 The fine life of a business is a member's business debate on motion 14497 in the name of Liam Kerr on emergency service workers. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Can I ask those members who wish to take part in the debate to press their request to speak buttons down? I call on Liam Kerr to open the debate, Mr Kerr, please. I thank all those MSPs who signed my motion and allowed the debate to come to the chamber. It is important to commend the emergency services for the work that they do in the north-east and across Scotland. It is particularly fitting that this debate takes place so shortly after Bonfire Night, one of the busiest and often most challenging nights of the year for fire crews, paramedics and police officers. I learned a great deal on November 5. First off, I joined north-east police in Aberdeen to see first hand their work tackling a whole range of issues from cyber crime to road policing, motorbike and push-bike crime, and partnership work in communities such as Northfield and Maastricht. That evening, I was delighted to be given an opportunity to see Dundee fire control room in action as it dealt with Bonfire Night itself. I would like to put on record my apologies to the Scottish Ambulance Service that I could not make its three emergency services in the same day, but fear not, as just this week I accepted an invitation to visit the Scottish Ambulance Service regional headquarters in Aberdeen early next month. A few things struck me about what I saw on the fifth. First of all was the courage of those on the ground. They go out there every day on our behalf and put themselves in often very difficult, often very dangerous situations. When a call comes out, comes in, out they go. That is the job. Secondly, the professionalism of officers and staff. By way of example in the control room, I learned about the up to 14-hour shifts that mirror those of officers on the ground. 14 hours of, particularly on Bonfire Night, high pressure and extreme intensity. Yet, as was made clear to me, at times of crisis we require cool heads and a steady voice on the end of the line. That, unfailingly, is what I saw. Finally, I picked up a real willingness to stand together and send one single message. We are here to help you. Any attack on us cannot, must not, be tolerated. Presiding Officer, the fire service has been running a campaign called hashtag do not attack me. This is a campaign that aims to deter attacks on emergency personnel. Isn't that shocking that there has to be a campaign to stop attacks on emergency personnel? I'm afraid to report that there does need to be that campaign. I can reveal today new figures that have been provided by the Lord Advocate in a written answer to me. Nearly 6,000 attacks on emergency workers were reported in 2017-18, and that's an increase on the previous year. That's just the tip of the iceberg, of course, because many assaults will go unrecorded. Perhaps more concerning is that, while reports have risen, convictions have fallen. There were over 3,300 convictions in 2016-17, but that fell to less than 2,800 in 2017-18. We have to sustain the message beyond bonfire night. I know that the chamber will stand together to condemn all violence directed at emergency workers. We need to make sure that those who attack and abuse our emergency workers—for the avoidance of doubt, I want to make it clear that I include the likes of prison officers and NHS health professionals in here—will face the full force of the law. As I made clear in my motion, an attack on them is an attack on society and all of us and the values that we hold. For that reason, the Scottish Conservatives have outlined measures that we can take to protect our dedicated public servants. During this debate, I would be pleased to hear other members' thoughts on these and, particularly in closing, whether the minister is on board. There are two strands to our thinking. Firstly, we have to reduce the risk of violence in the first place. Prevention is always going to be better than cure. I know that one of the best ways that this can be done is through community engagement by the emergency services themselves. If you can talk to the young people who, anecdotally, are the most likely to get involved in this behaviour before they start it, there is a chance that it can be prevented altogether. I heard lots about the good work that is being done on Monday from both services. It happens in classrooms, in challenging neighbourhoods and even over a game of five aside by the likes of street sports in Aberdeen. Another key to stopping the violence is the intelligent use of stop and search. The review of the appalling attacks that took place against emergency crews on bonfire night last year identified a gap in police powers to search over 18s for fireworks. Unfortunately, we have seen that there were a number of serious incidents again this year, including use of firing fireworks directly at the police. The SNP needs to close this gap and potentially stop this happening again. We also have to equip our services with the tools that they need to de-escalate situations. Of course, that means training, but it also means equipment. Body-worn cameras are worse looking at seriously in this regard, and although we must be alive to the potential privacy implications, their wider use could make attackers think twice and