First, I thank the convener and the committee for inviting the Scottish anti-illicit trade group to present evidence to you today. The invitation is very much appreciated.
Scotland has been on a remarkable journey in relation to illicit trade, counterfeiting and piracy. We have gone from a situation in which there was literally nothing on the issue in the public domain and it was often seen as a victimless crime, to a situation in which Scotland is seen by others, internally in the UK and externally throughout the world, as producing best practice as we try to tackle counterfeiting, illicit trade and piracy. That is one of the reasons why we are here, I hope.
The group takes a partnership approach. It is a multi-agency group, involving the public, private and third sectors. We have 18 members and meet every quarter. It is not just a talking shop—we actually have to do something. That has been one of the features of the group in the year and a half since it was formed on 1 April 2013. Prior to that, it was called the intellectual property group, and it mirrored the approach in the rest of the UK, which is on-going and for which the IPO is the secretariat.
The clear strategic aim in Scotland is simply to reduce the scale, impact and cost of illicit trade. We are delighted to be here because, as you mentioned, convener, the issue might be seen as a criminal justice one. However, we want to mainstream the issue so that it is seen very much as a feature of the economy. It costs the economy a huge amount of money. If that happened as a result of drugs, it would grab a lot more attention. We are trying to change perceptions. The issue affects every community in Scotland. As we are trying to mainstream the issue, this is the best committee that we could be before, so I thank you again for that.
In 18 months, we have produced an illicit trade strategy and formed a virtual illicit trade hub. All that has been achieved without extra cost, in terms of people or finance. It is just everybody trying to do their job and work together. A parliamentary motion was lodged by Jenny Marra, and we had an international summit in Edinburgh, which was the first of its type and which brought together Interpol, Europol and the United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as other public, private and third sector organisations. It was a first for those bodies to be on the same stage, but what made it really different was the involvement of youth, including the Scottish Youth Parliament. That really started to get people to take notice, which is one of the key things.
The group’s focus is on prevention, intelligence and enforcement. We have brought to Scotland things such as the real deal initiative, which is a free award that gives recognition to markets that are fake free, which means that consumers know exactly what they are buying. We are the first place in the UK to introduce a DVD by Disney and Interpol for four to eight-year-olds. That is about trying to change perceptions and educate the next generation. We are still the only place in the UK that has done that—the DVD is being used across many of the regions in Scotland. Again, that is looking to the future.
On intelligence, in that year and a half, there has been a 110 per cent increase throughout Scotland and a 378 per cent increase in information from Scotland going down to the Intellectual Property Office. In turn, that has led to a variety of enforcement activity, which has been sustained and focused and has involved everybody working together, with the key aim of allowing legitimate trade and business to flourish while removing the criminal element.
I hope that that gives the committee a flavour of the group’s work. I and the other members of the group who are here would obviously welcome any comment and questions.