 Ieithio gwanfaig i ddechart wedi eu cwladigfawr a'r ddechart yn fawr 1.5.8.2 yn y fawr Foulton-MacGregor do'r i'w gael gan hyn o unig o'r hiwn o'r gyfadduethau a'r ddechart. Felly, nid diwethaf i ddefnyddio'r diwethaf i gael i'r ddechart ar chi'n ddod o'n tymnu hynny, yn cymdeilig maen nhw i ddechart ei fawr i gael i'w ddod o'r hiwn o'r diwethaf i'w ddechart. I start by thanking colleagues from across the chamber for supporting this motion and allowing this important subject to be discussed in Parliament. I also take this opportunity to remind the chamber that I am the justice parliamentary liaison officer. We are joined in the gallery for this debate by representatives of missing people UK, missing people Scotland who have brought with them many of the families affected and the Moira Anderson Foundation. I would like to welcome them all and thank them for their continued hard work in this area. Presiding Officer, there isn't much that could be more devastating than realising that the loved one is missing and none of us can know how we would deal with such news. It's hard to imagine how you would feel and the impact it would have on your life. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many families across Scotland every single week. I know that members will be familiar with their social media timelines having appeals for missing people. Just in the last two weeks, I've shared police appeals for men, missing from my constituency, one from Coatbridge and another from Christon. Thankfully, both were found safe. It is important that, when this horrible thought becomes a reality, as it does for thousands of families every year, we have in place full support for those families. Thankfully, the vast majority of people who are missing are found safe and well, like those I mentioned, but that is not always the case. Presiding Officer, I want to reflect on a tragic case from my constituency that of Sean McKenna that has inspired me to take that issue up. When Sean went missing in 2016, the reaction of the Coatbridge and wider community was quite incredible. Hundreds of volunteers rallied to support police in the search. Sadly, by the time that Sean was found, it was too late and his family will forever mourn a much-loved son and brother. Sean Stard raised the issue with me at the time and spoke about hidden costs to a family member or loved one being missing, including the emotional and psychological trauma, the impact in relationships, the ability to work and the financial effect. I want to pay tribute to the whole McKenna family, who have continued to raise awareness on the subject of support for families of missing people. If parents have been a force in raising the issue with the press and organising charity events where the money that has been raised has went to support the families of those missing, they were unable to make today's debate. However, I know that they are taking a keen interest in it at home. Another tragic case from my constituency that members will be aware of is that of Moira Anderson, who went missing in Coatbridge in 1957 at the age of 11, and is to this day still considered a missing person. As recently as last year, police conducted a search of the Monkland canal in an effort to find her body, but to no avail. I pay tribute also to the continued work of Sandra Brown and the Foundation. The charity supports victims of childhood sexual abuse while ensuring that the search for Moira never stops. I know that they have continued to support Moira's remaining family and have provided support over a number of years. I am delighted to see the work of Professor Hester Parr from Glasgow University, who is working with Missing People UK to conduct new research into why people go missing by speaking to those who return. Around 99 per cent of people who are reported missing return within one month. That new research will be vital in identifying the causes of some people who go missing and will help to prevent it to where possible in the future. I welcome the investment from the Scottish Government in this area, training over 400 police officers, social workers and volunteers to help them to conduct what are called return interviews. The findings from those interviews are to be fed back to partner agencies to ensure that they are providing the necessary support to vulnerable people. I would ask that those return interviews include family, where possible. This week is the first-ever national awareness week on missing people, and I very much welcome its introduction. I do hope that colleagues were able to find the time to drop in and hear from Missing People UK at today's drop-in session, but some of the statistics in this area are indeed frightening. In the last year, 23,000 missing people incidents were reported to Police Scotland. That was 12,500 individuals. Of those, almost two thirds were children and young people. More than half of the children who go missing in Scotland are in the care system. We must do better, and I know that the Scottish Government's care review will consider that issue in the wider context of being looked after and accommodated and our overall duty as a society to watch young people. In addition, there has been a lot of discussion recently in this chamber on the issue of mental health, with suicide the biggest killer of men under 45 across the UK. This is an issue that we all must work together across the world to tackle. It is important that we recognise the link between mental health and people going missing. It is suggested that somewhere in the region of 80 per cent of people who are reported missing have some form of mental or emotional health issue. That is where the important research of Professor Paran or teams should provide improvements. If we can identify the