have the added benefit of capturing evidence, which could be crucial in securing a conviction. When I mentioned kit and equipment, it almost goes without saying that all our emergency services should have what they need to protect themselves. I suggest proactive engagement with the services and the likes of the unions to establish any deficiencies and needs. I said that there were two strands to my party's thinking. The second is coming down like a ton of bricks on the individuals who think that it is acceptable to assault our emergency workers. We have to make sure that every instance of violence is comprehensively reported, investigated, charged and convicted. The sentence has to mirror society's disgust for these acts. Yes, we have the emergency workers act, and of course it must be used, but we also have to ensure that other offences attract tougher sentences too. Sexual assaults, assaults to severe injury and death threats are all a real risk for emergency personnel. A statutory aggravator would guarantee that when crimes like those are sentenced, the fact that they took place against someone working on society's behalf will be taken into account. In the extreme case, when a police officer is murdered in the course of their duty, there should be only one answer—a whole life sentence. Emergency workers are there when we most need help, when we find ourselves in danger, when time is critical, when accidents happen and they are there when nobody else answers. It is not enough to simply thank them. We must protect them. Thank you very much, Mr Kerr. I call Elaine Smith, to be followed by Kenneth Gibson. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I can also thank Liam Kerr for bringing this important matter to the chamber, and I apologise that I have to leave early for a meeting as notified earlier to yourself. I would also like to echo the commendations given for our emergency service workers, who often work in very challenging circumstances across Scotland. Emergency service workers, the vast majority of whom are directly employed in the public sector, are essential in our society and, as such, their safety and security are our responsibility, and their eyes and assaults on emergency workers are clearly unacceptable. Emergency service workers live and work in our communities. Their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and injuries sustained at work affect the whole family as well, and they can and must be reduced. As Liam Kerr noted, bonfire night on 5 November, unfortunately, highlights the pressure on emergency services, and the FBU confirms that there were several attacks on firefighters on Monday night. Operational fire control handled over 720 calls that night, and crews responded to over 330 bonfires across the country. We can all commend bravery and dedication, and we should, but we must also take account of the concerns that have been raised by those who are working in those essential services. The FBU, in evidence that was submitted in May this year to the Justice Committee's post-legislate scrutiny of police and fire reform act, highlighted the loss of more than 1,000 jobs since the creation of the single service. That has consequences for the remaining workforce, and proposals to reduce crewing levels on appliances have been challenged by the FBU. Concerns over low morale, increased stress and higher sickness levels were also identified in the Scottish Government's own evaluation of police and fire reform year 2 report. As well as commending our fire service workers, the minister could perhaps give an indication of how those concerns raised earlier in the year are being addressed in her summing up. I welcome this opportunity also to highlight the important and skilled work done by members of staff in the prison service, but again, fine words are not enough. Members will, I am sure, share my concern about the statistics from the Scottish prison service that show that staff assaults increased by a third in the past year, following on from the point that Liam Kerr made at the end of his speech. In 2016-17, 189 assaults and prison staff were recorded, and the following year, 2017-18, 261 assaults and prison staff were recorded. I think that that needs much closer examination. Could there, for example, be unintended consequences from some other policy decisions, for example changes in the way that NHS services interact with the prison service? I hope that the minister will give the chamber an assurance that this significant rise in assaults and prison staff will be thoroughly investigated. I ask the chamber to reflect on the risk and pressures that face many of those who work in the emergency services. A number of trade unions representatives' workers have supported the 68 as the true late campaign on state pension age because of the risks and pressures. The more we hear about the challenges that are faced in those jobs and the commitment given by the workforce to delivering such high standard of service, I think that the more we should question the steady increases in the retirement age. Although I know that that is not in the hands of the Scottish Government, I would ask that, along with recognising the skills of emergency service workers in condemning assaults, we should add our voice to representations being made on the retirement age, which, in my opinion, is too high and should be reviewed as Labour has committed to do. Once again, I thank Liam Kerr for bringing that important motion for debate, and I apologise again to the chamber. I call Kenneth Gibson, who is followed by Gordon Lindhurst. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to speak on this timely debate and congratulate Liam Kerr on securing it as we move into the festive season, the most challenging time of year for our emergency services. Guy Fox Knight, for many marks the beginning of the festive period of celebration and revelry. This time last year, police Scotland officers and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crew members were injured by projectile fireworks as they responded to 330 bonfires across Scotland between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on bonfire night. The Scottish Government has worked in partnership with Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and two of Her Majesty's inspectors to ensure that services were well prepared so that I could respond robustly to any anti-social behaviour this year. The launch of the hashtag do not attack me campaign ahead of bonfire night shone a spotlight on the impact that attacks can have on the people behind the uniform who respond to emergencies. On each of the three busiest days, the 23rd and 31st of December and the 1st of January, our emergency services receive on average around 15,000 calls. Especially on Christmas, all emergency services report an increase in calls as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Some can be especially difficult to deal with when the caller is heavily intoxicated and the speech is unclear. That can lead to staff and control centres being verbally and those on the streets even physically abused by people under the influence. There are messages that the emergency services convey to ensure that everyone stays safe during this time and that resources are efficiently used. For example, revelers are encouraged to plan their Christmas night out, stick with friends, charge their mobile phone and remember to take it with them. Drink responsibly and do not leave drinks unattended. Plan journeys home, let people know where they are. Those seemingly small steps help to keep us safe and ultimately relieve some of the strain on our hard-pressed emergency services. Mr Kerr's motion highlights some of the struggles that our emergency service workers face year-round and the figures on common and serious assaults on police, fire and ambulance workers from 2016-17 are indeed shocking. For most of us, the assault of or threatening behaviour towards any emergency service worker would be unconscionable, but the problem is very real. With as many as 17 assaults each day, violence is a tangible risk that those workers confront routinely. Often they arrive specifically to help the very people who end up assaulting them. Protection of workers who do so much for us all should be paramount and there are specific punishments for those who carry out those assaults. The Emergency Workers Act includes a penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment, a £10,000 fine or both. That was extended in 2008 to include GPs and doctors, nurses and midwives working in the community who also provide vital services. The act also extends protection to social workers enforcing child protection orders and carrying out mental health assessments, making Scotland the only UK nation to include protections for those workers, who themselves are on the front line protecting the most vulnerable in our society. Social workers intervene in the most intimate and sensitive aspects of people's lives and their contribution to our safety and wellbeing cannot be overstated. Of course, the Emergency Workers Act was opposed to the nail by the Tories and is now posed as the saviours of our emergency workers. I welcome their damasynic conversion. Our focus must be on improving working conditions and reducing risk, investing in our emergency services and ensuring that they have the staff, training and resources that are needed to carry out their work, which is absolutely essential. The successful lobbying by SNP MPs and MSPs for VAT exemption, since the emergency services of Scotland's fire services and regional constabilaries, has allowed more money to go directly into front-line services. We continue to pursue a rebate of £175 million charged by the UK Tory Government up to March 2018, so that more money can be invested in Scotland's emergency services. The message that I wish to end on—I would take Eileen, but I am in my last minute, unless the Presiding Officer allows me to—I am happy to take an intervention. I am feeling quite relaxed. I am ten seconds away, but I am happy to take an intervention, given that it is your debate, Mr Kerr. I am very grateful to the member for taking the intervention. Just on that point about the emergency workers act, would he back—I have called for a statutory aggravator to be attached, as they have in England and Wales, so that he has the emergency workers act and an aggravator? Would the member agree with that as a way forward? Give me your time back, Mr Gibson. I will give you your time back. Yes, I think that we should do all we can to protect Scotland's emergency workers. I am absolutely delighted that the Tories have now realised that those workers now need protecting