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I have some questions for the other witnesses—thank you all for responding to the call for views and coming here today. It is interesting to listen to the feedback, as it helps us to make better legislation.

While putting the bill together, I consulted many survivors who believe that the current system is not working and that perpetrators are simply let out with a slap on the wrist and are allowed to reoffend. We know how high reoffending is: the statistics show that it occurs in more than half of reported cases.

Domestic abuse costs the public purse £7.5 billion in a three-year period, while the estimated cost of the bill is around £23 million, which is less than 0.5 per cent of the justice budget. Do you not believe that, in the long term, the bill could help to save money? What changes would you like to see made at stage 2?

Thank you.

I have a couple of questions. The first is for Adam Brown.

At our meeting in August, you indicated that you wanted to provide evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee, so it is good to see you here—thank you for coming. I recall that, in that meeting, your colleague DCS Sarah Taylor said that the bill would be “groundbreaking”. She also mentioned that having details in the register such as the perpetrator’s address at the time of the offence would be helpful, especially when the police have to go out looking for the perpetrator. There is a lot of information that you do not have currently, and having such information in the register would help with that issue. Similarly, the Scottish Police Federation signalled that it supports the bill, if it is provided with proper resources.

Domestic abuse costs the public sector billions of pounds each year, and the police have been underfunded by the Scottish Government for years. Therefore, do you agree with the Scottish Police Federation when it says that, with proper resources, the bill could work? Given your expertise, how do you think that we can make the bill work and bring down bureaucracy through amendments at stage 2?

At the meeting that I mentioned, DCS Sarah Taylor said that the bill is “groundbreaking” as it will give you more information about the perpetrator than you currently get. What is your view on that?

Good morning. I have two questions. The first is a direct question for Marsha Scott, and I then have an open question to the other witnesses.

Marsha, I have spoken to you at three informal meetings and you have responded to two formal consultations. From my recollection—and according to the minutes that I have from our one-to-one meeting in July—you said that my bill is moving in the right direction. You had said that you would be happy to support the creation of the register with the addition of some amendments to address certain things—for example, to add that the register should include information on where the perpetrator works, because we had said that it would include the address where someone lives.

I was therefore really surprised to see your latest written response, given that I have been working with you throughout the process to ensure that we have good legislation. I used the whole summer to speak to a lot of organisations, including 22 Women’s Aid organisations, the majority of which were supportive of my bill. That was also reflected in the consultation responses, with five Women’s Aid organisations indicating their support for the bill and specifically the register—

Would it help if I summed up what I heard today and you could all say whether you agree? I have heard from you that the issues are resources and funding, and how the bill is going to work with existing structures.

Thank you.

Because of the time, I cannot come back on that, so I will just go on to my next question, if that is okay.

Sorry, convener.

As Marsha Scott knows, I have concerns that organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government may say one thing publicly and another in informal settings, as their views may lead to funding being withdrawn. What has changed from what you said previously?

I thank all the witnesses for coming to discuss my bill. We are going through the 16 days of activism against sex-based violence, so it is important to raise awareness of domestic abuse. We know that, year after year, the number of cases is getting higher, and repeat offending is rising, too. Many survivors who I have spoken to have said that things have not changed. From the consultation responses, and from the evidence that we have heard today, we see that there is some support for the creation of a domestic abuse register and for the other aspects of the bill.

Some of you have indicated where amendments would be needed to improve the bill. My goal is to make good legislation so, if the bill passes stage 1, what improvements should be made at stage 2 to ensure that survivors feel safe and that the burden on public authorities is as minimal as possible?

Tumay Forster can go first.