 The first time for business this afternoon is portfolio questions and the first portfolio is constitution, external affairs and culture. I remind members that if they wish to seek to ask a supplementary question they should press the request of speak button or enter the letters RTS in the chat function during the relevant question and at question number one I call Sharon Dowie. To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from the arts and culture stakeholder following its announcement of the Scottish budget 2024-25. We are increasing funding to the culture and heritage sector by £15.8 million next financial year to £196.6 million. That is the first step on the route to investing at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by the financial year 28-29. In 2025-26 we aim to provide an additional £25 million to the culture sector and this commitment to additional funding despite the challenging budget situation signals our confidence in the Scottish culture sector. The board of Creative Scotland welcomed the proposed settlement for Creative Scotland of just over £68 million in grant and aid funding for 2024-25 which compares to £55 million for the current financial year particularly given the continued pressure on the public finances and I welcome views from other stakeholders as part of the Scottish Parliament budget process over the forthcoming weeks. The SNP Government claimed the increased culture funding by £15.8 million in the latest budget but the campaign for the arts said that £13.2 million of that funding was restoring cuts so cutting through the SNP spin barely any of it was new money. Campaign for the arts director Jack Gamble said amid a perfect storm the Scottish Government needs to go much further, much faster and it's nowhere near the 100 million extra for culture that the SNP pledged. Cabinet Secretary, is this just another broken promise and what does the SNP have to say to disappointed businesses and organisations in the culture sector? Well I would point her to the answer I just gave which was the welcome of Creative Scotland for the increased funding that they are receiving. If the Scottish Conservative Unionist party has specific suggestions about additional funding that they believe the culture sector should require I'd be very very pleased to hear that for Sharon Dowie or from the front bench and be pleased to hear from them where they would identify cuts elsewhere to make those additional commitments. This government has made commitments for increased spending, we're delivering it and we're going to be delivering it more over the years ahead and I would welcome the support of members and other parties in recognising that as a fact. Question number two, Graham Simpson. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of its overseas office. I was pleased last month to publish an annual report on the work of our overseas offices covering the period 2022 to 2023. This showed how Scotland's international network delivers crucial benefits to Scotland's people, to its businesses and institutions at home and abroad and through international investment and growing our exports to facilitating cultural exchanges, promoting tourism, building our diaspora network and we continue to enhance our international reputation across the world. Most recently that included delivering a successful series of events to celebrate St Andrew's Day and preparing a programme of events for Burns Night later this month and I hope Graham Simpson will join me in thanking all of our international network staff and Global Scots and wishing them well for 2024. Well it's good to see the cabinet secretary here in parliament today. I wonder if this year he's planning to beat his record of travelling to six countries in the first seven months of last year which costs £5,500. Now the S&P government's overseas budget for their offices overseas is increasing to £7.8 million and that is why budgets for transport, councils and housing are being slashed. So what's the return on that investment? Well I think that's a very good question and I would point him to the report that I've already mentioned. I'm clearly from the tone of the question that Graham Simpson hasn't read it because in it it lists the benefits which are significant. Scottish Development International for example shows that this work is predicted to generate £1.7 billion of trade revenue. The report goes on to list 1,000 Scottish real living wage jobs through investments from the United States of America, 500 such jobs from Chinese investments, £120 million of planned capital investment through our presence in Canada, making 190 new connections for Scottish businesses through our Ireland office and I could go on. I really would welcome some consistency from the Scottish Conservative Party on this because from the front bench we hear requests for us to increase our presence internationally but from the back benches we are criticised. I make no apology to this chamber to promote Scotland internationally. I wish that members on his side of the chamber would welcome that. Can the cabinet secretary provide any updates regarding what assessments have been made as to the real benefits that Scotland's international network brings to our economy? Well I repeat that I think the report that was published last month on the work of our overseas officers is extremely important and I would recommend all members to take the opportunity to read what it does and I would want to pay tribute and I'm sorry we didn't hear that from the Conservative benches and they had the opportunity to do that, to welcome the hard work by those who work on our behalf whether in Scottish Government offices, Scottish Development International offices, global Scots networks or trade envoys, they are out there day in, day out, weekend, week out, promoting Scotland, promoting our economy, promoting jobs, promoting tourism. We should get behind them