cause, we can step in earlier to prevent people disappearing. As I said earlier, one of the main issues that came to light for me when I was speaking to the family of Sean McKenna was the lack of support in place for the families of missing people. As I mentioned at the start of my speech, none of us conceivably imagined how we could possibly handle a loved one going missing. It is important that as a society we get this right, we need to take what is being said by those families who have experienced missing loved ones and ensure that we improve our systems. There needs to be an emotional and psychological support, as well as practical help for those who struggle to keep their jobs or even their homes. The hidden effects of a person going missing. I welcome the Scottish Government's national framework for missing persons, which was launched just last year. The recommendations that have come from that are strongly supported by missing people UK and others, but it is important that we as politicians across this chamber play our part. There are three simple steps at missing people UK at asking us as members of the Scottish Parliament to carry out, and I will reiterate them now. Firstly, check that there is a multiagency group in place with responsibility for implementing the national framework in your constituency. Secondly, ensure that the multiagency group has considered the response to families as well as the missing person, and that can, of course, then take account of unique circumstances. Finally, ensure that your local authority area has made provision for return discussions and whether those are consistently being offered to both adults and children on return. If the unfortunate situation arises where the person is not found alive, then that multiagency forum should consider how to best help that family that is left behind. I will make this simple additional play to members. Do not scroll by a missing person report on your timeline, particularly if it is an official police one. Please share it and help find the person. This framework represents another area where Scotland is and can lead the way. Those simple steps allow every member of this Parliament to play their part in driving down the number of missing people throughout Scotland, and that the hard-ticket causes their families and ensures that appropriate support is provided when they most need it. I congratulate my colleague Fulton MacGregor on securing this debating time to discuss an issue that tragically affects many thousands of families in Scotland. I have taken a keen interest in missing people, particularly children, since the beginning of the First Parliament led my own debate on young runaways in January 2002, following a disturbing revelation that one in nine Scottish children runaway were forced to leave home before the age of 16. Upon realising how prevalent that was now, it seemed to be discussed at the time. I wanted to shed light on it, and while significant progress has been made over the past 16 years, I am glad that we are able to continue the conversation and place particular focus on support for the families and loved ones of missing people. As Mr MacGregor said, in 2017-18, 23,000 missing people were reported to Police Scotland with many involving a person who had gone missing previously. Thanks to Police Scotland agencies and their dedicated staff, working in a co-ordinated and co-operative way, 77 per cent of individuals are found within 24 hours and 88 per cent within 48, although there is still a chance that they may experience significant harm in that time. Unfortunately, a small number of people, 2 per cent remain missing for weeks, sometimes months or years. The families and friends of missing people experience unimaginable trauma when the loved one disappears, regardless of how long they are missing for, forced to face both emotional and practical challenges, which only worsen with time, especially without access to appropriate support. My uncle Leonard Lawson, a redheaded man in his 40s who always were a kilt, disappeared in the 1960s and was never seen again. The family simply stopped mentioning him, probably as a way of coping. Nowadays, every effort goes into locating missing people, and rightly so, but similar efforts should go towards supporting those left behind. Along with more than 100 new reports each day, 764 people in Scotland are classed as long-term missing gone for more than 28 days, with some cases dating back to the 1960s. Why people leave home can be multi-factored from bullying at school or work, broken romance, financial pressures and trouble at home. Every case is different. A recent North Aesra police report revealed that 76 per cent of missing person cases in 2016-17 involved a young person under the age of 18, while the average age of missing persons is 16. We must recognise the suffering of thousands of families across Scotland who have experienced a loved one gone missing. It is also important to recognise the plight of those who may feel forced to leave home through no fault of their own and ensure that there are sufficient services in place to support them, especially if they are under 16 and particularly vulnerable. The initial analysis from the North Aesra police report was shared across child and adult protection committees and suggests that a multi-agency response to the Scottish Government national missing persons framework be considered, a welcome development for families in my Cunningham North constituency and across Scotland. The aforementioned framework launched in May 2017 aims to improve joint working between agencies involved in safeguarding missing people. A highlight is the need to improve the quality of discussions with a missing person who is hoping that what is learned will help