Chamber and committees

As Lord Advocate, I am head of the system for the investigation of deaths in Scotland, as well as of the system of criminal prosecution. I am, accordingly, constitutionally responsible for the investigation of sudden, unexpected, and unexplained deaths in Scotland, as well as for the prosecution of crime. These are functions which I exercise independently of any other person.

Death investigations are undertaken on my behalf by Procurators Fiscal, who act under the direction as required of Crown Counsel. Procurators Fiscal are professional lawyers, who act independently in the public interest. Crown Counsel are likewise senior lawyers who act independently in the public interest and who are responsible for prosecuting the most serious criminal cases and for providing instructions to Procurators Fiscal as required.

Where an inquiry is to be held into the death of a person, the procurator fiscal must investigate the circumstances of the death and arrange for the inquiry to be held.

An inquiry is to be conducted by a sheriff. The purpose of an inquiry is to establish the circumstances of the death and consider what steps (if any) might be taken to prevent other deaths in similar circumstances.

The appointment of a sheriff to the Fatal Accident Inquiry is a matter for the Sheriff Principal and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

The Scottish Government will be advised by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), if there is likely to be an unrealistic demand placed on the fund.

We will continue to engage and work collaboratively with the sector and SLIC, which provides leadership and advice to Scottish Ministers, local authorities and the wider libraries sector, to ensure we are addressing any concerns in relation to the Public Library Covid Relief Fund.

Scottish Government is aware of the Burgenland pilot project which has been underway since 2019. We understand that 250 relatives providing care for family members have participated in the pilot in a population of 20,000 people in receipt of care allowance. We are also aware that the model will be evaluated over the coming months.

The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 outlines that individuals who choose to employ a Personal Assistant may employ family members where this is deemed appropriate, under certain circumstances. Joint COSLA and Scottish Government Covid-19 Self-directed Support guidance currently advises that consideration to employ family members on a temporary basis should be given, particularly if family members lose income as a result of taking on a caring role during the pandemic period.

The guidance is available on the Scottish Government website and is currently being updated: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-self-directed-support/

Our priority is keeping children, young people and school staff safe. The COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s issues keeps the mitigations in schools and ELC settings under constant review. It considered the issue of parental attendance at school sporting events at its meeting on 21 September. Scottish Ministers are considering the sub-group's advice on this and other issues, and will announce the outcome as soon as possible.

As previous Scottish administrations have done in the past, we are committed to enhancing our external reach and voice. Our new offices in Copenhagen and Warsaw will promote Scotland’s interests and expertise in the Nordic and Central European regions, attracting investment and supporting the exchange of knowledge and best practice. We will set out the costs of the Copenhagen office in due course but would expect them to be broadly in line with those of several other existing offices. It is too early in the planning process to provide an estimated cost for the Warsaw office.

Between 1 May 2021 and 31 August 2021, there were 336 landings of wrasse, weighing a total of 36,363kg, recorded by 43 Scottish vessels into Scottish ports. Unfortunately, due to the small number of vessels involved, it is not possible to supply information by creek or week. Summary information on wrasse landings by month is given in the following tables. This information is provisional, based on management information and may be subject to change. Any numbers based on less than 5 vessels have been starred out in the tables below to preserve confidentiality.

Number of wrasse landings by Scottish vessels by month and district, 1 May 2021-31 August 2021.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Government does not hold information on offenders' or victims' nationality.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with additional support needs are supported. Under the Additional Support for Learning Act education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of their pupils. This includes the employment and provision of appropriate resources, including teaching and support staff, to meet children’s needs.

The Scottish Government remains committed to maintaining teacher numbers nationally and ensuring we have the right number of teachers, with the right skills, in the right places to educate our children and young people.

Figures published in December 2020 show that teacher numbers increased for the fifth year in a row – rising to 53,400 in 2020, an increase of 1,153 on the previous year. There are now more teachers than at any time since 2008, and the ratio of pupils to teachers is at its lowest since 2010.

We also continue to provide additional support to education authorities through investment of £15 million per year to further enhance capacity in education authorities and schools to respond effectively to the individual needs of children and young people, through the provision of support staff.

The Scottish Government has also established a Pupil Support Staff Working Group to explore how best we can empower and support pupil support staff, including taking action in response to the recommendations of the additional support for learning review. As part of this a Professional Learning Framework for Pupil Support Staff was launched at the Scottish Learning Festival, on 22 September 2021 .

We are extremely grateful to everyone who has volunteered for vaccine trials in Scotland. We are committed to ensuring that these volunteers are not disadvantaged in any way, and work is on-going to ensure their vaccine status is correctly presented on the vaccine database.

If a person has participated in coronavirus vaccine clinical trials in Scotland, they should have already received a letter from their Chief Investigator confirming their involvement. The letter allows them to attend events or access services throughout the UK in the same way as those who are fully vaccinated. They will also soon be able to obtain a record of their vaccination status that contains a barcode to enable easier access to venues.

Further information is available here at NHS Inform: Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination status for clinical trial participants | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)

As part of the Reaching 100% (R100) North lot contract, 16 subsea cables will be delivered to 15 Scottish islands - Colonsay, Iona and Lismore in the Argyll & Bute local authority area; Eigg in the Highland local authority area; Eday, Flotta, Hoy, Rousay, Sanday, Shapinsay and Stronsay in the Orkney Islands local authority area and Fair Isle, Unst, Whalsey and Yell in the Shetland Islands local authority area.

Initial survey work is now complete and we expect all cables to be laid by the end of 2022, subject to favourable weather conditions.