Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 20 March 2024.
Jamie Greene
Conservative
I thank the Minister for her update. I am pleased that the aggravator that I introduced to the act is being used successfully to support our emergency services workers.
However, since the 2022 act was passed, there has been a continuation of, and a rise in, the antisocial behaviour that it was designed to eradicate. Pyrotechnics and flares are still being used at football games, and it seems that few arrests have been made off the back of their use, while violent behaviour towards the police and our firefighters in the period around bonfire night last year continued. That kind of behaviour is still on the rise, which is extremely worrying. Is the Scottish Government confident that the provisions in the act are enough to discourage such behaviour? Is the conviction rate up to scratch? Is the 2022 act doing the job that it was intended to do?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