to prevent future runaways. The focus must now be on telling the framework into action. An upcoming Scottish Government consultation will consider how to assist loved ones with such matters as the financial and legal affairs of a missing person. The missing people charity, the only one in the UK specialising in and dedicated to bringing missing children and adults back together with their families, already delivers free services such as guidance on working with the police and counselling. Missing people also runs a free and confidential helpline to provide round-the-clock support to missing children, adults and their families. While the pain of a missing loved one can never disappear, we want to ensure that effective procedures are in place to reduce this pain over time. Each missing person represents a different story, a unique set of circumstances and another group of friends and family members left behind looking for answers. Families never give up until they receive closure one way or another. It is therefore important to show the same dedication by assuring that each local authority has plans in place for dealing with missing people and the families left behind. I am pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this debate, and I thank Fulton McGregor for securing it, especially in this important awareness week. Just one day ago, as we have heard, Police Scotland confirmed that it conducted over 23,000 investigations into missing persons in the last year. That is up on the previous year. When you look at the reasons why people disappear, they are complex and varied. Some forget where their home is, some make a choice to go missing and some people feel that they have no choice at all. When a person first goes missing, the sooner the search begins, the better. Although you do not have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person, current police procedures mean that the UK missing person's bureau will only be contacted once 72 hours have passed. Is that really the right approach? Given that the majority of those who go missing in Scotland are found within two days, perhaps it is time to consider reducing the 72-hour rule down to 48 hours. I want to clarify that it is clear from Police Scotland's website that what they say is that if you feel that you have a concern that somebody has gone missing, report it immediately. That is what Police Scotland wants you to do. Mr Mountain. Thank you for that intervention and entirely, that is right, and that is what I am coming on to say. Time, as I have said, is crucial when it comes to finding a missing person. I believe that we should encourage people and thank you for drawing the attention to that to come forward and tell the police as soon as possible. I believe that we should do more to support families of the long-term missing people. Those who go missing often leave behind families and friends who only wish to see their loved ones return home as soon as possible and their possessions and homes protected. In the worst cases, months and years and sometimes decades pass without any sign of people's whereabouts. For families and friends, that is a tragedy that goes on without end. The nightmare is made often worse when families are unable to look after the estate and property of those missing people under Scottish law. That can lead to financial hardship for missing persons with mortgages and investment and insurances all being risk. Therefore, I believe that there is a pressing need to reform our legal guardianship laws. Legislation has already been passed in England and Wales, and Scotland, I believe, should follow suit. What has become known as Claudia's law allows families to appoint legal guardians to look after a missing person's estate if they have been missing for 90 days or more. Claudia's law won cross-party support at the UK Parliament. I believe that it is time for a similar bill to be introduced into the Scottish Parliament. When a loved one goes missing, we want to do everything in our power to find them as soon as possible. That is why I believe that we should review the 72-hour rule, although accepting that it is important and that the police have made the point that they should report them as soon as possible. However, if we bring in the missing person's bureau as soon as possible, maybe one day sooner, that may make all the difference. There is also more help that can be done for families in long-term situations where people are missing. As it stands, families are unable to look after their missing relatives' estate under Scottish law. I believe that that is something that we could change. The Scottish Government, by bringing forward a bill, could ensure—or could be sure, I believe—in getting cross-party support to make sure that a law such as Claudia's law in England is replicated in Scotland. I urge them to do so. I thank Fulton MacGregor for bringing this important debate to the chamber and for his moving tributes to families in his constituency that have missing loved ones. In 2017-18, an astonishing 23,000 missing people were reported to Police Scotland. Many will be found after a short while, but I still find that figure incredible. Behind that figure are thousands more worried families and friends who are left in a state of limbo with a horrible void in their lives following the disappearance of a loved one. These families must be supported at every level to ease the pain of this unimaginably difficult time. When someone goes missing, the effect they can have on their family or loved ones can be devastating. They can be left feeling angry, depressed, bewildered and often with a sense of guilt. That is why I am pleased that the Scottish Government launched a new national missing persons framework for Scotland in 18 April 