside that,
:09:06. > :09:10.advice is provided on where they can get support through the NHS, through
:09:11. > :09:15.their GP services and in specialist support for anything that they may
:09:16. > :09:18.have witnessed. That supporters also there for those who may have
:09:19. > :09:21.witnessed some of these scenes on social media. I am particular the
:09:22. > :09:23.conscious of that with the incident which took place in Manchester,
:09:24. > :09:28.given the number of young people involved in that incident, who may
:09:29. > :09:34.have been particularly interested in the concert itself. Advice was
:09:35. > :09:37.provided to local authorities, to our education departments and to
:09:38. > :09:42.schools, and also through our health services to make sure that any young
:09:43. > :09:46.person who is seeking advice or support, that there was an avenue
:09:47. > :09:50.and a pathway which they could go into to get that advice and support
:09:51. > :09:53.and that information was disseminated as widely as possible
:09:54. > :10:02.through our schools and our health service. Question number two, Jamie
:10:03. > :10:05.Green. To as the Scot has gone on what efforts it is undertaking to
:10:06. > :10:09.comply with Freedom of Information requests to talk Scotland has the
:10:10. > :10:14.most open and far reaching Freedom of Information laws in the UK. Would
:10:15. > :10:18.take our responsibilities for FY seriously and the large majority of
:10:19. > :10:22.cases, respond on time and in full. The Scottish Government is open and
:10:23. > :10:28.transparent about how it with FOIA requests and all of our guidance is
:10:29. > :10:33.in the public domain. I thank him for that response. In April of this
:10:34. > :10:34.year, Rosemary Agnew, the former Scottish information officer,
:10:35. > :10:38.ordered ministers to improve their performance following a number of,
:10:39. > :10:42.and I quote, totally unacceptable failures to respond to requests,
:10:43. > :10:45.adding that she was dissatisfied with their performance and would
:10:46. > :10:48.respond with the full force of the law. She launched a formal
:10:49. > :10:53.intervention to force improvements and will be closely monitoring
:10:54. > :10:56.responses until September this year, so therefore can I ask, what will
:10:57. > :11:01.the Scottish Government do to raise its game whilst it is being
:11:02. > :11:05.monitored? Thank you for the question. Performance over recent
:11:06. > :11:10.years is consistently better than the 61% achieved under the last full
:11:11. > :11:15.year of the previous administration. The volume of requests has increased
:11:16. > :11:21.steadily over the years. In 2015, the Scottish Government received
:11:22. > :11:32.2155 requests, an increase of 173% since 2007, and even so a record
:11:33. > :11:38.1674 responses were issued on time in 2015, compared to 684 responses
:11:39. > :11:43.on time in 2006. In recent months, the numbers of spiked dramatically.
:11:44. > :11:47.We received 777 requests in the first quarter of 2017, compared to
:11:48. > :11:51.five to four requests in the first quarter of 2016. By April this year,
:11:52. > :11:57.we had received more requests than 2017 and work received in the whole
:11:58. > :12:00.of 2007. That said, we are committed to improving our response times and
:12:01. > :12:06.I am working with the commission's offers to that end. I appreciate
:12:07. > :12:10.that very long list of statistics but how telling is a bad just 40
:12:11. > :12:14.hours before we exercise our biggest manifestation of democracy that we
:12:15. > :12:18.have to bring this to the Scottish Parliament to question the
:12:19. > :12:21.transparency of an SNP led government? Last week, journalists
:12:22. > :12:27.from across the political spectrum that either the guardian, common
:12:28. > :12:31.space, the Times, the Courier, the Daily Mail, the Herald - I could go
:12:32. > :12:34.on signed a letter to the Scottish Parliament selection panel for the
:12:35. > :12:38.Scottish information officer. In this letter, the outline a number of
:12:39. > :12:42.concerns over the Scottish Government's use of legislation
:12:43. > :12:46.which undermines openness and accountability. Clearly, this
:12:47. > :12:49.practice is not sustainable in a mature democracy, so can I ask the
:12:50. > :12:53.Minister again if he understands the need for transparency, and will the
:12:54. > :12:55.Scottish Government commit to addressing all six of the concerns
:12:56. > :13:05.outlined in this letter? Minister. Scotland has the most open
:13:06. > :13:12.and freedom of information laws in the UK, and we are determined that
:13:13. > :13:22.we will continue to improve our performance. And continue to make
:13:23. > :13:25.more information available. We can compare the information we have
:13:26. > :13:34.released in Scotland to what happens in the rest of the UK. In Scotland
:13:35. > :13:39.in 2016, 85% of valid requests received information either
:13:40. > :13:45.completely or at least in part. Compared to the rest of the UK, only
:13:46. > :13:50.63% of UK Government departments have released information, so we
:13:51. > :13:54.have widely recognised as being the most robust regime in these islands
:13:55. > :13:58.and that is something the information commission have noted in
:13:59. > :14:02.our special report and she made the point that Scotland is ahead of the
:14:03. > :14:07.international field in that area but we are determined to continue to
:14:08. > :14:12.improve those response times. But in Scotland we release more information
:14:13. > :14:15.than anywhere else in the UK. My crumble.
