 abus ond roi oechrydd y gêl Byw Llywodraeth yn gweithio ag weddingsrantau. Rwy'n cael夜on i fy th CDC hynny achos wrth ei record combine partnership iddyn nhw'r percle ei sydd o'i casit cunigur reiai am y developing yn ei haritur te dealerrantau'u gresran. Police Authority on 24 June 2015 setz out a framework that has provided a service to local communities at its core and seeks to remodel the police estate to make it fit for the policing needs of the future. It includes a strong emphasis on shared facilities with other public services where possible. The review of the police estate presents opportunities to increase collaboration with partners, sharing premises and joining up services to communities. There are already examples of collaboration in Cooper in the division's leasing with a shared occupancy arrangement with Fife Council in Fort William. A new shared police ambulance station was opened in 2014, and in Aberdeen a joint police and NHS medical practice was opened two years ago in the Ferryhill area. The Scottish Police Authority has made clear that local police commanders will play a leading role in deciding whether any changes to the police estate are compatible with maintaining an effective local policing service. Engagement will be undertaken by local policing teams to ensure that future decisions are built upon local consultation with communities and partners. What is the timescale for the review and what discussions are taking place between Police Scotland and other agencies and local authorities on the potential for sharing sites in the future? The review of the estate has identified a number of police stations that are not in the police review at the present time and do not match its present requirements. They are subject to some form of consultation with communities and partners and their staff. The consultations will be carried out by the local police teams themselves, ensuring that they take decisions that are based upon the local needs within that community. The nature of that consultation will also be determined at a local level, depending on local circumstances and the potential change that is being considered. Anyone who has an interest in or view on the management of the police estate should engage fully with Police Scotland. We would expect a range of local interests to be taken into account before any firm proposals are made in relation to individual stations. I suspect that I am not alone in my concern at how news of a review and the potential changes to local policing were made public. Can I ask what lessons Police Scotland will take forward in communicating the on-going process, considerations and outcomes of the review? Members may be aware that Police Scotland continues to take forward work around its state review at the present time. The approach has been very much led at a local level, where local commanders through the local policing team will be responsible for taking forward engagement. However, much of that work is still at a very early stage. However, I encourage all members who have an interest in those matters to engage with local commanders where they have views to express. Of course, Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority reflect on their approach to matters, but I emphasise to members that that is still at a very early stage. There is a very opportunity for members to continue to engage on that matter with local commanders once a local consultation starts. Just so that everyone knows a lot of the interest in this issue, Claire Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Does the cabinet secretary appreciate that, due to the way that the proposals have been revealed to the public through an FOI, rather than by the police or by the Government, there are concerns among communities that local policing will suffer? Can I therefore ask the Scottish Government when they were first informed of the potential review or closure of those 58 sites? What, if any, discussions have they had with Police Scotland regarding that? I have just pointed out that that process is still at a very early stage. It is an on-going process that Police Scotland has in the review of its estate. The 58 sites that it has identified at the present moment are those that have been identified by local commanders as part of that process. The engagement within the local communities that are affected by those matters has still to take place because they are looking at how they will take that forward at a localised level. That has not been driven at the centre by the Scottish Police Authority. It has been taken forward by local commanders through their local teams, and that process will start once Police Scotland at a local level has determined what approach they want to take. For example, in some of the 58 sites that Police Scotland may be looking at relocating somewhere else in a shared facility with the local authority or the health board or other aspects of the public sector, some of that work is still being taken forward at a local command level. Once that work is being completed, it is in a position to be able to engage with local communities on what the options would be. Once that process is being completed at a local command level, any final sign-off on that matter will be an issue for the Scottish Police Authority. There is a full engagement process that will be taken forward once they have arrived at a local divisional level and what is the best approach that they believe for their local area. Claire Hawke Thank you, Presiding Officer. I take note of the previous answers that the minister has given. However, all three police stations, Ruthergyn, Cambuslang and Blantyre in my constituency, are being considered as part of the review. I ask the minister what consultation will take part with the local community in Ruthergyn to ensure that policing in my constituency is not adversely affected. As I mentioned, the consultation will be determined by local commanders in that division themselves. I would encourage Claire Hawke to engage with her local commander on those matters once they have decided to follow that process at a local level. The reason that has been taken forward by local commanders is to make sure that the decision around that is driven by local policing needs and the views of the local community. Where the building in question provides a service, for example, to the local community, I would expect local commanders to engage with MSPs and other elected members to offer them the opportunity to engage in that process. That process will be determined by local commanders when they are at a stage in order to start