Chamber and committees

National Security, including the powers available under the Terrorism Act 2000, is a reserved matter and a matter for the Home Office. The Scottish Government has engaged with both the police and local communities regarding the use of the powers available under Schedule 7 in Scottish airports and will continue to do so when concerns are raised with us.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of people detained at Scottish airports, or any subsequent charges or convictions. You may wish to know that the Home Office released the annual statistics on the operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 covering the period to 31 March 2013 on 12 September.

This release includes the total number of people stopped under Schedule 7 in the UK and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-2012-to-2013. The figures are not reported regionally.

The Edinburgh. Glasgow, Inverness and Perth timetable is currently under development and will take account of Central Belt and Highland Main Line services including the Inverness to Edinburgh and Glasgow train paths. The timetable development currently underway by the rail industry recognises the importance of delivering fast paths for both routes.

Network Rail are currently carrying out timetable development work for phase two of the Highland Main Line Improvements project which will help to identify where infrastructure interventions are required. They are expected to deliver a report on the options for this phase of the project by the end of this year.

Phase two of the project will be delivered between 2014-19. Phase one has been completed delivering two extra trains each way per day from December 2011 and journey time improvements of up to 18 minutes on some services as part of the December 2012 timetable.

Network Rail are currently working on timetable development for phase 2 of the Highland Main Line project which will help to determine where infrastructure interventions are necessary to support an hourly service and achieve the required average journey time reduction of around 10 minutes in both directions between Inverness and Edinburgh/Glasgow (measured against the timetable in place in June 2012 or any improvements introduced between then and 31 March 2014). They are expected to deliver a pre-feasibility report on options later this year.

The Strategic Transport projects Review formed a multi-modal appraisal of the Perth to Inverness corridor and concluded that both road and rail interventions should be taken forward. Our ambitious plans to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness and upgrade the Highland Mainline by 2025, will help achieve this government’s purpose of sustainable economic growth.

The selection criteria for the next ScotRail franchisee, creates an incentive for journey time improvements across the Scottish Rail network.

The selection criteria will also encourage improvements to rolling stock quality and journey time on the Scottish inter-city routes from the Central Belt to Inverness and to Aberdeen.

The next ScotRail franchisee is required to procure new electric rolling stock for the electrified Edinburgh to Glasgow route which must be capable of reducing the journey time for the fastest journey to 42 minutes.

The Caledonian Sleeper franchisee must introduce significantly improved rolling stock.

An efficient and sustainable transport system is one of the key enablers for delivering the government’s purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth in a low carbon economy. Since 2007 this government has invested over £2.6 billion in the Trunk Road Network and over £4 billion in rail and a number of vital projects are planned or in construction which will bring a range of benefits to our economy.

In this context, the recommended interventions within the Strategic Transport Projects Review have assisted ministers in developing the Infrastructure Investment Plan which will help towards creating a more successful country through increasing sustainable economic growth and making a significant contribution to the National Transport Strategy. These interventions include fourteen relating to rail and eight relating to roads.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance on the implications for public bodies on their procurement activities under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. In addition, the Scottish Government is working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to provide further guidance on the Equality duty and public sector procurement.

We have not held any discussions on this issue with the UK Government. Chemical incapacitants such as CS spray are classed as prohibited weapons by virtue of section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968. The majority of firearms legislation remains reserved to Westminster.

As noted in response to S4W-05856, the Healthy Start scheme is in place to ensure free vitamins, including vitamin D, are available to families on some benefits.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme in Scotland, as part of the implementation of Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action.

The Scottish Government is currently running a one-year trial using Community Pharmacies to make Healthy Start vitamins available to those on the scheme, and for others to purchase. This trial will monitor the uptake of the vitamins, with a view to extending the scheme in future if uptake increases. Around 96% of Community Pharmacies across Scotland are taking part in the trial.