many years after, of course. They decided that they did not need such protection. Their hypocrisy, frankly, is breathtaking on this particular issue. The message that I wish to end on is that emergency service workers are someone's father, mother, brother, sister, friend who deserve our gratitude and respect. Never the physical or verbal abuse that prevents crews from bringing emergencies to a swift and safe conclusion and delays crews from attending other people in need. Thank you. I call Gordon Lindhurst. We are followed by Daniel Johnson. Mr Lindhurst, please. Deputy Presiding Officer, I was hoping to be able to stand here today and welcome reports of a peaceful bonfire night on Monday. One enjoyed my families and friends and overseen in the spirit of goodwill by the very emergency service workers whose job it is to put themselves in danger to keep everyone else safe. Instead, reports once again point to an evening of relative chaos, with members of the public describing scenes apparently akin to what they thought a war zone would look like. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service even sent out a tweet warning people not to attack firefighters. Almost all of us, directly or indirectly, through a family member or friend, have been assisted by at least one of the emergency services at some point in our lives, which makes attacks against those workers, particularly on nights like these, all the more mindless. Incidents of emergency workers having been targeted were reported yesterday, including firefighters being verbally abused and having objects thrown at them in Cullinton Main's Park in Edinburgh. This is a reminder of events last year when a female police officer suffered serious burns having been hit by a rocket. Within the wider context of figures, which show that, in 2016-17, 61 firefighters were involved in incidents in which they were verbally or physically abused or had objects thrown at their engines, firefighters, indeed, all emergency service workers, do some incredible work to protect us all from harm. I have even had the pleasure of visiting volunteer firefighters at the Scottish Emergency Rescue Association in Granton, whose professionalism, expertise and commitment to what they do is such that they help to train firefighters in other parts of the world. This year's unruly scenes have taken place against the backdrop of police utilising unprecedented additional powers in bonfire night, including dispersal zones across parts of Edinburgh. The Scottish Conservatives believe that her emergency workers in these circumstances need further protection, and my colleague Liam Kerr has already set out a package of additional measures. I will not repeat what he has said on those. I hope that the cabinet secretary will today commit to working with us in a spirit of co-operation on those serious suggestions so that we can end this phenomenon and allow emergency workers to do their jobs in peace. Let me finish, Deputy Presiding Officer, by sending a message to those committing senseless acts like those. Cut it out. It is those people who need a damasene conversion that Kenny Gibson referred to in their attitudes, their actions and their behaviour towards our emergency service workers. They need to recognise that, bonfire night or not, emergency service workers have a job to do, trying to keep people safe and to look after all of us. They need to understand that, one day, they themselves may well need to call on the help of some of those services in their greatest hour of need. It is time to end attacks against emergency workers. I thank Liam Kerr for bringing this debate, not just because of its timely nature, but because of the issues that have been raised recently by the fire service among others regarding bonfire night. One of the consequences of having a national fire service and a national police service is that all too often those of us who are speaking on justice issues have to critique those services. That might sound like criticism, but it is not. The work that they do is so valuable and one that we must all thank them for with all sincerity. Having the opportunity to do that, to thank them for having the courage to run too danger not run from it, to thank them for keeping us safe and to thank them above all for the strong ethos that our emergency services have, best exemplified by the police's commitment to policing by consent, but that strong sense of working with the public to keep them safe, not keeping them safe by instruction or decree is one that is very important. It is also a time for our emergency services to be under huge pressure. I know from talking to the police and indeed spending time with them that the police spend an awful lot of time dealing with mental health issues, missing persons, very often old people who managed to lock themselves out of their house. Our emergency services at times become the public services of last resort, 999 being dialed when all other options have failed. I play tribute to their commitment that they do step in when there are those shortcomings, but that is timely. On bonfire night, as my colleague Elaine Smith has already highlighted, the fire service responded to 723 calls and 338 fires. I pay tribute for them, because that must be an overwhelming number compared to their normal workload. I again thank you to the fire service for