2017, which included guidance and support for families as well as laying out responsibilities for professionals to support missing children and adults. The organisation, Missing People, supported the development of the framework and we are delighted to see that it is a publication, but the guidance is not statutory and more work needs to be done to ensure that the recommendations are implemented across Scotland. One of the most chilling aspects of those alarming statistics is that almost two thirds of those reported are missing related to children and young people. That is terrifying. We know that missing children are at risk of grooming, exploitation or abuse or the missing episode may be a warning sign that they are suffering harm or abuse at school. More than half of missing children have experienced conflict, abuse and neglect at home and one in five children felt forced to leave. Seven in ten young people who have been sexually exploited have also been reported missing and at least one in ten missing children have mental health issues. Looked after children are at particularly high risk, more than half of missing children who go missing in Scotland will be in the care system. We have to address that urgently. Adults who go missing are also highly vulnerable and may face serious risks. As Fulton MacGregor outlined, up to eight in every ten missing adults will be experienced in mental health issues and three in ten missing adults will have had a recent relationship breakdown. As a child growing up in a Lanarkshire village, a neighbour left her house to buy cigarettes from the local shop and was never seen again. To my knowledge, she was never found. The effect on her family and young son was devastating. The good news is that the majority of missing people are found within 24 hours. However, they still may experience significant harm in that time. A small number of people will remain missing for weeks, sometimes even months or years. MissingPeople.org.uk provided a number of freely accessible services across Scotland, so I advise visiting their website for full information on those services. The framework's success depends on local partnerships taking forward the recommendations. Many, if not all, of the recommendations included in the framework rely on joint working multi-agency sharing information and agreed divisions of responsibility. As MSPs, we have much to do. We can check that there is a multi-agency group responsible for implementing the national framework in our constituencies and that they have a clear action plan for improving their response to missing people. That is definitely top of my to-do list. The agony of families who experience the unexplained disappearance of a loved one is beyond doubt. Let's work together to ensure that we have a framework in place to at least ease that agony. I thank Fulton MacGregor for bringing this very important and poignant debate to the chamber. The impact of that is serious for the individuals involved, but I think that the scale of the situation or the issue regarding missing people has been well made so far this evening. I would also like to pay thanks to missing people for their invaluable drop-in session that they held today. I found that the information provided hugely useful. I would also like to thank Police Scotland for its excellent missing persons annual report, which I thought was very detailed and allowed some real insight. I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to suddenly realise that your loved one is not where they are supposed to be, that they are not in the bed that they slept in or that they disappeared, that they did not return home from work. What must go through your mind when you realise that and you wonder where they may be? You realise that you have to make that phone call, that you have to call the police because they are nowhere to be found. That must have ripples and impacts, which last well beyond the incident itself. Regardless of whether that person is missing for a matter of hours, days or a week, the ramifications will permeate with that family. We must also have regard to the person themselves, because there is a very much common denominator when we look at the types of people who go missing. We have heard this evening that it is two thirds of people who go missing are children, but as Rona Mackay was pointing out, of the adults who go missing, 80 per cent have underlying mental health problems. The key common denominator is that those are vulnerable people. Those are people who have a number of vulnerabilities and issues, and this is an act of last resort and desperation. Sometimes when we are debating those things, it can be hard to relate to why people might do certain things or act in certain ways, but I think that we have all been there. I think that we have all been in that situation where we think that maybe it would be just better if I disappeared. Maybe I am the issue, and maybe I need to take myself away. That is a very raw human sentiment that we can all relate to. We all must have that sympathy and empathy for those people who find themselves in that horrible situation where they feel like this. That is an issue of a very significant scale—30,000 people going missing every year, 23,000 police cases. At this point, I would also like to pay tribute to the police, because it is the police who are at the forefront of locating those people, making that effort and making sure that no stone is left unturned in finding that missing loved one. It takes up a huge proportion of their time. Researching for this debate this evening, I was quite taken aback to discover that Edinburgh was the area with the highest number of cases last year—3,300. The call this evening is to follow this up, and I am certainly going