Chamber and committees

In exchanges in Parliament on 8 February, I agreed to ensure that the issues raised were highlighted to the Lord President to see whether any further progress could be made on improving how transparency in the system of sentencing could be made. I can confirm I have brought the official report of those Parliamentary exchanges to the attention of the Lord President and will raise the matter when I meet with him next.

As I indicated in Parliament in answer to S5O-01779, sentencing in any given case, including whether to publish a sentencing statement, is a matter for the court. Separate to that, the independent Scottish Sentencing Council has as one of its objectives the promotion of greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.

In December 2016 the Scottish Parliament made the Home Detention Curfew Licence (Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2016 (SSI 2016/416) to specifically remove the existing prohibition on prisoners who had previously been released on licence and recalled to custody for non-compliance with their licence conditions or for committing a new crime from being considered for HDC. This was in response to a recommendation to do so made by the Electronic Monitoring in Scotland Expert Working Group in October 2016.

Allowing these prisoners to be considered for HDC provides an opportunity to recognise an individual’s progress in terms of their rehabilitation and improvements in compliance and motivation to desist from reoffending.

The Scottish Government do not hold the data requested.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) have advised that as of 5 March 2018, 2418 victims have joined the Victim Notification Scheme. The SPS estimate that this represents around 20 – 30% of the total number of victims who were eligible to join the Scheme.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is responsible for the investigation of deaths where there is an ongoing criminal investigation. COPFS does not collect data regarding the length of time that bodies are retained between the death and burial/cremation. Since September 2016 COPFS has recorded the date when the body is released to the nearest relative in deaths where there is an ongoing criminal investigation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14930 on‎ 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14930 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Protecting children and young people from all forms of abuse is a priority for the Scottish Government, as set out in current national policy and legislation. We are committed to working with partners nationally, locally and with support services.

Child centred, trauma informed, health care is at the heart of the current paediatric services provided to children in Scotland who experience sexual assault. The 3 Managed Clinical Networks for services related to child protection and child abuse have agreed standards for service delivery.

The Chief Medical Officer chairs the Taskforce for improving services for adults and children who have experienced rape and sexual assault. The national leadership provided by the Taskforce brings together experts from health, justice, social work and the third sector. In respect of children, the remit of this Taskforce is focussed on developing the clinical pathway to ensure that children who have experienced sexual assault, as well as those close to them, are appropriately supported through their initial disclosure and forensic medical examination, through to the timely onward referral to other healthcare or follow up services. It is also committed to exploring how forensic medical examination services and paediatric health care provided by the NHS for children who have experienced sexual assault, can contribute to any multi-agency service developments in respect of the Barnahus concept and principles.

The Scottish Government has established an expert group for preventing sexual offending involving children and young people and will bring together professional and academic expertise from across justice, education, child protection, health and the third sector to identify actions to better prevent sexual crime involving children and young people and mitigate the harm it causes. It will build on existing good work across Government and through partners.

NHS Education Scotland is leading the development of a National Trauma Skills and Knowledge Framework and National Training Framework, which will support the strategic planning and delivery of training for those who have contact with people affected by trauma across all parts of the Scottish Workforce. The Framework is designed to support the recognition of learning and development needs in the workforce and support trainers and managers in meeting them. It details the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure that people affected by trauma can access services that understand and can respond to their needs.

We have established a Child Protection Improvement Programme to ensure effective protection is in place for all children at risk from abuse and neglect. The Programme includes work on neglect, child sexual exploitation, internet safety, child trafficking, leadership and workforce development, joint inspections, data and evidence and the Children’s Hearings System.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14930 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 came fully into force in June 2017. The 2016 Act modernised the law in relation to Fatal Accident Inquiries. The Act followed lengthy consultation and a full review conducted by Lord Cullen into the previous legislation which dated from 1976.

The new Act extended the circumstances under which a Fatal Accident Inquiry is mandatory and sets out the powers of the Lord Advocate to initiate a discretionary inquiry. Although the new legislation will be kept under review the Scottish Government has no plans to amend the recently enacted legislation.

The 2013 Scottish Independence Referendum Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament and received a certificate of competence from the Presiding Officer.