that engagement once they have developed their proposals for the local community in each individual command area. As you know, I hope to have my own topical question today on the attacks on emergency service personnel, which would have given the chamber the opportunity to express our support against this reprehensible behaviour and to support the staff. I hope that I may have been skillful enough to get that added to the official record. The cabinet secretary mentioned in his opening remarks about a number of stations where there is already premises being shared with other facilities. He did not mention Tom and Tull in Murray, which has been on-going for some time with police, fire and ambulance all operating from the same facility. What analysis has been done where there are shared premises? How successful they are? How do the communities still feel engaged with their respective services? How can that be taken forward as we look to those 58 closures in which Scottish Conservatives are worried, takes away and diminishes the role of local accountability in our local areas? I join the member in condemning those who attack some members of emergency services at the weekend while they were working to protect our communities and to support our communities. I am sure that all members in the chamber would wish to make it very clear that that type of behaviour is completely unacceptable. We need to make sure that we take all the robust measures that are necessary against individuals who have been involved in those types of offences. I remember my reference to Tom and Tull, which was opened back in April 2004. I could give a whole list of areas where we have, over recent years, saw an increasing number of joint facilities being developed. There has been work undertaken by Police Scotland and by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in evaluating the way in which they work in partnership, and some of that work demonstrates the greater confidence that local community have in the way in which they have a joined-up service being delivered within local areas. It is not just about the public's perception of it, it is about them being much more effective in tackling issues in their own area. For example, if the member went to Livingston, where the joint facility that they have there, where we have the police, the council, a whole range of public services operating within a single site and a single facility, the exchange of information between those organisations increases significantly, and the joint working between those agencies increases significantly as a result as well. It is not just about public perception, it is also about making sure that they are working much more effectively together. For example, my constituency, one of the stations that is earmarked for potential closure, has resulted in officers already starting to work much more closely within the local community hub that the area has. One of the benefits of that has been the anti-social behaviour team in the housing department, working alongside the police, actually working in the same building together collectively and much more effectively. So there is clear evidence of the benefit that can come from those matters, and one of the clear things that Police Scotland are looking at as part of the restate strategy overall is to make sure that there is greater collaboration and greater joint working with other parts of the public sector where that is the right thing to do. Just like the minister, I know that there are five more questions on this issue. I am reminded to take them all if possible. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Cabinet Secretary, police service is more than buildings. Personal contact is very important, particularly for community relations. I wonder if you would undertake to ask Police Scotland to do a full community impact assessment of changes of the nature of personal contact that have taken place in recent years. Those are, for instance, a perceived reduction in the level of food patrols where there is an obvious opportunity for contact. The counter closures, including reduced hours at some, have the effect of the 101 telephone system. The range of work has already been undertaken by Police Scotland to get the views of local communities on how the police are responding to matters. Your view counts as a part of the process that the police are using at the present time to get feedback from the community on how they feel that policing has been delivered at a local level. There is already a process that the police have in place in order to capture the view of local community. One of the criticisms that members have often made in recent times of Police Scotland is the increasing centralisation of the organisation and the way in which there is a view that decisions are made at the top and at the centre of the organisation rather than within local communities. The way in which the state review has been taken forward is that local commanders on the ground within their division will determine what is the best approach to deal with these issues in their community. Those are the commanders that are responsible for engaging with members of the public on a day-in-day-out basis, responding to local needs and local concerns. The way in which the consultation process will be taken forward is not predetermined. It will allow local commanders to determine what is the best approach in that local community in order to capture local community's views. I hope that those members who have called for a much more localised approach to decision-making on issues relating to policing would welcome the approach that local commanders will be central to decisions on those matters and to determine what is the best approach for delivering services going forward in that local division area. Willie Rennie. I am not sure that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing in this regard. The minister cited Cooper with the collocation of council services. What he omitted to mention is that Cooper's Sheriff Court, only a few months later, was closed. That was supposed to be collocated with the police as well. What can the minister say to reassure us that there is genuine consultation and partnership across the public sector so far that things like that do not happen again? The minister is one of the members who consistently complained about decisions within policing not being made at a local level. The very issue in the estate review, which I have outlined, will be determined at a local level. For the member's concern and any issues that he has, the person that he should be engaging