rather than undermine them. Scotland's international offices are a great opportunity to connect Scotland with its diaspora and share Scotland's unique culture across the world. It also provides a unique opportunity to seek out funding and collaboration opportunities for projects here in Scotland. I asked the cabinet secretary when the Scottish Government last reviewed the location office, international offices and if it measures the availability of funding opportunities in comparison with countries where there is no international offices. Well may I commend Faisal Trowdry, not just for the positive question that he asked there and recognising the good work that goes on promoting Scotland, our economy, our culture, our tourism sector, but also the thoughtful query about the network itself in terms of where do we have offices, where do we have people in situ, this incidentally also being asked very positively in committee by the front bench spokesperson for the Scottish Conservative Party. There are parts of the world that we don't yet have presence and I do think it's worthwhile that we look at those. We are committed to maintaining the network as it currently exists. We are committed to opening a presence in Poland, which I think there's widespread agreement why that is a good thing, but beyond that questions have been raised about presence in South America by Donald Cameron, for example, or in Africa. No doubt Faisal Trowdry, given his expertise in the region, would make a strong case for the Indian subcontinent covering India, Bangladesh, Pakistan. I think that this is very much worth looking at and I would welcome the positive contribution by those who wish to promote Scotland internationally as opposed to those who want to undermine it. To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, whether any of its future publications on independence will cover any constitutional lessons that can be learned from structures used in parliaments elsewhere that include unelected members. Minister Jamie Hepburn has set out in the paper creating a modern constitution for independent Scotland. The written constitution in independent Scotland we found it in democracy, human rights and equality protections. We can learn many lessons from Westminster's House of Lords with its membership of over 800 unelected lifelong members, largely around practices that we would seek to avoid in independent Scotland. Only with independence can we ensure sovereignty rests with the people in Scotland. We have no plans for any unelected element in an independent Scotland's legislature. I thank the minister for his reply. Will he agree that, following Baroness Mone's disastrous television interview last month, the lesson that no parliament should have an unelected house if it wishes to be accountable in any way whatsoever to the electorate is once more clearly if rather painfully made? I agree with that. I should of course say that it is not just Mone who has acted in a manner that is unbecoming of a person in public life as a member of the legislature of the UK. We have seen other issues with peers turning up to claim expenses just for the mere act of turning up at Westminster. With respect to Mone, we see serious questions, first of all around the judgment of the Conservatives in sending her to the Lords in the first place, but around an individual who has used her own position as a member of the House of Lords at a time of international crisis when we saw many people in all of the communities across Scotland freely volunteering their time to support their communities, seeking and not declaring an interest in using her position to rake in millions of pounds for her own family that hardly speaks to a proper system of governance. I think that we got the gist that the focus was on lessons to be learned from structures used in parliaments elsewhere that include unelected members, so I think that we have got the gist of that. In reference to the question that referenced future publications on independence, rather than committing to yet more papers on separation that will inevitably end up out of date and in the political dustbin at a massive cost to the taxpayer, when will this Government focus its efforts on dealing with the issues that people actually care about instead? I would observe that this Government has a mandate to pursue this work. We actually won the election in this party, lost the election and there are many benefits to be gained by Scotland becoming an independent country. We will continue to advance the case and that will include a case in which we should not have a legislature with an unelected element, including minor nobility from Scotland as well. We will have to seek to continue to be elected to this party. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it plans to further invest in the cultural sector. I have already confirmed to the chamber that we are increasing funding to the culture sector by £15.8 million next financial year to £196.6 million. That is the first step on the route to investing at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by the financial year 28-29. A commitment has already been given by the Deputy First Minister in the recent budget that, in 25-26, we aim to provide an additional £25 million to the culture sector, and that commitment to additional funding is despite the challenging budget situation and its signals are confidence to the Scottish culture sector, including that in Clydebank and Milgyn. