Meeting of the Parliament Tuesday 1 October 2019 Session 5 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.parliament.scot or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Tuesday 1 October 2019 CONTENTS Col. TIME FOR REFLECTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 BUSINESS MOTION ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Motion moved—[Graeme Dey]—and agreed to. TOPICAL QUESTION TIME ................................................................................................................................... 4 St John’s Hospital (Children’s Ward) ............................................................................................................ 4 “Thematic Inspection of the Scottish Police Authority” (Response) ............................................................. 9 CONTROL OF DOGS (SCOTLAND) ACT 2010 (POST-LEGISLATIVE SCRUTINY) ...................................................... 14 Motion moved—[Jenny Marra]. Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) ................................................................................................... 14 The Minister for Community Safety (Ash Denham) .................................................................................... 18 Bill Bowman (North East Scotland) (Con) .................................................................................................. 22 James Kelly (Glasgow) (Lab) ..................................................................................................................... 25 Alex Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)........................................................................................................... 27 Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con) ....................................................................................... 29 Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) .............................................. 32 Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) .................................................................................................................... 34 Colin Beattie (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) .......................................................................... 36 Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP) ...................................................................................................... 39 Maurice Corry (West Scotland) (Con) ........................................................................................................ 41 Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) .................................................................................... 43 Alex Rowley (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) ................................................................................................ 45 Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) ........................................................................ 47 James Kelly ................................................................................................................................................ 49 Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) ................................................................................. 51 Ash Denham ............................................................................................................................................... 53 Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)....................................................................................................... 56 COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT ........................................................................................................................... 60 Bob Doris (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) ................................................................................ 60 DECISION TIME ................................................................................................................................................ 62 CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICES IN SCOTLAND (80TH YEAR) ................................................................................... 63 Motion debated—[Anas Sarwar]. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) .................................................................................................................... 63 Annabelle Ewing (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) .................................................................................................... 65 Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Con) .................................................................................................................. 67 Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP) ........................................................................................... 68 Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab) ................................................................................................................ 70 Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green)............................................................................................................ 71 Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD) ................................................................................................... 73 Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) ..................................................................................... 74 Annie Wells (Glasgow) (Con) ..................................................................................................................... 76 Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab) ..................................................................................................................... 77 Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP)........................................................................................................ 79 Alex Rowley (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) ................................................................................................ 80 The Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills (Jamie Hepburn) ............................................................. 81 1 1 OCTOBER 2019 2 getting arrested, and they will do that with the Scottish Parliament support of the Quaker community. Tuesday 1 October 2019 We commend the work of this Parliament to address the issues, but we are worried. We worry that change is neither going far enough nor [The Presiding Officer opened the meeting at coming fast enough, and that good efforts will 14:00] come under constant pressure from backsliding Time for Reflection interests. In a world turned upside down, the clearest The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh): Good messages are now coming from those who have afternoon. The first item of business today is time done least to create this emergency, and who for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is have the greatest stake in seeing it resolved: our Alastair Cameron, clerk to the south-east Scotland children and grandchildren, as they lead the area Quaker meeting. school strikes. We are amazed and heartened as we hear them speak truth to the powerful and, Alastair Cameron (South East Scotland Area hard though their messages may be, we know that Quaker Meeting): Friends, as clerk of south-east we must listen. Scotland Quakers, it falls to me to notify our national body of arrests of our members. This year, there have been eight arrests, involving six individuals. Those are some of the Quakers who have been arrested this year throughout the United Kingdom, mostly as part of extinction rebellion, or demonstrating against fracking. There were around 40 more arrests last month at a series of demonstrations against Defence & Security Equipment International’s arms fair in London. The practice of recording arrests in our “Great Book of Suffering” dates back to Quakers’ earliest days in the 17th century. In those days, Quakers could be fined just for holding unauthorised worship in their homes. Quakers are no longer persecuted, but some of us feel driven to do things that lead to arrest. Our book of guidance has something to say about this. We are told: “Respect the laws of the state but let your first loyalty be to God’s purposes.” We hear plenty of voices saying, “If you’re so worried about the climate, why not focus on China or the US, where most pollution is happening? Why block traffic on North Bridge when Scotland already has some of the most progressive climate legislation in the world?” Quakers will continue to do what we have always done: work in the place where we are and in the ways that we can, speaking truth to power. Quakers addressed Charles II directly in 1660, declaring: “our principle is to seek peace … seeking the good and welfare and doing that which tends to the peace of all”. Today, that means living out our convictions about the climate crisis, as well as about the causes of war. We feel driven to act. For some, that will mean a change in our diet or our decisions about how we travel. Others will go further, sometimes 3 1 OCTOBER 2019 4 Business Motion Topical Question Time 14:04 14:04 The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh): Our St John’s Hospital (Children’s Ward) next item of business is consideration of business motion S5M-19208, in the name of Graeme Dey, 1. Angela Constance (Almond Valley) (SNP): on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out To ask the Scottish Government how it will support a revision to today’s