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We have a stage 2 timetable and a stage 3 timetable that we will all have to adhere to.

In exercising the right to reply to the preamble to Mr Findlay’s question, I think that I have laid out today that we have lots of evidence. We have also laid out some ethical and legal considerations about the type of evidence that can be gathered and how it can be gathered. I accept the argument that there is always a case for seeking more evidence, but we also have to acknowledge that there can be other limits and that we could continue to seek evidence for ever and a day without ever implementing any of it. I do accept, however, that, as Ms Clark has pointed out, there is a balance to be struck.

On the very important question about trauma-informed practice, there is a difference between the definitions that are required in practice and what has to be expressed in the context of the law. Let me reassure Mr Findlay that my door is never closed and that we continue to engage with a large number of stakeholders—

I know that you are impatient.

My apologies, Ms McNeill. I think that I have understood your question from the wrong angle. The Government did not want solicitor advocates or counsel to be compelled to represent cases that they would not normally be involved in. There is an underlying issue of ensuring that appropriate legal aid is available.

I accept that the law needs to be as unambiguous and clear as possible. There is always a distinction between what is in the black letter of the law and what might follow through further regulation or guidance. There is a need for a clear pathway and for clarity and mutual understanding with regards to what is and is not on the record. We will seek to give comfort to members in that regard as we proceed with stages 2 and 3.

Lisa McCloy, would you like to add anything else?

The fabric of the court estate is a fundamental issue. The Government is committed to continuing to make improvements to the court estate. Perhaps Ms Dowey is aware that, in the draft budget, there is not only a 9.5 per cent increase in resource funding for courts but a capital funding increase of 28 per cent. That is a significant uplift, in recognition of the need to continue to invest in the fabric of our buildings to ensure that all the correct arrangements are made for the safety, security and wellbeing of victims and witnesses.

That is possible, but the bill includes clear duties on participants and agents across the justice system. Those who participate in the sexual offences court will have to have undergone trauma-informed training. It is not for me to define the content and the nature of the courses; that would be a matter for the sexual offences court. The view might be that additional training is required.

I am very pleased to say that the draft budget that is being considered by the Parliament includes a proposition for a sizeable uplift of 11.66 per cent for the Crown Office, which equates to £21.2 million. There has been in excess of a 50 per cent increase in resources for the Crown Office since the start of the previous parliamentary session. More recent figures show that, in 2019-20, the resource input into the Crown Office was £113 million. In the draft budget, the amount is now £203 million, so that is a sizeable increase.

The Crown Office negotiates, as I do, with the finance secretary every year on the budget. In the past, the Crown Office has benefited from significant additional investment—particularly resource funding, but also capital funding and some non-cash support. Overall, total investment has gone from nearly £121 million in 2019-20 to £223 million in this year’s draft budget.

Sorry?

As I said, convener, the purpose of the pilot is to gather empirical evidence to inform the debate on how our justice system can most effectively respond to cases of rape or attempted rape. It poses the question whether changing the decision maker improves the complainer’s experience and removes barriers to justice.

Three working groups flowed from Lady Dorrian’s work, one of which dealt with the pilot in particular. There are three broad strands to the purpose of the pilot and what it will elicit information on.

The first strand is how everyone involved, including the victim, the accused and the lawyers, perceives the pilot.

The second strand is the impact that the pilot has on the effectiveness and efficiency of the trial process. In some of my discussions with members of the legal establishment, they have spoken to the different atmosphere, tone and even skill set that is utilised when a case is made to a judge as opposed to a jury. Would that lead to more focused deliberations? Is such a process more efficient as well as more victim centred?

The third strand is the impact on outcomes. I am not going to prejudge the outcomes of any pilot. The word “time-limited” is there for a purpose. The pilot cannot go on in perpetuity. It would have to be evaluated and a report would have to be laid before Parliament. It would then be for Parliament to make a decision on whether there would be no further action, a continuation of the proposition or the development of another proposition. The proposition is for a time-limited pilot.