Chamber and committees

I have to be clear that the primary driver for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s proposed changes is not financial. The chief fire officer has said publicly that, if he had all the resources that he needed, he would still be considering the changes.

I met Mr Leonard in 2023 to discuss these issues. I will ask for an update on the situation, and I am happy to meet him again to discuss the IT issues.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has conducted a public consultation on its service delivery review to consider how its services should best be configured to ensure that firefighters are in the right place at the right time. The responses are being independently analysed and will inform final decisions of the SFRS board.

The SFRS plans to redeploy resources that are freed up by any changes that it makes to provide a greater resource to its prevention and protection function, and to boost training provision to ensure firefighters can continue to keep all our communities safe from the changing risks that they need to respond to, while also investing in fire station facilities.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse to get the support that they need. In addition to the current judicare system, under which all eligible costs are met, we provide grant funding to the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre of £230,000 a year. We also fund public legal services through the Civil Legal Assistance Office and the Public Defence Solicitors Office, which can operate across a wide geographical area.

We are actively reviewing the legal aid framework to ensure that it is fair, accessible and responsive to the needs of vulnerable individuals.

As the member is probably aware, domestic abuse organisations are not allowed by law or regulation to hire lawyers to support women and children. However, the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025, which was passed in May and which the member and the Conservatives did not support, will remove restrictions preventing charities, law centres and citizens advice bodies from directly employing solicitors to provide certain types of legal aid to some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.

In addition, the legislation will ensure that third sector organisations can directly employ legal professionals to undertake reserved legal services, such as those in cases involving domestic abuse.

A range of age-restricted products exists in Scotland, with legislation specific to each of them.

In relation to tobacco and vapes, local authorities have powers to issue fixed-penalty notices to retailers and individuals who commit offences relating to the age of sale. Where premises are subject to more than three enforcement actions in a two-year period, the local authority may apply to court for an order banning the sale of tobacco and vaping products from those premises for up to 24 months.

Last year, trading standards officers with young volunteers attempted 662 test purchases of vapes and 251 test purchases of tobacco at premises across the whole of Scotland. In the 2024-25 financial year, 56 fixed-penalty notices issues were issued for tobacco products and 217 for nicotine vapour products.

The Scottish Parliament gave unanimous consent to the UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill in May, and I am pleased that the bill is expected to complete its passage within the current UK parliamentary session.

New powers in the bill will empower the secretary of state to regulate product features, packaging ingredients and flavourings of vapes in Scotland with the consent of the Scottish ministers. It will also introduce new restrictions on the advertising, sponsorship, free distribution and nominal pricing of vapes across the UK’s four nations. I hope that that will help to prevent underage consumers from being targeted.

The legal aid system is generally effective in delivering help to those who need it. However, we recognise that there are some challenges in relation to certain types of case and certain locations. Although civil solicitors are mainly based in city centres, near to the courts, they have always covered a wide geographical area. I can reassure the member that solicitors in all parts of Scotland are able to access funding for work that is carried out under the legal assistance schemes, and those schemes are flexible enough to allow solicitors to travel to any part of the country to carry out work, should it not be possible to instruct a local agent.

That said, as part of the discussions around the criteria for a new traineeship fund, my officials are currently exploring whether there is a need to be specific in targeting geographical areas or types of case.

A lot of work is going on in that area. The member will know about our work on legal aid reform. We will not be able to pass legislation on that during this parliamentary session, but work is under way on it at the moment.

The Scottish Government is investing record levels of funding to support victims through a wide range of front-line services, including specialist legal advice. This year’s budget was at a record high, with total legal aid fund investment of £165 million. The fund is demand led, so all eligible costs will be met, regardless of the cost.

Legal aid is available to victims of domestic and gender-based violence who are seeking protection through civil actions where they meet the statutory eligibility criteria. I appreciate that there are some challenges, and that is why I am working with the legal profession to move forward in conquering those challenges.

I have had huge concerns about youth vaping and nicotine products over many years. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the ban on single-use vapes. Trading standards officers have power to issue fixed-penalty notices of up to £800 for non-compliance. The Scottish Government provided £300,000 in additional funding to support local authorities in tackling that specific issue after the implementation of the ban on single-use vapes. In line with the principles of the Verity house agreement, that funding is not ring fenced. However, it is up to local authorities to determine how best to prioritise that work in line with local needs.

The member might be aware of the United Kingdom-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill that is currently progressing through the parliamentary process. If passed, the legislation will introduce a range of restrictions—on age of sale, advertising, free distribution and retail register—that will also apply to such products.

I do not have details for how many prosecutions there have been—perhaps I could write to the member on that.

I engage quite frequently with retailers, who raised the issue with me prior to the introduction of the ban on single-use vapes in June. The Scottish Government is committed, through the new deal for business, to meet regularly the regulatory review group on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. We will ensure that any impact of the proposals on business is fully understood and that policy implementation is effective and proportionate while delivering the beneficial outcomes for population health that are sought.