Chamber and committees

Disclosing or threatening to disclose sexually explicit 'deepfake' images, including by publishing them on the internet, is covered by the offence of 'disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate image' at section 2 of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016.

The Scottish Government is aware that the UK Government has announced that it will amend the Criminal Justice Bill to criminalise the making of sexually explicit 'deepfake' images without consent. We will carefully consider the amendment.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of the particular case, there are a range of offences that may be used to prosecute cases where someone publishes, sells or distributes sexually explicit images of a person without their consent.

In particular, the offence of disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate photograph or film at section 2 of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 can be used to prosecute such behaviour where the disclosure, or threat to disclose the image, would be likely to cause a person featured in the image to suffer fear, alarm or distress, and the accused either intended to cause such an effect or else was reckless as to whether their behaviour would be likely to have such an effect on the victim.

The offence provides that a person is in an 'intimate situation' if the person is engaging or participating in or present during an act which a reasonable person would consider to be a sexual act which is not of a kind ordinarily done in public, or the person's genitals, buttocks or breasts are exposed or covered only in underwear. Specifically, the offence provides that a photograph or film includes any material originally captured by photography or by making a recording of a moving image, whether or not it has been altered in any way. As such, the offence applies in respect of images that have been digitally manipulated so as to appear to depict a person as being in an intimate situation even if the original photograph does not do so.

Other offences which may be relevant include the offence of threatening or abusive behaviour at section 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 and, where the images are published or shared via the internet, the offence of abuse of a public electronic communications network at section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

As the legislation does not explicitly distinguish between manipulated and unmanipulated photographs or films, it is not possible to separately identify cases relating to the disclosure of so-called 'deepfake' images.

It is an independent operational matter for Police Scotland to enforce criminal law and it is an independent operational matter for Crown Office to make decisions in respect of prosecutions.

Regulation of the internet is a reserved matter falling to the UK Government and Parliament. Within that context, the Scottish Government engages with the UK Government and Ofcom, the new online safety regulator, on the implementation of the UK Government Online Safety Act in Scotland to address illegal and harmful material on the internet.

Decisions about operational policing priorities are a matter for Police Scotland, which is operationally independent of the Scottish Ministers. Where alleged criminal activity relating to intimate image abuse, including where this involves 'deepfakes', is reported to Police Scotland, they will investigate with a view to determining whether there is sufficient evidence to report to Crown Office for consideration of prosecution.

In 2023, Police Scotland undertook a 4-week online child sexual abuse and exploitation media campaign targeting sexual predators who groom and abuse children online, including through use of sexually explicit 'deepfake' images. Police Scotland's Cyberharm Prevention Team are also undertaking a National "sextortion" Prevention Campaign aimed at education and support for those affected by crimes of extortion, including people affected by "deepfake" images.

In terms of resources allocated to education and prevention, school pupils learn how to conduct online relationships safely and understand the risks and consequences of sharing intimate images. The Scottish Government's Gender-Based Violence in School Guidance makes clear that this includes non-consensual sharing of sexual images or threatening to do so.

The Scottish Government also funds Education Scotland to coordinate the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme, focussed on challenging attitudes underpinning gender-based violence, and supports schools to access Rape Crisis Scotland's National Sexual Violence Prevention programme.

STPR2 is a national appraisal and identifies recommendations to be delivered over the long term. The delivery of the recommendations is subject to the funding allocations agreed by Parliament each year through the annual budget process.

In the case of Recommendation 3, which focuses on village-town active travel connections, investment will likely be phased over numerous years. Currently, projects are identified by local authorities and regional partners who then apply for funding through the Sustrans Places for Everyone programme, the new Active Travel Infrastructure fund, and directly through the Cycling Walking Safer Routes (CWSR) grant.

In the case of the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund, we accept proposals for funding the construction of various types of active travel interventions, which can include village-town active travel connections.

The assessment and prioritisation of projects considers a multi- criteria approach and includes two main factors: the impact they achieve and the deliverability of the project. Some of the factors considered in the prioritisation of projects are: potential for mode shift; the quality of proposed infrastructure; safety and security; integration with existing active travel infrastructure and/or public transport; impact on the most deprived 20% of communities; impact on community severance; access to schools; access to employment; access to other locations and value for money.

Figures in the following table show the gross General Dental Services budget and respective spend for the previous four financial years.

• Information on 2023-24 spend is not available at this time and will be published as part of the overall Scottish Government consolidated accounts to be laid in Parliament later this year.

In response to the UK Climate Change Committee’s recommendation, by the end of 2024 we will publish an Implementation Plan identifying the key actions to be taken to deliver our Vision for public EV charging. The key findings of the study will be published as part of the Implementation Plan.

The Scottish Government, along with Health Boards and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), is actively considering opportunities to allocate funding to deliver activity utilising the £30 million investment announced by the First Minister on 1 April. This funding is being targeted at a series of national and local plans to reduce backlogs in orthopaedics, ophthalmology, diagnostics and cancer backlog by maximising the use of local and national resources across Scotland.

Once we have concluded this process we will provide a breakdown of how the funding has been allocated by Health Board.

The initial £30 million of targeted investment is the first instalment of a £300 million plan over the next three years to help reduce waiting lists, subject to the Scottish Budget process.

Decisions on the Government’s spending plans for future years are subject to the outcome of the annual Scottish Budget setting process and associated approval by the Scottish Parliament. In-year revisions to the 2024-25 Scottish Budget are subject to parliamentary approval in the same way.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering vital public services and supporting households, but to balance the budget with a focus on supporting public services, tackling child poverty, and transitioning to Net Zero, limited funding must be prioritised to deliver the best value for every taxpayer in Scotland. This requires some difficult decisions and robust spending control.

Discussions are continuing to finalise allocations, with funding being released as decisions are taken to ensure activities in agreed areas can proceed as soon as possible. To enable progress and support continuity of service, I can confirm the decision to release funding equivalent to the first quarter of the financial year allocation for No One Left Behind.

Grant Offer Letters for the first quarter were issued to Local Authorities as Lead Accountable Bodies for No One Left Behind on 2 May 2024.

Ministers and officials meet COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of issues, including a fiscal framework for local government.

Specific meetings to discuss a fiscal framework with local government are noted below.

5 July 2023

7 July 2023

14 July 2023

21 July 2023

28 July 2023

11 August 2023

18 August 2023

21 August 2023

1 September 2023

9 September

15 September

10 October 2023

9 November 2023

6 December 2023

7 February 2024

13 March 2024

19 March 2024

11 April 2024

On 18 April, I made a statement to the Scottish Parliament with new measures aimed at accelerating Scotland’s journey to net zero. These included a commitment to explore how partial rewetting of peat soils might help to further reduce carbon emissions alongside our existing commitment to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded peat by 2030. We will work with farmers, crofters and other land managers to understand the scope for such an approach in Scotland, its costs and benefits, and how it could be part of future agricultural support from 2026 onwards. Further details of any pilot scheme will be available in due course.