Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government do not hold the data requested. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) manage the process of informing victims if they are eligible to make a Victim Impact Statement (VIS). COPFS do not collect data on the number of victims who have provided a VIS ahead of sentencing as their case management database does not enable such data to be collected automatically and the time taken to complete this task manually is considered to be prohibitive.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

All victims who are registered with the Victim Notification Scheme are entitled to know the date of release of an offender. This includes the date of release on Home Detention Curfew. Those victims of offenders sentenced to 18 months or more are entitled to make representations to the Scottish Prison Service when the offender is being considered for release. These representations will inform licence conditions and where a licence condition is included which relates to the victim, or their family, the victim is informed of the licence condition. The communication of the decision and any licence conditions is in writing.

Inclusive Growth is growth that combines increased prosperity with greater equity; that creates opportunities for all and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity fairly.

Promoting a shared inclusive growth agenda across Scotland is a key objective of this Government – evidenced, for example, by the inclusive growth conference we hosted in Glasgow last year and by the announcement of the Centre for Regional Inclusive Growth – which will work to drive improvements in inclusive growth outcomes across Scotland’s communities.

It is vitally important that all our agencies are aligned in terms of promoting inclusive growth – indeed this is why the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board aims to ensure the whole Enterprise and Skills system delivers Scotland’s Economic Strategy, of which inclusive growth is a central priority, and is looking specifically at creating the conditions that are conducive to delivering inclusive and sustainable growth.

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.

The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill has followed the processes set out in the Scotland Act 1998, as explained by the Presiding Officer in his statement on legislative competence on the Bill and the statement of the Lord Advocate on 28 February 2018.

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

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 .

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 .