Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-27759

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any companies involved in ecologically damaging developments in other countries, or their subsidiaries, will be eligible to participate in future renewables leasing rounds, including subsequent ScotWind leasing rounds.

Question reference: S6W-27805

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of stalking were recorded in 2023-24, and how many of those cases have been prosecuted to date.

Instances of stalking in 2023-24 will be published within the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2023-24 accredited official statistics on 25 June 2024. The most recently published data shows there were 872 crimes of stalking recorded by police over the year ending December 2023.

We do not hold information on the specific proportion of stalking cases recorded by the police that led to a prosecution. This is because the recorded crime and criminal proceedings statistics are not operationally linked. Recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland, while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases once they have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only a single conviction for the ‘main charge’ (the one receiving the most severe sentence) would be counted in the court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility a crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.

Noting the above, the latest published Criminal Proceedings in Scotland accredited official statistics show 401 people were proceeded against in court for a crime of stalking in 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-27800

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ruth Charteris on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27445 by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024, when it anticipates that it will complete its work on ensuring that (a) new information is brought to the attention of deputes and acted on promptly, (b) deputes are available to deal with urgent and unexpected queries as they arise, (c) the tasking of reporting officers is followed up timeously, (d) action is taken to address any risks to the efficient progression of the case and (e) deputes have sufficient time to address issues during their case preparation.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Question reference: S6W-27642

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the (a) uptake and (b) outcomes of support from the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme in each year of its operation.

The following table shows the level of Mode Shift Revenue Support grants awarded by the Scottish Government since the introduction of the scheme plus details of the committed traffic.

Year	MSRS - Grants Awarded	Containers Moved by Rail or Water
2010-2011	£753,751	121,100
2011-2012	£739,280	115,740
2012-2013	£759,801	114,930
2013-2014	£751,575	121,280
2014-2015	£727,327	132,453
2015-2016	£636,899	103,148
2016-2017	£638,157	122,565
2017-2018	£688,480	129,537
2018-2019	£776,484	140,441
2019-2020	£597,714	124,143
2020-2021	£574,903	151,224
2021-2022	£477,423	85,099
2022-2023	£539,853	129,872

The Scottish Government has a range of annualised data on the uptake and outcome of the Mode Shift Revenue Support Scheme including the value of Grants Awarded and the number of containers moved by rail or water. In total, between 2010-11 and 2022-23, £8,661,647 of awards were made leading to 1,591,532 containers moved by rail or water.

Question reference: S6W-27966

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to manage badger populations in the south of Scotland.

Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 as amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011.

NatureScot, the licensing agency in Scotland, may consider issuing licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to undertake actions for a specific purpose, such as to prevent serious damage by badgers to agriculture.

Recent research investigating reports of badger predation on lambs on Scottish farms was undertaken in 2022 and 2023 by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), in conjunction with NatureScot, Scottish Land and Estates, and the National Farmers Union Scotland, The research found that whilst the results cannot fully rule out the occurrence of badger predation, they strongly suggest that foxes are most likely to be responsible for the majority of lamb predation events on Scottish farms. A copy of the report of this research can be found at:

https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1345-investigating-role-badgers-meles-meles-lamb-predation-scottish-farms

Question reference: S6W-27951

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is acting to improve the safety of food delivery drivers, in light of a recent survey by Heriot-Watt University that found that 81% of food delivery drivers feel unsafe.

Question reference: S6W-27888

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Scotland-based manufacturers on (a) the manufacture and (b) marketing in (i) the UK and (ii) international markets of hydrogen buses manufactured in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27802

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ruth Charteris on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27377 by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024, when it anticipates that it will complete its work on ensuring that Standard Prosecution Reports fully address the victim’s views on court proceedings, bail conditions and non-harassment orders, with reasons for victims’ views being fully explored and described, by both the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Police Scotland, in appropriate and accurate language.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Question reference: S6W-27789

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which police stations in the (a) Lothian region and (b) Edinburgh Division area have been identified as containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Question reference: S6W-27766

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to spend on its partnership with Connect to establish a new national parent panel.

Chamber and committees