to follow up with my local police division and local council just to look at why that might be the case. The other key thing that strikes me about this is the number of repeat disappearances of 25 per cent of all investigations, according to the police report, for people who have been missing 10 separate occasions and one in two people who have gone missing before. That underlines the challenge, and we must make sure that our services are in place to make sure that we do everything that we can to not just track down missing people but to find out why they are going missing, especially on that first occasion when that person is found and brought home. We must make sure that we delve into that and put right those issues, those factors that led them to do that. We must welcome the Scottish Government's framework. It has been a very significant step forward, but let us also listen to the missing people's ask for local action plans, support for families and look at the return discussions. On one final note, the focus should be on what we do to get people home and how we do that, and the 99 per cent. Let us also remember about the 1 per cent of those very tragic circumstances where those people never come home. My thought is that a final note is certainly with those people. Thank you, Mr Johnson. I call weekend guard to be followed by Gordon Lindhurst. I am grateful to my colleague Fulton MacGregor for bringing the important topic of support for families of missing people to the chamber of our Scottish Parliament. I would also like to thank the missing people charity for their briefing in advance of this debate. From the outset, let anyone affected by the topic know that missing people are on hand to help missing people and their families 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and they can provide free and confidential support by phone, text and email. Their number is 116 000. I am happy to commit to the asks that they have of MSPs, as was laid out by Fulton MacGregor in his opening speech. I will certainly see what multi-agency work is going on in Ayrshire and how implementation of the national framework is progressing. I am happy to raise support for families and, of course, to refer any constituents with missing loved ones to the missing people's helpline 116 000. The ask of a revised system for legal guardianship, which is simpler, lower cost and accessible for families, also seems sensible and the right thing to do, and I am happy to support that also. I look forward to working with missing people and colleagues across the chamber in the coming months to help to ensure that all families of missing people receive the best help and support. As has been mentioned, 23,000 missing episodes were reported to Police Scotland in 2017-18. Almost two thirds of those reports related to children and young people, with looked-after children being particularly high-risk. Children and young people can go missing for a number of reasons—happiness at home or in a placement, abuse, neglect or child sexual exploitation. According to the Children's Society, one in six young runaways end up sleeping rough. One in eight resort to begging or stealing to survive, and one in 12 are hurt or harmed as a direct result of running away. Some children and young people may feel that they have no choice but to go alone and they take huge risks on the street. Begging or stealing to survive or resorting to drugs and alcohol. They are at risk of grooming by adults who later exploit and harm them. More than half the missing children in Scotland will be in the care system. All of us in this place are corporate parents to our care experience children and young people here. As such, we should be paying really close attention to the quality of relationships that are experienced in our care system. We need to understand better and address more quickly the things that might push young people away from their home environment or, indeed, leave them vulnerable to being pulled from it by adults seeking to exploit them. Listening to and acting on the voices at the heart of the care review can really help us to do that. Police Scotland has already been mentioned. I did have a quick look at their site when I was before the debate. It is clear that they direct people to missing people. They are doing part of the ask already. It is clear that they take every report really seriously. They mention on their site that most people who go missing return within 48 hours. However, just to reiterate again, because I think that it is really, really important that you do not have to wait for 24 hours before reporting someone missing. If someone you care about or are worried about goes, then contact them as soon as you wish to. In an emergency in 999 and in other circumstances on 101. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Thank you. Paul Gordon-Rindhurst, then I move to closing speech. Mr Lindhurst, please. The knock at the door, the police officer standing there, the dreaded moment so many people fear that sometimes there is no knock at the door and who can say what is worse. But to not know what has happened to someone is surely one of the worst possible experiences in life. In Scotland, the reports of missing people are up a thousand in the last year and there may be many, many reasons for going missing. But every effort needs to be made to understand why and how to prevent it happening in other people's lives. In 2016-17, almost 20 per cent of investigations were in Edinburgh, the largest number of any council in Scotland. Some of the statistics are shocking. For example, 62 per cent of investigations involve children, but the fact that one in six young people who go missing overnight, sleep rough or with strangers, is a frightening statistic