responding so diligently to that. It is in that context that we must look at the dreadful attacks that seem to be happening year after year. I am encouraged to a degree by the minister's confirmation on Tuesday that the early reports are that those incidents are done, but they are still there. The reports from Monday night were, among other things, 40 masked youths in Glasgow firing fireworks at the police, which had to be responded to by riot police. That is no way to celebrate bonfire night, which should be an evening of fun. What is more abusing that commitment that our fire service and our police have to do their duty to respond when they are called upon and to abuse that by luring them into an attack and a trap is absolutely abhorrent. Let us be very clear about that. The very fact that we need to have a campaign that the fire service needed to launch the campaign do not attack me, I find appalling. They have my absolute support and my commitment that I will work with the fire service and the other emergency services to listen to what they need and to bring forward the changes that they need so that they can stay safe. That brings us to the law. I am very proud of the emergency workers act that the Labour-Lib Dem coalition brought forward when we were in power. I think that it is important both in principle, detail and effect. The principle that those who uphold the law should be protected by the law is fundamental, both in terms of principle and in communicating to those who may seek to abuse that. The detail of the law is not just the assault that it protects people from but it also protects those people from obstruction. Finally, the effect. We have had more than 8,000 convictions under that law, around 800 per year. That is a law that works and is used. I am very pleased to hear voices from across the chamber to support that. I would like to finish on that. We must thank the emergency service, but we must also think about all people in public-facing roles who are asked to uphold the law. I think that they do that in many capacities, from retail workers to firefighters and everyone who we ask to uphold the law to keep the public safe should be protected by the law. I thank Liam Kerr for bringing that motion before the chamber this evening. As other members have rightly observed, in Scotland we should consider ourselves lucky to have the wealth of dedication and professionalism that exists within our emergency services. As others have observed, too, attacks on those people are not merely unacceptable, but they are criminal matters that all of us should rightly condemn. Across Scotland, whether it is the paramedics who save countless lives every day, the fire personnel who rush towards blazing buildings while others run to safety, or the police officers who face down often very dangerous and difficult situations, people who enter any of those services are doing jobs that are incredibly challenging and it is worth recording that it takes a special kind of person to work in any of those roles. As the MSP for the constituency with the second lowest rate of recorded crime in Scotland, I would like to record my own thanks to Police Scotland and particularly to its officers in the islands. The low crime rate in the islands does not happen by itself, but as a result of sustained and dedicated community-based policing. Those working in the ambulance service in the Highlands and Islands are, of course, also co-ordinating with the air ambulance, who save countless lives a year by bringing people urgently to hospitals on the mainland. In the islands, in the case of the fire services, the work that they do is work that also mainly requires people who are prepared to do the job for very little financial reward on top of their own paid jobs. That is a commitment of time to public service that we often fail fully to see or to recognise. All emergency services in the islands have to cope with covering vast areas and trying to prioritise their resources over incidents that may be happening far apart from each other at the same time. However, there is one branch of the emergency services with a particularly strong connection to my constituency that I want to pay tribute to tonight, and that is the Coast Guard. Given our location and our tradition of seafaring, the Coast Guard does a hugely varied work around the islands. It coordinates responses to everything that happened in the past day or two to somebody stranded on a cliff and injured to, very memorably, in recent years, coping with the sudden and unexpected appearance of a massive oil rig on the west side of Lewis on a beach. It, of course, works closely with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, whose volunteer crews save lives around our coasts throughout the year. A few years ago, the staff of the Coast Guard station in Stornoway had to fight long and hard to keep the station open in the face of a concerted effort by the UK Government to close it. Those closure plans were eventually abandoned after it became clear that no possible case could be made for them. However, in the face of all that evidence, the UK maritime and Coast Guard agency did nonetheless remove the emergency towing vessel, which used to be based on the west coast of Scotland. That is a whole other story in itself, Presiding Officer. Suffice to say, it has caused very real anxiety in