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer and welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to increase spending on culture. I have met with numerous arts and cultural groups within my local constituency, and those groups are so important as they not only create safe spaces to thrive, but they also have meaningful connections to develop to reduce the social isolation that we face in our constituencies. What approach of the Scottish Government taking to ensure that additional investment will be shared fairly across all communities? Can I start by paying tribute to Marie McNair, who has been a doubty campaigner for the culture and arts community in Clydebank and Milgyn? It is incredibly important that the benefits of funding for the culture and arts sector can be fed throughout the whole of the country. An example of that is the culture collective programme, which is a Scotland-wide programme that we fund developing grassroots participatory arts experiences in our communities, including projects to reduce social isolation. Through the increased investment in culture over the next five years, we want to drive up opportunities for participation in creative pursuits, and that includes that in Clydebank and Milgyn. I have received requests for three supplementaries, and I intend to take all three. I first supplementary from Alexander Stewart. Despite the Scottish National Party Government, we believe that the £6.6 million in the recent Scottish budget is increased funding. It is the reinstatement of Creative Scotland's 10 per cent cut that was revealed a year ago, dropped in the spring, reinstated in September, and is now being disguised as an increase in investment. Therefore, following the announcement of £25 million for £25.26 million, how much of the funding is genuinely additional and will actually be delivered? We are committed to delivering all of the funding, and I am not sure whether that was a welcome for the increase. I did not hear that, but I would hope that all of us—I know that the questioner is a strong supporter of culture and the arts. I know that from the role that he plays in committee. I think that all of us need to row behind the culture and the arts sector. We are wanting to provide the necessary funding. Yes, it is important that Creative Scotland has the funding that it requires. It is going to have that going forward, and I look forward to positive discussions. As I have offered to members across the chamber and parties across the chamber, any good ideas about how we can make sure that the culture and the arts sector can thrive with the support of additional Scottish Government funding is going to be hugely welcome. I welcome his participation as part of that process. I was pleased to hear the cabinet secretary in response to Mary McNair about every community benefiting from cultural spend, because the analysis of event Scotland and Creative Scotland shows huge variations across the country. In Perth and Cunross, the spend is three times higher than in Fife. In Stirling, it is four times higher. In Dundee, it is six times higher. In Glasgow, it is 11 times higher. In Edinburgh, it is 14 times higher than in Fife. What is the minister doing to make sure that every community benefits from the spend? I commend Willie Rennie, because he has to ask the question a number of times. He wants to ensure that the maximum—I imagine the maximum possible—spend for the culture and the arts sector in north-east Fife, but throughout Fife, the rest of Fife can be secured. I have said to him previously that it is important that we have a separation between our arms-length culture organisation, Creative Scotland, who make these decisions and ministers. It is not for ministers to direct specific regional projects. I would say to him that if he is aware of cultural projects that are not being appropriately funded, please make me aware of that. Please make Creative Scotland aware of that. Colleagues want to make sure that our culture and arts sector right across Scotland is properly funded. I would welcome his input and extend the offer to him and his party colleagues about any suggestions that they may have about the increase in spending that we will be undertaking the years ahead, where he thinks the relative priorities of those should be, I would welcome his input to that. Despite £2 billion being spent on ticket sales across the UK, at least one grass-roots music venue permanently closed its doors each and every week last year. Other countries have shown that there is a way out of this decline, with ticket levees supporting the development of grass-roots music and venues. Does the cabinet secretary agree that, in 2024, it is the year to turn this around, including by accelerating progress towards establishing a ticket levee on arena and stadium tickets to support the grass-roots? The suggestion has been made, and the suggestion is being repeated now. It is one that is being promoted very actively from some members of the cultural community. The suggestion has been made that this needs to be explored further. I am open to learning about this. As I have said to the committee that Mark Ruskell serves on, we need to look imaginatively at all kinds of ways in which we can secure the necessary funding to the culture and art sector. The suggestion that he has raised a number of times is definitely one of those that merits further consideration. I look forward to the committee looking at that closely, to me receiving more advice on it. No doubt we will look at that together with other suggestions to ensure that the culture and art sector receives the funding that it requires that I know that it supports and that I certainly do. To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on the UCI World Cycling Championships in Glasgow in 2023. The total funding for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships is in the process of being finalised and will be confirmed in due course. It includes contributions from the Scottish Government, from UK support, from British cycling, from Glasgow City Council and a number of other local authorities, as well as from commercial revenue streams. Any additional funding that may be required will be managed centrally by the Scottish Government. I welcome seeing the UCI in Scotland. Feas and Galloway played host to their own competitions for paricyclists, a region