Convener, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee today. People across Scotland rely on our justice system to live in safety and security, to ensure that their rights are protected and to resolve disputes fairly and swiftly. Our draft budget for 2015-16 is focused on maintaining access to, and the quality of, vital justice services within the context of continuing restraint on our overall budgets. Over recent years, we have managed to achieve that by reforming and transforming how justice services are structured and delivered. By doing so, we have protected vital front-line services, made more efficient use of resources and strengthened delivery at both national and local levels.
For the police, the single service has strengthened local policing while ensuring that all parts of Scotland have access to specialist expertise and equipment wherever and whenever it is required. Officer numbers are high: the latest figures show that there are 17,267 officers in Scotland, which is an increase of 1,033 from 2007. Public confidence in our police is also high and rising. It has been another remarkable year for policing in Scotland. The policing of the Glasgow Commonwealth games was exemplary and played a crucial role in the games being the most successful ever, safely enjoyed by tens of thousands of spectators from around the globe. The policing of the Ryder cup was also an example of first-class policing of one of the world’s greatest sporting spectacles.
There were many successes, all of which took place against the backdrop of the shocking and tragic events at the Clutha bar almost exactly a year ago. With characteristic commitment, the police and other emergency services responded professionally, even when they knew that three of their own were lost in the wreckage. That was a typical response from our police in the most testing of circumstances.
The fear of crime is reducing. Figures published earlier this morning confirm that crime has fallen again and is now at a 40-year low. Non-sexual crimes of violence have fallen by 10 per cent. As a result of proactive policing, an increase in historic reporting and the willingness of more victims to come forward, sexual crimes have increased by 12 per cent. Crimes of handling an offensive weapon have dropped by 5 per cent, which represents a fall of 62 per cent since 2006-07. The clear-up rate for all crime has increased and is now at the highest rate since 1976, the first year for which comparable figures are available.
Our police make an immense contribution to that success. We value that contribution and will not attack our officers’ terms and conditions. Compared to England and Wales, where the hated Winsor package was imposed on police officers and where police numbers are falling and predicted to decrease by some 15,400, Police Scotland and the SPA are making excellent progress in delivering savings. The vast majority of the savings are sustainable and recurring. That is why great progress has already been made towards delivering the projected £1.1 billion by 2026. I also commend the similarly strong progress that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has made.
Police and fire reform is part of the wider reforms of our justice system. The Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 places the interests of victims at the heart of the reform agenda. When implemented in full, it will strengthen the rights of victims to support and standards of services and will require offenders to contribute towards the cost of providing immediate support to victims.
The Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which received royal assent earlier this month, will also result in the most significant modernisation of Scotland’s courts and civil justice system in at least a generation. From April next year, the Scottish Court Service and the tribunals service will merge into the Scottish courts and tribunals service under the leadership of the Lord President and Eric McQueen, the chief executive of the Scottish Court Service.
The Scottish Court Service has also confirmed major investment in new, state-of-the-art ICT to transform how people access our court services. That forms part of our ambitious justice digital strategy, which was launched over the summer.
The Court Service has confirmed that it has the necessary physical capacity to accommodate the current and anticipated volume of criminal and civil cases within the court estate. Despite budgetary cuts, the Scottish Court Service and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have increased their legal staff numbers since 2008, with the Procurator Fiscal Service experiencing an increase of 70 additional legal staff.
An effective and efficient justice system is vital to meeting the challenges of a modern, fair and equal Scotland. We will continue to encourage and support our law enforcement agencies to tackle crime—including sexual offences, domestic abuse and serious and organised crime—robustly. We will also continue to support preventive measures that can encourage people away from crime or help people to resolve civil disputes more quickly.
I and my officials are, of course, more than happy to take questions from the committee.