the community that I represent. The next time there is a major incident on the west coast of Scotland, it would appear not unlikely, as has happened in the past, that the nearest tug to assist could now easily be 12 or 15 hours away. Those issues have also provoked some debate locally and nationally about why, of all the emergency services, we are rightly celebrating today, only one of them remains reserved to Westminster. However, I want to say in conclusion that I very much welcome the emphasis of the debate that Mr Kerr has allowed us to have this evening, even if, as Mr Gibson has pointed out, it is somewhat ironic that, in quite rightly all of us condemning attacks on emergency services, we are doing so from the position of reality that Mr Kerr's party did vote against the legislation that made those offences specific to criminal offences in the first place. However, by way of conclusion, Presiding Officer, may I take the opportunity to add my own thanks to all of our emergency services, not only in my constituency about which I am conscious that I have spoken a great deal, but across Scotland, and to welcome the chance to put Scotland's thanks on the parliamentary record. Thank you. I call Maurice Corry to be followed by Bill Kidd. I am delighted to have the opportunity to commend the amazing work of Scotland's emergency service workers to the Parliament this evening. I thank my colleague Liam Kerr for bringing this motion to the chamber. It allows us time to pause and recognise the importance and thankfulness that are owed to those in our emergency services. Amongst many of the emergency services are police officers, ambulance workers, fire workers and all the search and rescue teams, and prison officers place others first every single day. They are selfless workers who place the safety of others above their own, and in what can be the most traumatic and nerve-wracking situations those individuals carry out their duties with inspiring professionalism. With often unenviable shift patents, emergency service workers show their dedication, providing help and support. Some years ago, I can remember and recall the military firefighters and police being shot at in my region when we had to use the green goddesses when they were put into use in those times, and some of the pauling results of that. We should not forget that many of Scotland's emergency workers are volunteers who serve as part of charities. The Scottish mountain rescue is one such example, and this group is made up of more than 800 volunteers who work in 24 volunteer mountain rescue teams across Scotland. No matter the weather, those volunteers offer a search and rescue service that operates every hour of the day, every day of the year. In situations that cover vast and challenging mountainous terrain, their service is more than commendable. Scottish mountain rescue is solely funded by contributions, and surely that makes their volunteer work even more inspiring. The similar vein has been mentioned. The Scottish charity Air Ambulance, through the SCAA, offers life-saving flights to handle emergency calls. In its first five years, the charity service has had almost 2,000 calls for medical emergencies in some of the most remote areas of Scotland, and, again, the SCAA relies on public donations and fundraising efforts to keep their service moving. The RNLI charity in the lifeboats is another shining example. The RNLI workers specialise in lifeboat search and rescue and educate others on water safety initiatives in the hope of preventing emergency situations in the future. The organisation is also reliant on charitable donations to keep the momentum going, and I saw evidence of that when I visited its Trun base recently. In my own region, I am keenly aware of the hours put in in answering emergencies by those at my local life station in Rwb by Helensborough. The fundraising team behind this group are certainly not always recognised and the hard work that they put in to ensure that lives at sea continue to be saved. My role in community safety has renewed my understanding of the lengths all emergency service workers go to and how integral their service is to our local communities. If we face a fire in our home or are the victim of a crime or need immediate hospital care, it is massively reassuring to know that those in the emergency services will instantly respond and they will help however they can. Their dedication is evident across Scotland and, in particular, with the massive fire that we had in my area in Cameron House hotel last year by Loch Llywman is a pure example of this. How, then, can we not be concerned when we hear that those workers are at risk of being assaulted while carrying out their service? As my colleague has mentioned, those attacks can be caused by the very ones that are trying to help them. The fact that this has been a worsening problem in Scotland is hard to comprehend. We know that crime in our communities is an on-going problem and, recently, we have seen situations in which firefighters are being targeted yet again with unwarranted abuse from simply answering an emergency call. It goes without saying that emergency workers should be treated with the same respect that they offer to those who they help. Ensuring that their safety, wellbeing and protection must be our top necessity and requirement. By dealing with the problem