and tells us of their vulnerability. More than half of people reported missing have been previously missing. The national missing persons framework for Scotland focuses on engaging with people who have returned to find out why they went missing and how to prevent it again in the future. That is welcome. Police Scotland so often goes the extra mile to find people and return them to their families, but return interviews are key in preventing further instances of the same people going missing. In doing so through collaborative working between agencies, Government, police and others, I hope that we can begin to see the number of cases decreasing rather than increasing as they have done this year. Indeed, I would welcome the thoughts of the minister today on how the framework is being reviewed in light of this week's figures. Deputy Presiding Officer, we must not forget the families of missing persons. While over 90 per cent of cases in 2016-17 were concluded within three days, the emotional trauma worsens the longer a loved one is not found. I welcome the work that is being done by charities such as Missing People in offering help and support to those family members. What can often be forgotten is the impact of a missing person on the life that they have left behind. Family and friends are often left to deal with the consequences of bills unpaid, for example, adding to the emotional suffering that they are already facing. This is just one area where more could be done to support families, and reference has already been made to the possibility of adopting a similar model to the Guardianship Missing Persons Bill in England and Wales. I am pleased that the Scottish Government recognises some of the difficulties and is looking to see what can be done about them. A new procedure could enable a smoother process than that currently available through the courts and make the lives of family members easier in what is a hugely difficult time. In conclusion, I welcome Fulton MacGregor having brought the subject to Parliament, and I look forward to the Government building on the framework of last year. I thank Fulton MacGregor on securing this important debate tonight. I would also take this opportunity of welcoming our guests in the gallery. It is clear from the debate that the issue of missing persons is a very important one indeed. It touches the lives of many thousands of people across Scotland and, indeed, in each of our constituencies. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members for their thoughtful contributions this evening. The debate has highlighted just how devastating the consequences can be when a person is feeling low or vulnerable. Thankfully, the vast majority of those who go missing come back safe and well, as has been noted tonight. However, that does not ease the pain for those tragic cases where that does not happen, such as the on-going agony of the family of Moira Anderson and the tragic case of Sean McKenna, both mentioned by Fulton MacGregor. Earlier today, I met Police Scotland as it published the missing persons statistics for 2017-18. As has been mentioned in the last 12 months, Police Scotland has conducted 22,966 investigations for people who are missing, the equivalent of 63 per day. Warringly, that figure has risen from last year. However, thanks to the efforts of Police and others, it is important to note that 89 per cent of those who are missing returned within two days and 99 per cent within three weeks. It is therefore comforting to note that the vast majority of those who have been missing return safe and well. However, their return is unlikely to be the end of the matter for the individual or for their family and, indeed, the underlying issues that led them to go missing in the first place, as well as, as was alluded to by Kenny Gibson, as well as their experiences, although they were missing, can prove very difficult to deal with if support is not available. The statistics show us that anyone can go missing. None of us are immune, at the point that Daniel Johnson alluded to. However, it is clear that, more often than not, a person who has gone missing has, in fact, been missing previously. In 57 per cent of missing person investigations in the last 12 months, the person who has been missing had been missing before. That, at least, provides us with some clues as to where we should focus our efforts. I will get on to the important subject of return interviews shortly. A year ago, as has been said, the Scottish Government published our national missing persons framework. That has, in fact, been praised very widely. It is the first of its kind in Scotland and is founded on close collaboration between Police Scotland, the NHS, local authorities, academics and a number of third sector organisations. For many years, highly dedicated people from across Scotland have been working to deliver the best services possible for those who go missing and for their families. Our national framework recognises the excellent work and provides, instead, rather the basis for a national more co-ordinated approach to missing people. The framework has two basic aims—to prevent people from going missing in the first place and to limit the harm associated with going missing. It recognises the excellent work that is carried out on a daily basis right across Scotland, but it acknowledges that there is room for improvement in a few key areas. For one thing, the framework promotes clearer multi-agency working and we know that that can lead to greater information sharing, pooling of resources and therefore lead to improved outcomes for missing people and for their families. The framework sets out responsibilities and provides for the first time a single definition of a missing person, which is very important