with is his local commander, who I presume the member already engages with on policing matters. Any police stations that are being considered for a change of use or for closure within his constituency area will be determined by engaging with the local commander who will look at what is the best way to continue to deliver policing in that local area. That is not about taking police officers out of the local community, it is about making sure that we have a police estate that reflects the modern demands on the police service. We have a police estate that has largely evolved over the past 100 years. We need to recognise that the model of policing has changed, the public's expectation of the police service has changed, the way in which the public has engaged with the police service has changed as well. It is right that, in a modern police service, they reflect on the present state and arrangements of their state provision. The decision on the approach that will be taken at a local level will be determined at a local level with oversight by the process that was agreed by this Parliament through the Scottish Police Authority. I would have hoped, given the comments that the member has made in the past, that he would welcome that local commanders will be central to determining those matters. Thank you. It has been reported that three police stations in my constituency are at the close, but I wonder if the cabinet secretary is aware that, with and police station, cease to be operational seven years ago, whilst Muirhead ceased to be mined 18 months ago, and that, as a local MSP, I have already secured agreement from the local commander that, if that goes ahead, they will deliver monthly community policing surgeries in these locations to allow people to raise any non-urgent matters on a face-to-face basis, effectively and improved provision. I wonder if he is also aware that, far from ceasing to have a presence in Cymru, Police Scotland is, in fact, planning on moving to a shared town centre facility with Angus Council, a move that would sit alongside an increase in the number of officers covering the town. I think that the member makes an important point, because some of the police buildings that have been identified at this early stage by Police Scotland are facilities that are either under-occupied or, in some cases, not occupied and are only used on very limited occasions. It is right that I know that members will be keen to make sure that the police service continues to provide the best possible service to their local community, but it is also important for members to understand the change in nature of the way in which the public engage with their police service. Their expectations of the police service have changed. We need to make sure that we have a police estate that is reflective of that. I have thought that members would welcome greater collaboration and co-operation taking place across different aspects of our public service. The member made reference to the way in which that has been taken forward in his constituency, and the benefits that come from that collaborative approach, that sharing of information and that co-operation that can take place between different aspects of our public service. It is right that Police Scotland should be given the space and the opportunity to reflect on their existing estate in order to consider whether it is fit for purpose, whether there are better opportunities for collaboration and joint working, that they take up that opportunity and that they continue to provide the best possible service to local communities across the country. I am interested to hear what the cabinet secretary says about local engagement. A Police Scotland inspector said at a meeting of a community council in Dundee just two weeks ago that Police Scotland will not be dictated to on how to spend its resources. Does the cabinet secretary think that that is an appropriate way for Police Scotland to address the community? Rai Hill in the west end of Dundee is scheduled for consultation in January, including the possibility of closure, but it was left off the list that was released this week. Does the cabinet secretary think that that is right, and is that not misleading for the community of the west end? Finally, it was confirmed to me that sharing, such as the minister said, with local authorities in the Rai Hill building is not possible, and that closure would mean that west end police is being based in other council wards. Given that, will the cabinet secretary please ask Police Scotland to drop the consultation on the closure of Rai Hill station in Dundee? The important part is that the member has raised a number of different issues and concerns regarding the proposal that she has within her own region. The appropriate mechanism for that to be explored and discussed is directed with the divisional commander, and the divisional commander will be responsible for deciding on what is the best approach. Where there are options to have shared premises, that will be one of them. Where that is not an option, it will have to explain what the different approach will be within that local area. The key to that is taking a local approach that reflects local needs by the local area commanders. Given the member's keenness and desperation to be involved in the process, she would want to express those views to her local commander, who will have a significance on what the determination will be, and that consultation will allow others to express their views on it and to then come to an informed decision on what the future of it should be. Finally, Neil Findlay. The cabinet secretary, to Mr Ross, mentioned the situation in Livingston and the benefit of joint working and community facilities with other services. I am a great champion of that approach. However, in a village of Falthaus in my region, the police station closed in the last round of closures, and now the police room in the local partnership centre, where all that joint working takes place, is to close too. Does that not fly in the face of the rhetoric from the cabinet secretary today? Shouldn't other members be on alert because the next round of closures is likely to be the same as what is happening here, in those joint facilities where all that partnership working is supposed to happen? No, it does not fly in the face of it, because it has taken place within my constituency, where the use of stations is changing and where joint work is taking place in a joint facility as well. There are clearly real benefits that can come from those matters. Placing at a local level these types of matters is important