that has already etched its name in the history of cycling as the birthplace for the first pedal cycle bike in 1839. How the Scotland Destination Alliance suggested that there might have been a £6 million boost to the local economy, but, given the significant cost of hosting the event, including what we believe will be a significant overspend, what assessment has the Scottish Government made of the impact of that investment and what work will it be doing with Dumfries and Galloway Council to ensure that it can deliver a long-term legacy? The Scottish Government is meeting with the 2023 Cycling World Championship, limited on a weekly basis, to oversee the closed-down of contracts and achieve a final position on delivery costs. We expect a final position by the end of the financial year. We also expect event evaluation information, which goes to the heart of the question there, including economic benefit to Scotland, including the south of Scotland, and that will be published in February. If I can take the opportunity, just to put on the record, our thanks to the outgoing chief executive of the UCI World Championships, Trudy Lindblad, and I wish her well as the new chief executive of Cricket Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the total cost to date of its building a new Scotland series of papers. The Scottish Government is publishing the publication class of all the papers in the building a new Scotland series. The partner has been informed of the cost for the first nine papers in that series. The cumulative cost has been £151,657.40, meaning that the average cost of the first nine papers in the series is £16,850.21. That cumulative total represents a value of around 0.00025 per cent of the total of the Scottish Government budget of this financial year. We will continue to publish the cost information for future papers once released, as we are committed to doing. Thank you, Presiding Officer. So far, the SNP Government has wasted about 151,009 independent prospectus papers. What a complete waste of taxpayer money when the propaganda papers fail to answer any key questions about currency, fiscal framework and pensions? Even the First Minister previously described them as material that frankly sits on a website and nobody reads. So, Minister, do you agree with the First Minister's comments? Can you explain to the Scottish taxpayers why this money would not be better spent on our schools, on our health service or on our police? It is pretty clear that Mr Lumsden was looking for a figure that was rather higher than a value of around 0.00025 per cent of the total of the Scottish Government's budget this financial year. He clearly was not listening when I responded to Mr Cameron, and I will need to remind Mr Lumsden that we won the last Scottish Parliament election. We have a mandate to take forward this activity, as Parliament lost the last Scottish Parliament election. That is why we are in government. It is money well spent when you look at countries around Scotland, such as Scotland, with Ireland, with an income per head of 24 per cent higher than the UK. Denmark is 35 per cent higher than the UK. Norway is 61 per cent higher than the UK. When we have a boorish of a UK economy, the OBR, predicting as a result of Brexit, will have GDP 4 per cent lower in the long run. The only way we can escape this mess is through independence, and we will continue to make the case. To ask the minister if he could provide an update on how the United Kingdom's GDP per capita compares to that of the comparator countries used in the building in the new Scotland series of papers. That is a bit wide of the question on the business bulletin, I am afraid, because we are looking at an update on the total cost of the actual papers, not the substance. I am afraid that it is a bit wide in the incident case. Having previously urged the Scottish Government to build a clear, incredible independent strategy, former SNP Minister Alex Neil now says that, in his view of many independent supporters, the SNP, and I quote, has abandoned any pretense of trying to get independence anytime soon. How does the Scottish Government justify the costs involved in these white papers and hope to build a consensus around its independent strategy as set out in the white papers when it cannot achieve that consensus within its own party? I have to say enough the first time that I disagree with Mr Neil. I believe that we are building a credible and compelling case for independence. I have already made the point about the advantages that other countries similar to Scotland have as a consequence of independence. I would have thought that the Labour Party might have agreed at a time when we have the Joseph Rowntree Foundation saying that destitution is on the increase in the UK but may be mitigated by the Scottish Government here. When we have the resolution foundation pointing out that if the UK had the average income and levels around the quality of similar countries, typical households would be £8,300 better off. That rises to £10,200 when you compare us to countries similar to Scotland. The Labour Party and other members will be able to see the benefits of independence, and that is the case that we will continue to make. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the reopening of historic environment sites following the completion of work to make them safe for the public, including when the remaining sites will reopen. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am very pleased to say that the historic environment Scotland's inspection programme concludes at the end of March 2024. Once completed, Historic Environment Scotland will have a clearer indication on the extent of the scale of the challenge and the resources that are required to carry out conservation works. There is now full or partial access to 53 of the 70 sites that had access restricted due to higher-level masonry issues, and I am pleased that Historic Environment Scotland continues to put the health and safety of individuals first, reopening sites only when it is safe to do so. Details of the inspection programme and site reopenings are all published on the Historic Environment Scotland's website. I thank the minister for that answer. Specifically in my constituency, Cogarth Castle, which played an important role in the Jacobite risings closed at the height of summer last year due to staffing issues. According to Historic Environment Scotland, this issue affected a number of sites, particularly in rural areas. I have a Cabinet Secretary asked earlier, for example, which he would support. I can guarantee that sites such as Cogarth Castle and others in rural areas will not be affected by this issue this summer. I take into account the issue that Alexander Burnett raised in his area about staffing and staffing in rural areas. Brexit is the biggest driver of the lack of staffing in rural areas, and I think that we should take that into account. When it comes to the reopening or the opening of the facilities and historic environment properties, I tell the member that Historic Environment Scotland publish all the updates on the website. It is easily found by anyone, but I would be happy to make sure that Historic Environment Scotland updates Alexander Burnett on the issues that are affecting his particular case. Historic Environment Scotland has, on a number of occasions, offered individual members visits to those sites to talk through some of the issues. I urge Alexander Burnett to take up that offer. Thank you, minister. That concludes portfolio questions on constitution, external affairs and culture. We will now move on to the next portfolio, which is, if people are wishing to move to the front bench, they should please do so. Otherwise, stay where they are. We will move on to the next portfolio, which is justice and home affairs. To ask the Scottish Government whether GEOAME, the prison escort service provider, has offered any assurances that it will tackle the reported staffing challenges that currently mean that islanders acting as witnesses have to travel to jury trials on the mainland. We have been supporting the Scottish Prison Service and other partners in delivering an improvement in the GEOAME contract, which has resulted in early positive signs with a slowdown in staff attrition and improved staff numbers. Following the pausing of the post-pandemic reintroduction of solemn jury trials to the sheriff courts at Lerrick, Kirkwall, Potrey, Stornoway, Lockmadi and Wick, assurances have been given by GEOAME that they will be able to properly resource the courts from spring 2024. According to a recent audit of the contract, the on-going poor performance of GEOAME is resulting in delays and inefficiencies across the justice sector, impacting on policing, prison services and the courts and is now requiring direct funding from government. Can the government confirm that, in the light of that, there is no question of extending their contract for a further four years, as permitted, and that GEOAME's record will be taken into consideration during future bids for lucrative government contracts? There is no doubt about it that the performance of GEOAME has been utterly unacceptable and has had huge impacts across the justice system. The criminal justice board has been engaged on issues relating to the contract. As stated by Theresa Methurst, the Scottish Prison Service Chief Executive at the Criminal Justice Committee last month, all options remain under consideration in relation to prisoner escort arrangements in Scotland. The performance of GEOAME will definitely be a vital factor to be considered while deciding on the future model of prisoner transport service contract. SPS is continuing to monitor the performance of the contract carefully to ensure that targeted thresholds are met and that we see an appropriate level of service that meets the needs of the Scottish justice system. The justice secretary will know from her correspondence back in the summer about my concerns about the impact that the loss of sheriff's duty trials in the islands and rural courts is having on local access to justice. I welcome the fact that those will be resuming from spring, although that is longer than anyone would have liked. Will the cabinet secretary offer a reassurance that the changes to the contract with GEOAME will ensure that rural and island courts are not seen as the expendable end of the justice system going forward? I have extended or exchanged correspondence extensively on this matter. I have it here with me today. I should say to him that we are seeing some promising early signs, for example, in terms of police custody officers. We have had an increase of 40 in the past three months. There are a number of officers currently in training. There are lower levels of staff attrition, which is down by 40 per cent. Nonetheless, we need to closely monitor the situation. The point that he makes about the islands and the communities in particular is well made. There have been particular issues in rural Scotland, but other areas of Scotland that we are particularly focused on. To ask the Scottish Government what protection is available to victims of domestic abuse when harassment and exclusion orders expire. A non-harassment order can be made in certain circumstances by a criminal court or by a civil court. The criminal and civil court can make a non-harassment order that runs for an indefinite period if it considers it appropriate. A person can apply for an exclusion order from a civil court to exclude their spouse or civil partner or, in certain circumstances, their cohabiting partner from the family home. Those orders end automatically in certain circumstances, such as when a couple divorces. Anyone who remains at risk of abuse or harassment after an exclusion order or a non-harassment order ends could apply to the