:14:16. > :14:23.Does the minister accept that there is suspicion that the Scottish
:14:24. > :14:27.Government is time to circumvent the freedom of information legislation
:14:28. > :14:31.by failing to record meetings that they had previously recorded and
:14:32. > :14:38.that the secrecy is not conducive to good government? There is a question
:14:39. > :14:43.on this particular topic tomorrow. I can confirm that the Scottish
:14:44. > :14:53.Government will actively publish information about ministerial
:14:54. > :14:55.engagements and then -- information on these apartments, and that is
:14:56. > :15:01.something that did not use to happen. -- on these appointments.
:15:02. > :15:05.Minutes are taking when there are discussions regarding policy
:15:06. > :15:12.decisions and substantive discussions, in line with the
:15:13. > :15:15.ministerial code. Question three. To ask the Scottish Government what the
:15:16. > :15:19.impact will be the planned closure of the police control room in
:15:20. > :15:27.Inverness and its move to Dundee will B. Decisions on operation of
:15:28. > :15:31.individual police control rooms are the responsibility of the Scottish
:15:32. > :15:35.police authority and the Scottish ministers are clear that any
:15:36. > :15:37.decision will be subject to appropriate assurance including
:15:38. > :15:42.external scrutiny in order to make sure that the impact of any change
:15:43. > :15:47.is fully understood. Understand the decision on the transfer of control
:15:48. > :15:52.room functions from Inverness to Dundee is now expected to be made on
:15:53. > :15:59.the 24th of August, 2017. Edward Manton. I thank the Cabinet
:16:00. > :16:02.Secretary, and in 2015 when the Inverness police control room was
:16:03. > :16:07.last threatened with closure, the inspector of them Stade du Ray said
:16:08. > :16:11.that moving course away from the control room was creating additional
:16:12. > :16:17.risk -- the inspector of the constabulary. Given recent failings
:16:18. > :16:20.are not convinced the risks have been eradicated, and so how will the
:16:21. > :16:25.Scottish Government convince the people living in the Highlands and
:16:26. > :16:32.Islands that they have been? Cabinet sector. The member highlights an
:16:33. > :16:37.issue which was featured in the assurance review which was published
:16:38. > :16:43.in 2015 which I directed them to carry out. He may also be aware that
:16:44. > :16:48.there was an updated report published in January this year which
:16:49. > :16:51.highlighted significant progress and improvements that had been made by
:16:52. > :16:55.police Scotland in their handling arrangements. And a significant
:16:56. > :17:03.number of the recommendations that had been made had been discharged as
:17:04. > :17:08.a result. 16 of them have been discharged and partially discharged
:17:09. > :17:10.and only two outstanding. He confirmed the model that was
:17:11. > :17:15.proposed was still appropriate and was being taken forward by police
:17:16. > :17:21.Scotland and they are continuing to be part of the assurance process
:17:22. > :17:26.before any changes undertaken. It is important to keep in mind, although
:17:27. > :17:30.there were original issues highlighted, in 2015, there has been
:17:31. > :17:36.a significant amount of work undertaken in that period and the
:17:37. > :17:42.updated report confirms the significant improvements which have
:17:43. > :17:46.been made. Cabinet Secretary, history has taught be that in an
:17:47. > :17:50.emergency, command and control should be as close to the incident
:17:51. > :17:56.as possible, so why does the Scottish Government think it would
:17:57. > :17:59.be sensible, for instance in Caithness and Sutherland, to be
:18:00. > :18:04.dealt with in the first instance by a control room in Dundee which is
:18:05. > :18:06.240 miles away, hardly local. He has not dealt with the other problems
:18:07. > :18:12.which were brought up within the report. I can only presume that you
:18:13. > :18:16.were not aware of the actual content of the report which was published in
:18:17. > :18:20.January which highlighted the very significant progress which has been
:18:21. > :18:26.made in all of these areas, which was undertaken independently by HM
:18:27. > :18:30.are ICS looking at the most appropriate model and whether the
:18:31. > :18:32.police had addressed the issues which were highlighted in the
:18:33. > :18:37.original review report which the member had just made reference to.
