Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government absolutely recognises the harm that is caused to individuals and communities by rural crime. I wrote to Rachael Hamilton this morning in response to her letter on the issue.

The information that I used in that debate was provided by Police Scotland’s national rural, acquisitive and business prevention team as part of the update that it gave to my officials. Although such updates provide snapshots of rural crime over a period, they are issued to my officials by that team, and the numbers that were quoted are not official police statistics. You may want to get in touch with that team, which can give the statistics to you.

I know that, through regulations, the issue is both devolved and reserved, but the SFRS provides guidance under the National Fire Chiefs Council’s grid scale planning guidance.

The Scottish Government is aware of calls for guidance and further advice on battery energy storage systems, including in relation to fire safety. The Scottish Government’s planning department is in the process of commissioning independent consultants to prepare planning advice on BES systems. That work has progressed with input from Heads of Planning Scotland and the industry. The intention is that the advice will set out information on the relevant regulatory regimes that are applicable in Scotland and on their interface with the planning system, recognising the long-established principle that the planning system does not seek to duplicate other regulatory controls.

I am happy to speak to the member in the first instance.

I know that Scotland has a proud tradition of activism and peaceful protest. I am concerned to hear what Maggie Chapman has stated, and I will write to her on that.

The link between crimes such as equipment theft in rural areas and serious and organised crime is well recognised across the whole UK. Preventing equipment theft is one of the priorities in the current SPARC strategy. The partnership aims to mitigate its effects by sharing intelligence on organised crime groups that operate across the UK and by providing specific information to the rural and farming communities on how best to secure property and prevent it from being stolen.

The work of SPARC also makes a valuable contribution to Scotland’s serious and organised crime strategy. I am pleased to say that, in SPARC’s January update, both the incidents of rural crime and their associated costs to businesses and communities were down, compared with figures for the same point in the previous year.

I know that public injecting around the car park to which Ms Wells referred has been an on-going issue. The Thistle facility is specifically aimed at addressing that issue. The Glasgow health and social care partnership has acknowledged the issue, and it continues to engage with the community to tackle it. A spokesperson stated:

“We are aware of the public injecting near the Thistle facility, which has been an on-going concern. This is precisely why the facility has been established in this location. Orion kits are available through all needle exchange services in Glasgow, and providing clean needles and injecting equipment is one of the harm reduction interventions offered by the Thistle.”

In addition, a community engagement forum has been established to address those local concerns. It had its first meeting on 25 February. As the facility establishes itself, regular engagement with the community and businesses will continue. The focus remains on strengthening partnerships with stakeholders before implementing any new actions.

Rural crime impacts individuals, communities and businesses, and the Scottish Government fully supports efforts to tackle it. The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which is chaired by Police Scotland, brings together key justice and rural sector partners to provide a robust multi-agency approach to preventing rural crime and to support actions that are taken at a local level.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government will increase police funding to £1.62 billion, including £57 million in additional resource funding to strengthen front-line services. That investment will allow Police Scotland to enhance community policing, thereby ensuring that communities receive the best possible service from Police Scotland and its work to prevent criminal activity.

The Scottish Government has allocated to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service £412.2 million for 2025-26, to ensure that it is properly resourced to keep Scotland safe and exercise all its statutory functions. The budget is £18.8 million higher than the budget for last year. Although, clearly, decisions on how that budget is spent are a matter for the SFRS board and the chief fire officer, the SFRS will continue to respond to planning consultations when required.

The SFRS aims to review planning documents if it is appropriate to do so for firefighting and fire safety operations, and it will continually review and develop its operational response to any new and emerging technology or site, to keep communities safe and ensure the highest level of preparedness.

Last week, I met His Majesty’s chief inspector and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on that point, and I was reassured by both of them that work will be progressed. I am happy to keep the member updated on that.

The operational policing of protests and demonstrations is rightly a matter for Police Scotland. We support Police Scotland, as a rights-based organisation, to take appropriate and proportionate action in response to any criminal offences and maintain public order at or around those events.

Police Scotland’s priority will always be public safety. The right to peaceful public assembly and freedom of expression are important rights that the Scottish Government is committed to uphold. That is why we have funded the Centre for Good Relations to run training courses to upskill stewards and marshals involved in facilitating marches, parades and protests. That training is available free of charge and has received very positive feedback.