as it is determined at a localised level. The local commander in his area can determine what is the best way in which to deliver policing within his local community and the types of facilities that are necessary in order to achieve that. I am sure that the member would recognise the way in which the public is engaging with the police. The model of policing has changed and evolved over the years. It will continue to change and evolve in the years to come. I am sure that all members in the chamber would recognise that it is important that Police Scotland has a modern police estate that is fit for purpose and reflects the needs of local communities. The estate review is exactly about doing that, and the key part to that is that these matters will be determined at a local level with national oversight through the Scottish Police Authority. Do you ask the Scottish Government what impact justifiable assault has on children? The Scottish Government does not support the physical punishment of children. We recognise that physical punishment can set children the wrong example and is not an effective way to teach children discipline. The Scottish Government does not consider that further legislative change is appropriate as we do not wish to see parents unnecessarily or unreasonably criminalised. We continue to support positive parenting through, for example, funding for family support services. I thank the minister for his answer. Every member in this place shares the Scottish Government's laudable ambition to be the best place in the world for children to grow up. Does the minister agree that considering that we are one of just four remaining states in the Council of Europe not to repeal this outdated defence, not to extend the equal protection to our children, we will be forever out of step with that obligation and our obligations to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Welsh Assembly is set in its legislative programme in this sitting to bring about this change. Is it not time for this country to do likewise? I do not agree with Alex Cole-Hamilton on his analysis, but I do agree with him on that. We share an objective on that. It is both to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up and to move to a situation in which children are not being physically punished as a means of discipline. The question is how we give effect to that. We believe that the way to give effect to that is through positive parenting support to enable parents to make positive choices around how they approach discipline with their children. We believe that that is a more effective method to approach that and to give effect to the result that we both want to see. The legal defence of justifiable assault used to apply to both servants and women, yet they have been rightly stricken from our statute books. There is a growing consensus across all the benches in this chamber that we need to start honouring our commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to catch up with our European neighbours and to work to extend equal protection to children. Should this Parliament get the opportunity, either through members' private bill or through an amendment to primary legislation, will the Scottish Government allow its own members a free vote on this important issue? I would say to Alex Cole-Hamilton that, at present, we do not have legislation in front of us for consideration. Obviously, I am aware of Mr Finnie's intention to bring forward legislation. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on that legislation before it has even been brought before Parliament. I have laid out the Government's position, both in terms of the fact that we do not support physical punishment and do not see it as an effective means of disciplining children, but also, crucially, that we believe that the way in which to effect change here is through providing positive support to parents to enable them to make positive choices around how they discipline their children. That, I think, is the approach that will enable us to ensure that children are protected, but also, crucially, that parents are able to exercise positive choices and create that best environment for children to grow up in. I very much agree with the minister that smacking is not an effective method of disciplining children. What support does the Scottish Government give to parents and carers to encourage them to use positive methods of managing children's behaviour and, generally, to parents positively? I am grateful to Jenny Gilruth for that question, because, as I have said, we want to ensure that parents have the opportunity to make positive choices. That is why we have a national parenting strategy that is designed to empower and support parents. That is why we provide funding through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund across a range of organisations, including in that our organisations such as Mellow Parenting and People, which are funded to deliver programmes designed to support parents, to connect with their children and to help them to increase their wellbeing, self-esteem and self-confidence. We recognise that there is always more that we can consider doing to support parents. We are continuing to look at how we provide support, information and advice to parents, but we believe firmly that it is by empowering parents and supporting parents to make those positive decisions in relation to how they approach discipline with their children that we will ensure that children are given the best start in life. Murdo Fraser. Is there any evidence that the current law in this area is not working? I have not seen evidence brought before me in relation to that. I am aware that there are on-going cases regularly in relation to issues around child cruelty. I have not been able to disaggregate areas in which the defence to which Alex Cole-Hamilton refers has been specifically used. I will look further to see whether there is work that can be done in order to address that and see what the situation is in that regard. In respect of what Murdo Fraser is saying, I am not aware of any evidence to that effect. Crucially, my primary concern is to ensure that parents are given that support to make those positive choices, thereby negating the requirement for the kind of approaches that Murdo Fraser is suggesting. I apologise to Mr Finlay. I know that he has got a member's bill on this, but I don't have time, I'm afraid, having had so much interest in the police station issue earlier. We now take a few moments just to change seats. We'll have a ministerial statement. I'll just take a few seconds to change over.