Chamber and committees

The collaborative statement of Good Scrutiny and Engagement provides guidance for local authorities on their responsibilities under the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, including the scrutiny of local police plans.

The setting of local policing priorities is a matter for local police commanders in partnership with the relevant local authority.

I meet regularly with the Chief Constable and other senior officers from Police Scotland to discuss a range of policing and public safety matters.

The Scottish Government will lay the Code of Practice before Parliament no later than 12 January 2017, as required by Part 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016.

A public consultation seeking views on a draft Code of Practice closed on 15 July 2016 and responses to the consultation were published on 15 September 2016. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the independent Stop and Search Advisory Group to revise the Code of Practice in light of consultation responses.

Equality and diversity within Police Scotland is a matter for the Chief Constable. We understand, that in line with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, Police Scotland will publish their next report into Equality and Diversity in 2017. This report follows the publication of their Equality and Diversity Update in 2014 and their Equality and Diversity Mainstreaming Progress Report in 2015. Police Scotland's equality and diversity publications can be found at the following link: http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/equality-and-diversity.

The Scottish Government is investing record levels of funding to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls and to ensure that victims receive the support which they need. This includes funding for Scottish Women’s Aid and the Women’s Aid network who provide vital services for women, girls and children who have experienced or who are experiencing domestic abuse. Over the last 5 years, the total funding allocation from the Equality Budget to these organisations is as follows:

2012-13: £5,124,150

2013-14: £5,516,740

2014-15: £5,577,567

2015-16: £5,433,956

2016-17: £6,039,116

During the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill (now Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016), evidence was provided by the Scottish Appropriate Adult Network (SAAN), Police Scotland and others on the current operation of appropriate adult services in Scotland.

In response to the evidence presented, the Scottish Government committed to continue working with the local authorities, Police Scotland and other interested parties to take the necessary steps to put in place a sustainable model for the long-term delivery of appropriate adult services in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is engaging extensively with relevant stakeholders, including SAAN and Police Scotland, to develop such a model. Given the differing arrangements for the delivery of appropriate adult services across the local authorities, this includes ongoing work to ascertain accurate costs for the provision of the current service.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It is a matter for local authorities.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, but statistics on the provision of appropriate adults broken down by local authority area can be found on the Scottish Appropriate Adult Network website. This information covers the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15. http://www.scottishappropriateadultnetwork.co.uk/reports-statistics#

Cabinet Secretary/ Minister

Correspondence Received between 1 May and 31 August 2016 Total added to MACCS Reply not yet issued (%) Interim Reply – no final reply issued (%) Interim Reply – Final reply issued (%)

First Minister	2439	23.0	0.4	1.0
DFM and Education and Skills	674	26.7	3.3	1.2
Finance and Constitution	129	45.7	1.5	1.5
Economy, Jobs and Fair Work	266	29.7	0.4	1.9
Rural Economy and Connectivity	351	39.6	1.1	2.3
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	326	28.5	0.3	1.5
Health and Sport	879	23.0	0.1	1.9
Justice	298	34.6	0.3	2.3
Culture, Tourism and External Affairs	264	31.4	0.4	0.7
Communities, Social Security and Equalities	294	20.7	0.3	0.3
Childcare and Early Years	99	31.0	2.0	1.0
Further and Higher Education and Science	81	27.1	0.0	2.5
Parliamentary Business	61	8.2	0.0	1.6
Business Innovation and Energy	196	47.4	0.5	1.5
Employability and Training	89	28.4	0.0	1.1
Transport and Islands	611	19.9	0.0	0.8
Mental Health	121	28.1	0.0	0.8
Public Health and Sport	179	35.8	0.0	2.5
Community Safety and Legal Affairs	33	39.4	3.0	0.0
International Development and Europe	90	20.0	0.0	0.0
Local Government and Housing	272	29.0	0.0	1.1
Social Security	34	64.7	0.0	2.9
Scottish Ministers (general)	1723	12.5	0.3	0.6
All	9509	24.2	0.6	1.1