and the perpetrators head on, I hope that this can be secured. I once again offer my sincere thanks to all those who make up our emergency services. Their contribution in the greatest times of need is integral to our safety and, certainly worthy, of this Parliament's recognition. Motion commends the bravery and dedication of emergency service workers that are required when protecting the public. We all agree that emergency service workers are courageous people who frequently put themselves in dangerous circumstances for the protection of all of us. As has been stated, for firefighters, this is especially true on bonfire night, their busiest night of the year. Bonfire night, as was mentioned earlier, I think by Daniel Johnson, received 723 calls from members of the public and attended 338 bonfires. In the midst of emergency services working to protect the public, there are occasions where the front-line workers have been subject to verbal and physical abuse from the very people that they are trying to help. That is totally unacceptable. On Monday, both the police and fire services in the west service delivery area alone had upwards of eight abusive attacks. That is not what front-line emergency service workers signed up for and the attacks do not reflect the rest of the general public's deep appreciation and recognition of the dedicated work done by each individual working in the emergency services. I am very pleased that this topic is to the fore so that we here can unequivocally condemn abusive behaviour towards emergency service workers. Although the Parliament has used its legislative capacity to provide legal protections to emergency workers, a wider collaborative effort is needed to ensure that this type of antisocial behaviour is minimised and called to account. As mentioned earlier, in the lead-up to this year's bonfire night, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service launched the hashtag do not attack me Twitter campaign, which showed brave members like watch manager Macafer and firefighter Lindsay Hopper speak out about arising attacks from some groups of youths. The campaign also movingly shows families asking that their father, mother, husband or wife is not attacked whilst in the line of service. Although 5 November may be the busiest evening of the year for the fire service, this appeal applies to every day of the year. Looking to the other emergency service providers, their workers also suffer from abusive behaviour from members of the public. The Institute for Alcohol Studies produced a report showing that across the UK, three quarters of police respondents and half of ambulance respondents have been injured in alcohol related incidents. In between a third and a half of all service people have been suffered from sexual harassment or abuse at the hands of intoxicated members of the public. The report is shocking and evidences that abuse needs to be tackled year round with all emergency service workers in mind. As a community, we need to make a collective effort to ensure that we are following guidance issued by the emergency services. If you witness harassment or abuse of emergency service workers, please, as soon as it is safely possible, make a note of what you have seen, the time of the incident and then please report it to your local police station. That may very well help to bring offenders to account. Fundamentally, however, there is an individual responsibility that falls on the people in the groups of offenders. Abusive behaviour is always unacceptable and it gets in the way of emergency services attending real emergencies and saving people's lives. Let's together advocate for the safety of emergency service workers so that they continue to do their life-saving work, protecting the communities of all of us without fear of violence, harassment or abuse. I would also like to add my thanks to Liam Kerr for securing this debate and providing an opportunity for the Parliament to come together, as we have for this evening, to appreciate and commend our emergency service workforce and front-line staff in our prisons. I had the pleasure this morning of attending Marionville fire station in Edinburgh, where I met with police, fire and ambulance service personnel to hear directly from them of their experience and to thank them for all of their hard work. I have also had an informed debrief by Police Scotland on activities over recent days. In echoing the comments from the chamber this evening, I would like to personally pass on my own gratitude to each and every member of our emergency services, as well as those who volunteer their spare time to help those in need no matter what the circumstances. It is clear that many of us at some time in our lives will rely on your skill and dedication, so, to you all, I say thank you. Having recognised the bravery of our emergency services, it is incomprehensible to consider that a minority of individuals would attack them while they carry out their work. I very much welcome the unity in this evening's debate to condemn that behaviour and I extend the assurance that the Scottish Government does not and will not tolerate any such attacks on emergency services staff. I will see you poised there, Mr Kerr. Thank you, minister, for taking the intervention. As I said in my presentation, I believe that someone who murders a police officer in the