When the Cabinet Secretary for Justice (a) last met and (b) will next meet the Home Secretary to discuss serious and organised crime.

I last met with the Home Secretary on 14 September 2010 in Whitehall, following her appointment after the UK General Election. At the meeting, a range of justice issues were discussed including the future regulation of the private security industry, the UK Government’s proposals for the National Crime Agency and the good co-operation that exists between the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency – all issues related to tackling serious organised crime. At present, I do not have any planned meetings with the Home Secretary to discuss serious organised crime.
The Scottish Government has a strong working relationship and shared agenda with the Home Office with regards to tackling serious organised crime and since meeting with the Home Secretary in September 2010, I have been in regular and ongoing correspondence on a wide range of serious organised crime matters with the Home Secretary and other Home Office Ministers. Senior officials from the Home Office have attended the Scottish Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (as recently as October 2011) to get a flavour of how we tackle serious organised crime in Scotland and officials from the Scottish Government Organised Crime Unit are in weekly contact with their counterparts in the Home Office.