as a matter of practicality, a consistent approach to risk management, again very important from a practical perspective and a consistent approach to conducting return discussions with missing people. Prevention is central to our approach and we would always like to do what we can to prevent somebody from going missing in the first place. However, that is not an easy task, particularly when a person has never been missing before and has given no outward sign of distress to their families and loved ones. When a person returns, as is the case with 99 per cent of those missing in the past 12 months, there is therefore a very key opportunity to discuss the reasons for going missing with the individual and provide support where possible. Our framework emphasises the importance of those kind of return discussions and they should be available to all return missing people to provide the opportunity to explore and try to understand the reasons why they went missing. That is why we have been happy to fund a partnership between the missing people charity and Barnardo's Shelter Scotland and Glasgow University to develop and deliver return discussion training across Scotland, which is being delivered for front-line staff and aims to standardise and provide a consistent approach to those key discussions across Scotland. Of course, the timing of such discussions has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis because it may be that, when the person first returns, they are incapable of really talking about their experience and why they went. It may be that, for that person, a bit of time should pass before that return discussion takes place. That is the flexible approach that our excellent front-line agencies proceed with. Much has been said about the important issue of support for families and, through our framework, we also prioritise support for families. We know that, when a person goes missing, the impact is felt much more widely than simply on the individual but rather on their family and loved ones. When a person goes missing, Police Scotland will provide support to families, often through a single point of contact to help them cope with what can be a highly traumatic experience. Beyond that, Police Scotland will also refer families to wider support such as that provided by the missing people charity. As Ruth Maguire says, the charity offers specialist support from their 24-hour helpline and their telephone counselling service. I am pleased to say that Police Scotland and the missing people charity relaunched their memorandum of understanding and partnership to support missing people and their families. That is a very positive development and a real boost for those struggling to cope with a missing loved one. We have been an advocate of those services and have provided some £142,000 over three years to the missing people charity to ensure that they can increase awareness and use of important support services for those who need them in Scotland. As to the next steps, I published a review of progress that we have made in the first year of the national missing persons framework for Scotland. I hope that members across the chamber and Gordon Lindhurst raised this directly will be able to have a look at that review and welcome the progress that we are making. We are clear that more needs to be done. There are a number of priorities for us over the next 12 months. For example, we will further progress the implementation of the framework across Scotland ensuring that it is embedded in local authorities. We will also continue to promote the key areas of multi-agency working, risk assessment and develop more consistency in the approach to return discussions. We will also continue to work with partners to achieve those aims and we will look to, importantly, develop educational material to build awareness around the risks of going missing, working with Education Scotland, ensuring that that message is delivered to children and young people. As we have heard, 64 per cent of missing persons investigations involve children and young people and we therefore must do more to get this message out about the dangers of going missing and the risks that these children and young people would be exposed to if they did. I will respond to Ruth Maguire, Evern Rhynton and Gordon Lindhurst's issue, among others. We have recognised in the national framework the need to look at administrative options for handling missing persons estates. We are considering the Scottish Law Commission's report on judicial factors. That consideration will include handling of missing persons estates. A consultation on those recommendations is due to be published later this year. The Scottish Government is fully aware of the impact that going missing can have on the individual and their family. As Fulton MacGregor said, our national missing persons framework for Scotland provides a co-ordinated approach to the issue. However, we know that it is the expertise and knowledge that exists across many organisations and agencies that achieve successful outcomes for people who have been missing. Scotland is not just leading the way in having a national missing persons framework, it has world-class front-line services working day in and day out with missing people and their families, and I would wish to pay tribute to them tonight. Without those expertise, I believe that we would not be able to say that 99 per cent of missing people in Scotland are returned. We will continue to harness those expertise and where possible to build on a success. The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing the aims of the framework to prevent people from going missing and to limit the harm associated when they do. Thank you. That concludes the debate. I close this meeting.