civil courts for a further non-harassment order or an interdict. I thank the minister for that answer, but that has not been the experience of a constituent of mine who has struggled to get legal representation and navigate the court process. More needs to be done, so I would be keen to understand from the minister when domestic abuse protection orders will be implemented by the Scottish Government. If the minister agrees with me that a two-year plus delay in getting this additional measure in place sends the wrong message to victims. I thank the member for his question. The non-harassment orders are intended to provide a means of ensuring that on-going harassment can be prevented. There can be especially important protecting victims from on-going abuse by a partner or ex-partner, convicted of domestic abuse offence, particularly those long-term coercive or controlling behaviours. However, discretion lies with the court in each individual case to determine whether to impose national health service. Women continue to struggle to get legal support in Scotland for domestic abuse cases, including harassment and exclusion orders. They are required sometimes with great urgency to find and engage a solicitor on the Scottish mainland who will take on legal aid cases. Does the Scottish Government agree that this situation is unacceptable with island victims of domestic abuse facing unique barriers to justice at often critical and vulnerable times? A current legal aid funding arrangement ensures that around 70 per cent of people are eligible for a form of civil legal aid in Scotland. Means testing remains important, and it should ensure that we retain the wide scope of cases in which legal aid is available in principle. We have also invested significant levels of funding in front-line services, as well as working closely with statutory agencies to improve their response to victims and survivors, and we also provide support to the Scottish Women's Rights Centre. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposed closures of Paisley, Fergusley Park, Greenock, Bishop Riggs and Mogai police stations. Presiding Officer, through the delivery of its estate strategy, Police Scotland is putting plans in place to modernise its estate to make it fit for purpose. We are supportive of our plans to co-locate with other parts of the public sector, including local authorities, which promotes closer working and collaboration, delivering better outcomes for individuals and communities. I agree with Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham when he said that the presence of policing in communities is not defined by buildings but by the officers and staff who work in their communities. I encourage anyone with an interest to respond to the consultation, which is available on the Police Scotland website. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. It is important that the Scottish Government does not wash its hands of this and say that it is just an operational matter when my constituents in Paisley, Greenock, Fergusley Park, Mogai and Bishop Riggs are extremely concerned about the possible closures of their local police stations. What financial support will the Government provide to protect local stations if police and public deem them necessary? Where police have indicated they support a replacement presence, for example in Paisley and in Greenock, where they are located in town centres or 24 hours, have CID and in Greenock's case have a custody suite, does the cabinet secretary agree that any replacements should be done on a like-for-like basis? I recognise that, in some instances, people feel very strongly about the police estate and police buildings in their local communities, hence the purpose of the consultation. However, it is crucial that, as we move forward, we have a modern fit for purpose facilities, bearing in mind that police officers tend to be more mobile in their work. On Mr Bibby's locality, it is important to recognise that there is a consultation. That police Scotland is in discussions around co-location with Renfrewshire Council and also about identifying appropriate community engagement facilities. However, that is about co-location to enhance the effectiveness of policing, to enhance local partnership working and to improve visibility and presence of policing in our communities. As the cabinet secretary said, police Scotland has said that properties that have been selected for potential disposal under the services estate strategy form part of moose towards co-location with partners where possible to ensure that services are delivered in the most efficient and effective way. Can the cabinet secretary provide further detail of the success that has already been had with co-location? We all agreed that we all want our public services to be effective and to be efficient. Co-location with suitable partners makes best use of the public sector estate and, importantly, offers the opportunity for increased visibility and closer work. There are over 60 examples of successful co-location across the Police Scotland estate. That is around 20 per cent of its estate. 13 co-locations are blue light collaborations. There is a great example in my constituency in Westlothain, but there are also other examples with co-location in Alwa, with Clackmanager Council, in Aberdeen City Council and in Varnes, where there is a co-location with the Scottish Courts and Tribunial Service. It is also important to recognise that the Criminal Justice Committee in its pre-budget scrutiny report at the end of last year said that, in police and fire services, we should explore the provision of newer co-located premises that offer improved facilities for officers and staff. