3. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government plans to take in light of his declared support for the

Daily Record’s

“Our Kids … Our Future” campaign to tackle violence against young people. (S6F-02070)

Like many others, I commend the

Daily Record for drawing attention to an incredibly important issue. We must all confront the causes of violence, address its consequences, minimise future victimisation and stop violence from a young age. I call on anybody who experiences or witnesses violence or who sees it on social media, as highlighted by the campaign, to report it.

It is for all of us in society to confront the issue. We do not have power over social media platforms, but the UK Government does. Its Online Safety Bill, which is progressing through Westminster, could be a means to ensure that social media companies take more seriously their responsibility to contain violent content. I will write to the UK Government to make that case and I would welcome Mr Findlay’s support.

When Abbie Jarvis was violently attacked by another teenager, every brutal moment was recorded and circulated on social media. The First Minister says that he backs the important campaign against such sickening attacks. Abbie lives in fear and cannot leave home by herself or return to school, and her mum, Angela, struggles to explain why there has been no justice. Why are Abbie and other child victims paying the price? When there are no consequences for serious acts of violence, Angela asks this: what message does that send to the children of Scotland?

The First Minister:

I am really grateful to Abbie and her mum, Angela, for speaking out; I have read their testimony in the

Daily Record on a number of occasions. I am grateful to them and the other young people who have chosen to speak out after such horrific incidents.

We are keen to back the

Daily Record’s calls by working with our local authorities to ensure that there are safe places for teenagers to go. We also want to do more work with social media companies to prevent violent content from being shared, which is why I will write to the UK Government on that matter.

Another ask of the

Record’s campaign is that

“Every adult ... has a role to play—so take the lead in your community to help local children feel cared for and included”.

I do not think that the response to that is to lock up every under-18 who commits a violent act, throw away the key and forget about them and their future. We must understand the root cause of violent crime. A public health approach has been taken to that in Glasgow, which has worked well over many years.

Of course there should be consequences for violence, but that should not be about incarcerating young people; we should work with them to reduce violence and take a public health approach, which I am committed to doing.

The Presiding Officer:

I call Michelle Thomson.

I am sorry. My question is a constituency supplementary question rather than a supplementary question.

The Presiding Officer:

I call Katy Clark.

The Scottish Government has a goal of ensuring that robust community justice interventions are available across Scotland, but the community justice budget is facing real-terms cuts over the next year. Given that the Scottish Government’s stated intention is to increase use of community justice, will the First Minister look at that again?

The Presiding Officer:

I think that there might be some misunderstanding. Is that a supplementary question with particular regard to question 3?

Yes—that was my understanding, Presiding Officer.

The First Minister:

I am happy to answer the question, because Katy Clark has raised a really important point. I am full square behind the aims that she speaks about in relation to investing more in community justice, which I believe is a better route than, for example, incarceration. We know that if we divert people to community justice alternatives, there is the ability to prevent reoffending, for example. Therefore, I am more than happy to continue to look at every budget line I can—in particular, that important budget line. We are operating within a fixed budget, which we have limited powers to increase, and that is why I spoke yesterday about making really tough choices. Whether we are in Government or Opposition, it is important that we all engage in that conversation in a grown-up fashion. It is very clear that Katy Clark is up for that conversation.