Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government are not aware of any complaints arising from application of the Unacceptable Actions Policy being escalated to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

I met with Lynne Owens, Director General of the National Crime Agency, on 8 February 2016, shortly after she took up post. We discussed a range of issues including the relationship between the NCA and Scottish Government and the collaborative work on tackling serious organised crime supported through the Scottish Crime Campus.

The National Crime Agency are also key partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and play an important role in supporting Police Scotland and other partners to reduce the harm to our communities from serious organised crime. The Taskforce last met on 3 October 2016.

On 18 August 2016, the Deputy First Minister met in Edinburgh with the Rt Hon Mike Penning, MP, Minister for the Armed Forces, to discuss responsibilities for resilience. This was an introductory meeting following Mr Penning’s appointment in July 2016.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly requested meetings with Ministry of Defence Ministers to discuss their plans to close military bases in Scotland; however the Ministry of Defence has failed to agree arrangements for these said meetings or indeed to have them at all.

The safe operation of Wick Airport is the responsibility of the Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) board, and fulfilling this responsibility is an operational matter for HIAL.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The UK Government owns the nuclear materials currently stored at Dounreay and is responsible for any movements of that material. The Scottish Government has been kept informed on the programme of movements, and has sought and received assurances about the safety and security of any movements.

Prior to any movements of nuclear materials from the Dounreay site, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority consults widely with stakeholders and local authorities.

The UK Government owns the nuclear materials currently stored at Dounreay and is responsible for any movements of that material. Any transfers to the United States are covered by an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the European Atomic Energy Community and the United States of America. This agreement rules out the military use of any material transferred under its terms. The Highlands and Islands Airports Limited board are responsible for operational decisions, and for the safe operation of Wick Airport.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) to meet the operating costs and to fund the capital investment programme at its 11 airports. Funding is not broken down by individual airport. The total funding provided to HIAL in each of the last five years is outlined in the following table.

The UK Government is responsible for any transfers of nuclear materials from Dounreay. Any transfers to the United States are covered by an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the European Atomic Energy Community and the United States of America. This agreement rules out the military use of any material transferred under its terms.