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that the Scottish budget 2024-25 will have on police officer numbers in the south Scotland region. As outlined in the recent budget, we will increase the Scottish Police Authority resource budget by £75.7 million in 2024-25. While it is for the chief constable to decide how best to deploy police resources, I welcome her statement to the Criminal Justice Committee on 20 December that the budget settlement would allow recruitment of officers to restart before the end of this financial year. Police Scotland has recruited almost 600 officers in 2023 and around 1,480 new recruits since the beginning of 2022. At 30 September there were 379 more police officers than in 2007. Of course, Scotland has more police officers per capita than England and Wales and higher pay ranges with 30 officers per 10,000 of the population compared to 25 in England and Wales. We have seen police officer numbers plummet right across Scotland in recent years. The smallest division of recent gallery numbers have been cut from 411 in June 2020 to just 354, which means that at certain times we have just a couple of officers covering a huge geographical area. Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether the recent budget will mean that we will return to the levels of June 2020 in Dumfries and Galloway? Given that the SNP commitment to maintain police numbers at the level when Police Scotland was established a decade ago now seems dead in the water, just what exactly is the Government's current specific target for officer numbers? Of course, the establishment agreement of officer numbers is an operational matter for the chief constable. The chief constable, when she appeared at the criminal justice committee just before Christmas, made very clear that when she was welcoming the budget settlement and that will enable Police Scotland to retain police numbers of around 16,500 or 16,600, it is important to remember that we now have nearly 400 more officers now than we did in 2006-07. In terms of Dumfries and Galloway divisional area, as of 30 September 2023, there were 354 officers. That compares to 349, 30 September the year before. That is a small increase. Now we hope to give some reassurance to Mr Smith about the stabilisation of police resources in his area. I met the divisional commander of Dumfries and Galloway just before recess, and he welcomed that we have additional recruits in the region. However, noted that rurality poses huge challenges with appropriate officer cover. Can the cabinet secretary comment on whether Dumfries and Galloway could be considered a priority area for police recruitment, given the challenges of rurality and officer coverage after the end of the current recruitment freeze? It is important to recognise that there are particular challenges for particular workforces in rural Scotland, and that is why Police Scotland has undertaken targeted recruitment. There was certainly targeted recruitment last year in Stranrair and Dumfries. As I hope that I have demonstrated with the numbers that I quoted to Mr Smith, that there has been a small increase and a stabilisation of police numbers across the Dumfries and Galloway divisional area. It should be noted that the creation of a Scottish-wide single police service means that all communities have greater access to national policing capabilities than would otherwise be the case. Of course, local area commanders can also draw on specialist resources to support local policing wherever they are needed. The latest recorded crime statistics from Police Scotland show that the Ayrshire Police division overall crime jumped by more than 10 per cent at a time, and police numbers have fallen in Ayrshire since the SNP centralised our police forces. Cabinet secretary, how much more do you think crime should rise in communities like Ayrshire before you start properly resourcing our police? Well, for this current financial year, resourcing for policing across Scotland benefitted by an additional £80 million. We just introduced the draft Scottish budget before Christmas, which once again has seen additional resource and capital for Police Scotland. It is important that we recognise that there continues to be more police officers per capital in Scotland than in comparison to England and Wales. Scotland is now a safer place because recorded crime has reduced by 41 per cent since 2006-07. Scotland under the SNP is indeed a safer place. To ask the Scottish Government how its budget for 2024-25 will support Police Scotland. Protecting front-line services and supporting those who deliver them is a key priority for the Scottish Government. That is why, despite deeply challenging financial circumstances, the 2024-25 Scottish budget provides record funding for the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland. We will invest £1.55 billion in policing in the next financial year. The police resource budget will be increased by £75.7 million, a 5.6 per cent increase, with the capital budget increasing to £64.6 million, representing a 12.5 per cent increase compared to the 2023-24 budgets. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and I also welcome the real terms budget increase for Police Scotland. However, with the continued squeeze on Barnett consequentials and the disappointing autumn statement, can the cabinet secretary outline what impact that will have on delivering a fit for purpose Police Scotland service in the long term? Last month's autumn statement was, of course, the worst-case scenario for Scotland containing a fiscal settlement from the UK Government that undermined the viability of public services across the whole of the UK, including here in Scotland. Our block grant funding for this budget has fallen by 1.2 per cent in real terms since 2022-23, and our capital spending power is due to contract by almost 10 per cent in real terms over the next five years. Nonetheless, protecting front-line services is a priority for the Scottish Government, and nonetheless, our budget is delivering for justice and is delivering for policing in particular. As perhaps it is helpful, if I quote to chamber