Chamber and committees

This is a matter for individual colleges and universities to determine. However these institutions are required to give due regard to the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Funding Council monitors and supports colleges and universities to deliver and embed equality outcomes in line with the requirements of the Act.

Strategic Housing Investment Plans were due to be submitted to Scottish Government on 30 November and therefore we do not currently hold this information.

Strategic Housing Investment Plans cover a five year period starting from April 2017. Programmes are already in place for this financial year.

Strategic Housing Investment Plans are local authority documents and Councils have responsibility for publishing these.

Strategic Housing Investment Plans were due to be submitted to Scottish Government on 30 November and therefore we do not currently hold this information.

Scottish Government has published guidance on the operation of the Housing Infrastructure Fund. This notes that the fund will not support the provision of community infrastructure required as a consequence of new housing development, for example, funding for schools. We will continue to keep the operation of the fund under review.

To date there have been no discussions with the UK Government regarding devolving the power to re-classify cannabis. Officials from the Scottish Government and Home Office are in regular contact about a range of topics, including drugs classification.

Scotland's Serious Organised Crime Strategy 2016 Annual Report noted that an estimated £6.8 million of counterfeit goods and products had been forfeited through the activity of the Scottish Anti-illicit Trade Group (SAITG) following the launch of Scotland's refreshed Serious organised crime strategy in June 2015.

As part of its ongoing work, the SAITG are working with Police Scotland to develop a mechanism to highlight which illicit products represent a threat to Scotland and develop the most appropriate consumer advice.

Regulations concerning counterfeit goods are reserved to the UK Government and the UK-wide Intellectual Property Office works with law enforcement and industry partners across Scotland to help reduce the availability and impact of all counterfeit goods, including electrical goods. The IP Crime Report for 2015-16 which was published in September 2016 highlights current and emerging threats surrounding counterfeiting and piracy, including those conducted via the internet. A copy of the report can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-ip-crime-report-2015-to-2016.”

The Scottish Government has had a number of discussions with the UK Government on aspects of the Digital Economy Bill but we have not had any specific discussions over the online sale of counterfeit electrical goods.

Regulations over counterfeit goods are reserved to the UK Government and it would be incumbent on them to take every appropriate opportunity available to enhance the protection of consumers across the UK from the sale of counterfeit goods online.

As a member of the Consumer Protection Partnership, the Scottish Government supports National Consumer Week which ran from 28 November to 2 December. The theme of this year's campaign is 'Switched On' and aims to alert the public to potential problems with electrical goods, including counterfeit goods.

Police Scotland has also run a Festive Safety campaign on the dangers of counterfeit goods. These campaigns offer sound, practical advice to the general public. It is essential that the public understands the potential for disaster with over half of all accidental house fires, caused by electricity and of those, nine out of ten are caused by electrical products.