:18:38. > :18:40.Alongside that, the Scottish police authority have their external review
:18:41. > :18:44.of these changes as well which reports to the Scottish police
:18:45. > :18:47.authority which has to be agreed upon and considered before any final
:18:48. > :18:53.decisions can be made on these particular issues. The very reason
:18:54. > :18:58.that they Scotland have moved to these models is to provide a much
:18:59. > :19:01.more comprehensive contact and control system than what was their
:19:02. > :19:07.previously with the eight legacy forces. What I would do, I would
:19:08. > :19:13.encourage the member to consider the updated report which was published
:19:14. > :19:16.in January. Which demonstrates the significant progress which the
:19:17. > :19:23.member seems to choose to wish to ignore. John Finnie. Cabinet
:19:24. > :19:27.Secretary, the issue of local knowledge is often played up quite a
:19:28. > :19:31.bit, but I share the view that this is a backward step for
:19:32. > :19:34.communications. I take some reassurance from the role of
:19:35. > :19:40.Inspectorate. We know the facility remains and we have had it
:19:41. > :19:44.assurances about it. Can you confirm that is still the case? As a general
:19:45. > :19:48.principle and unaware that you don't wish to intrude on operational
:19:49. > :19:55.matters, but do you believe public bodies including police Scotland,
:19:56. > :20:05.where technologies exist, they take the opportunity to disperse jobs to
:20:06. > :20:13.areas like Inverness? Yes, on the latter point, I do, to disperse
:20:14. > :20:17.jobs, as long as it can provide operational reassurance, and as a
:20:18. > :20:21.member, you will be aware, moving to this model, one of the aspects that
:20:22. > :20:26.they Scotland were considering having established at Inverness, is
:20:27. > :20:29.the national database inquiry unit. My understanding is that is still
:20:30. > :20:37.the intention of police Scotland, that the national database will be
:20:38. > :20:40.largely based at Inverness. But alongside that they are looking at
:20:41. > :20:47.the existing arrangements which they also have for national enquiries to
:20:48. > :20:51.see where there is a partnership arrangement that should be in place
:20:52. > :20:54.and my understanding is this will be considered by the Scottish police
:20:55. > :20:59.authority in due course to make a final decision on whether it will be
:21:00. > :21:04.one single national database or across bases but it will involve
:21:05. > :21:11.having some of that provision being delivered to Inverness. Liam
:21:12. > :21:21.McArthur. I share many of Edward's concerns. They are reasons why this
:21:22. > :21:27.Scottish Lib Dems did not create -- support the creation of this. Will
:21:28. > :21:39.the Cabinet cigarette confirmed that in supporting the creation of police
:21:40. > :21:43.Scotland -- the Cabinet Secretary. I was not the Cabinet Secretary for
:21:44. > :21:47.justice for that piece of legislation but I don't recall any
:21:48. > :21:50.specifically of the top of my head, but the member makes a good boy,
:21:51. > :21:57.although the Conservative Party thinking to criticise the single
:21:58. > :21:59.force -- a good point. It was in the manifesto as part of the election.
:22:00. > :22:34.That concludes topical questions. Steve, Steve, Sofia, thank you very
:22:35. > :22:38.much, and to all of Birmingham, thank you for being here tonight.
:22:39. > :22:42.This is the first time we have done a rally all over the country for our
:22:43. > :22:50.party. Thank you for being here tonight. CHEERING
:22:51. > :22:59.Thank you Steve Coogan for being the compere. They get up for Steve. --
:23:00. > :23:00.big it up. Sofia, thanks what you have said and for standing up
:23:01. > :23:02.against the