the chief constable when she attended committee and welcomed the budget settlement, she recognised that this budget settlement was in recognition of Police Scotland's value and contribution that policing makes to Scotland, being a safe place to live and work with historically low levels of crime. I am very pleased to commend a budget to Parliament that, when you consider both resource and capital, has an increased investment of £92.7 million in policing for Scotland. Every single police officer in the UK has body-worn cameras, apart from here in Scotland. They protect police officers in the public, they support victims and witnesses, they save time and money. Humza Yousaf has repeatedly promised them, yet due entirely to SNP budget choices, Scotland has been left behind. Three weeks ago, the day after the budget, I asked the new chief constable if the 2027 target date for full delivery would be met, but she could not tell me. So when exactly will our officers finally get this basic kit? Well, Presiding Officer, I would have hoped that Mr Finlay would have welcomed two facts, one that the roll-out of body-worn cameras for police officers will indeed commence this coming calendar year. I also would have thought that he would have welcomed the record investment in policing in Scotland, and surely that is good news that we can all celebrate. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the proposed closure of 29 police stations across Scotland in antisocial behaviour. The deployment of police resources and operational matters are of course decisions for the chief constable. The Scottish Government has increased police funding to Police Scotland year on year since 2016-17, with £1.55 billion being committed in the 2024-25 budget. We fully support Police Scotland and local authorities who lead on responding to anti-social behaviour, and we continue to encourage early intervention, diversion and appropriate support through multi-agency partnership approaches. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Police Scotland has confirmed that there has been a recent rise of antisocial behaviour in Lillidgo, while often non-criminal and the impact it has on the local community is undeniable. Lillidgo lost their police station a number of years ago, and constituents are concerned that the lack of police presence is contributing to young people engaging in such behaviour. What specific action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure communities where police stations are earmarked for closure continue to feel safe and protected in their local area? Mr Schaudry might be aware that the police station in Lillidgo has been vacant for more than six years, and therefore it has been declared surplus by Police Scotland. On anti-social behaviour, he may be aware that the minister, Ms Brown, has established a working group on anti-social behaviour, which brings experts and practitioners together to examine our strategic approach to anti-social behaviour and proposed improvements. That group will report later on this year. It is appropriate that, after 20 years of the existing anti-social behaviour legislation, we are due for a timely review, and I look forward to all members' contributions to that. To ask the Scottish Government what action it and its partners are taking to tackle retail crime and its potential impact on communities in the light of the reported increase in retail crime caused by the cost of living crisis. The Scottish Government recognises the significant disruption and harm to both businesses and to individuals from retail crime and continues to support the innovative Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime, also known as SPACE, strategy. The partnership is led by Police Scotland, working with retailers and other organisations, including retailers against crime and neighbourhood watch Scotland, with a focus on the prevention, deterrence and where appropriate enforcement. The strategy seeks to minimise opportunities for this type of crime, protect individuals and businesses, and deliver clear advice and guidance for prevention. I urge all retailers to continue to engage with Police Scotland and other partners to help to safeguard their businesses and the people who work there. In my constituency of Midlothian North and Musselborough, there has been continued and escalating incidents of retail crime, resulting not only to a threat to the livelihoods of small business owners, but also an unacceptable threat to staff's physical safety while at their place of work. Can the minister advise what additional support has been put in place to ensure the safety and security of both staff and property for retailers and to ensure that there is effective deterrent and punishment for criminals who take part in retail crime? We recognise the vital role of retail workers in our society. We want to ensure that they are protected. Workers across all sectors should be safe at work and should never have to experience abuse or violence when simply doing their job. The Protection of Retail Workers Scotland Act, which came into force in August 2021, created a statutory offence of threatening, abusing or assaulting a retail worker, ensuring that the seriousness of this behaviour is highlighted through a specific offence. There have been 543 charges under the Act that have received a conviction in criminal court from August 2021 to March 2023. While there has been a long-term reduction in levels of recorded non-sexual violence, 25 per cent between 2006 to 2007 and from 2022 to 2023, along with its partners, the Scottish Government is continuing to implement the violence prevention framework. That is backed with £2 million worth of investment this year to fund a range of activities to help to prevent and divert people away from violence. That concludes portfolio questions on justice and home affairs. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business.