course of their duty should be sentenced to prison for life. Surely the minister agrees. I think that it is hypocritical of the Tories to come to the chamber this evening, considering that they did vote against the Emergency Worker Scotland Act 2005, which has led to many, many convictions. Convictions that would not have occurred had the Conservatives had their way on this issue. I am very glad that the Conservatives have seen the light on this now, but I am happy to discuss the matters that the member has raised during his speech. At any time, my door is open. If he wants to come and speak to me about any of them, I would be happy to take that meeting and discuss them further. Scotland's justice system provides protection under our laws of assault and breaches of the peace to everyone, including emergency workers. It was this Government that introduced the threatening and abusive behaviour offence in 2010. There are also specific protections contained in the Emergency Worker Scotland Act 2005. The 2005 act, which, as we have heard this evening, was opposed by the Conservatives, is an important piece of legislation that offers specific criminal law protections for our emergency services. Officials' statistics show that the conviction rate for offences against emergency workers was 90 per cent in 2016-17. Moving on to the specific matter of fireworks, those involved in the worst offences in Edinburgh on bonfire night last year have been caught and punished. Anyone who offended this year will be severely dealt with. I am aware that arrests have already been made, and Police Scotland has made it clear that others involved will be pursued. The Scottish Government has taken action over the last year to review the legislative position and powers relating to fireworks. As most of the legislation around sales of fireworks are reserved, I have personally written to the UK Government on that matter. I received a response that they are not considering legislation to further restrict fireworks sales at this time. So Mr Kerr may wish to reflect on that response with his Westminster colleagues, and I would of course be happy to meet him to discuss that response from the UK Government and to inform him on any further work that is under way on this area. As Mr Kerr acknowledges, we have worked with HM's inspectorate of constabulary and HM's fire service inspectorate to review changing trends. Both services have, as a result, put in place an improved process of recording assault to allow the picture to be better understood and to inform any future action that is required. Prevention is, of course, better than cure. The Scottish Government supports the vital education and prevention work of local authorities, police, the fire and rescue service and other agencies to ensure that people can enjoy this time of year responsibly and safely. I saw from myself the excellent example of national and local agencies working together when I visited Pilton in North Edinburgh at the beginning of October. I am also aware that in Mr Kerr's constituency area, Operation Fox took a holistic multi-agency approach that led and co-ordinated through Aberdeen community safety partnership. Over the last weekend, intelligence-led patrols have been carried out in hotspot areas across the country, with police and fire officers working together to provide triage services to assist in early identification of youths involved in any criminal activity. At the national level for the first time, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service collated a list of organised events across the country and made this publicly available on their website. I am sure that members across the Parliament have observed the social media activity around firework safety and also the safety of our emergency service workers. That has been very high, including the do not attack me campaign that has been mentioned already this evening. Of course, fireworks are not the whole issue when it comes to violence against our emergency service workers. They are just, unfortunately, another tool for attack. Police Scotland hold the experience and the intelligence to make a judgment on what response is required at the time of any incident and always undertaking with a focus on keeping officers safe and also keeping our communities safe. Our ambulance staff carry out an incredible job every day saving lives throughout the country and they deserve to be able to carry out their work without any threat to their safety also. The ambulance service has a range of measures in place to protect staff, which includes flagging some addresses where there has been a history of violence or threatening behaviour. That allows staff to assess whether they require additional support from Police Scotland before attending those addresses. No one should be the victim of abuse or violence while they are at work and we continue to encourage all NHS organisations to support criminal proceedings against anyone who assaults our staff. In concluding this evening's debate, I wish again to thank Mr Kerr for providing the opportunity for Parliament to come together to support our emergency services workforce and to firmly condemn the deplorable behaviour of the small minority of people who choose to act violently towards them. Thank you Minister. That concludes the debate and I close this meeting of Parliament.