Chamber and committees

Domestic routes refers to routes between Heathrow Airport and other UK airports. Applications for funding under Heathrow's £10 million fund will be for airlines and airports to progress and consult on. Heathrow has confirmed that the £10 million fund will commence once it has received development consent from the UK Government.

Decisions about the suitability of an individual to hold a firearm certificate rest with the Chief Constable. The police will enquire of as many people or organisations as necessary to ensure the safety of the public prior to issuing a certificate.

New arrangements for the sharing of information between the police and General Practitioners (GPs) for the purposes of firearms licensing were introduced in April 2016. This followed lengthy discussions between the Home Office, British Medical Association (BMA) UK, Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) UK, shooting organisations, the police, Information Commissioner’s Office, and others. The sharing of appropriate clinical information helps the police to determine whether an individual should be granted a firearms certificate and thereby helps to ensure the safety of the public and the applicant.

The majority of GPs in Scotland are engaging with the licensing process. A small number have decided not to do so following revised guidance issued to members by BMA (UK) in July. BMA (Scotland) have recently reminded the 14 Local Medical Committees in the Health Boards in Scotland, who offer professional advice to those GPs who pay a levy to them, NHS bodies and Health Boards, that the guidance from the BMA UK does not prohibit GPs from taking part in the firearms licensing process if they wish to do so. GPs also have a professional duty to protect the public and individuals from harm and where there is a reasonable belief that an individual, either applying for a firearms certificate or already holding one, may represent a danger to themselves or others, the doctors should inform the police as soon as possible.

Firearms legislation is largely reserved. We are liaising with the Home Office about a longer term solution to improve GP involvement in the licensing process.

It is the legislative responsibility of individuals to ensure that they are storing and using their firearms safely and in accordance with their firearms certificate. Advice is provided by the police at the time of grant or renewal of certificates. Safety advice is also contained within the Home Office Guide on Firearms Licensing Law which is the responsibility of the Home Office. The Guide was revised most recently in April 2016.

There is a wealth of advice available in respect of safety in a sporting shooting context. The British shooting organisations actively promote safety at all times.

Public safety is paramount and the Chief Constable revokes certificates if he is concerned about the conduct of a certificate holder.

This information is not held centrally.

Sections 274 to 275C of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 were introduced to strengthen the existing provisions restricting the extent to which evidence can be led regarding the character and sexual history of the complainer. Under these provisions, such evidence can only be introduced if the court expressly permits it. If the court does not permit it, such evidence cannot be introduced.

The Scottish Government is currently in the process of collecting and analysing data in this area to understand how the law is being utilised. This exercise will inform future consideration of the operation of the law in this area.

Decisions about the suitability of an individual to hold a firearms certificate rest with the Chief Constable.

In determining the suitability of an individual to hold a certificate, the police take into account all information available to them both at the time of the application for grant or renewal and during the period of the certificate. This information may, for example, come from home visits or other contact with the police or from third parties and it may relate to the health of the individual. In the event of concerns, the police will refuse or revoke a certificate.

Applicants for grant or renewal of a firearms certificate are required to declare at application if they suffer from a relevant medical condition and it is an offence to fail to declare such a condition. Each applicant is visited by the police and interviewed by a police officer or member of police staff, during which time they are asked about their health. If necessary, referees are asked for their views on an applicant’s health.

New arrangements for the sharing of information between the police and General Practitioners (GPs) for the purposes of firearms licensing were introduced in April 2016 and set out in joint Chief Medical Officer/Police Scotland guidance http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/cmo/CMO(2016)07.pdf. The arrangements require individual health records of firearms certificate holders to be ‘flagged’. This is intended to make it clear to a GP that an individual is a certificate holder so that they can advise the police when they have concerns about relevant health changes.

It may be some time before the health records of all certificate holders are flagged because the new arrangements are only applied in cases where new applications are being made or certificates are due for renewal. A minority of GPs have also opted not to be involved in the new process following revised British Medical Association (BMA) UK guidance issued to members in July.

Each certificate holder is also recorded on the Police Scotland Criminal History System (CHS). Should the police encounter the individual in circumstances that would cause some concern in respect of their health, the CHS marker would alert the police to take the necessary action to remove the certificate holder's guns.

This information is not held centrally.

Heathrow Airport's £10m route development fund for new domestic routes will be subject to a competitive process and open to bids from all parts of the UK. Whilst we fully expect that Scotland will benefit from new services, it is for airlines and airports to progress specific proposals.

In aviation, the Scottish Government has shown global leadership by including emissions from domestic and international aviation in its emissions reduction targets. More widely, Scotland exceeded the level of our 2020 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42%, six years early. We will also be publishing a new draft Climate Change Plan in the winter, setting out our priorities and commitments to meeting our ambitious reduction targets over the coming decades.

Heathrow Airport has estimated that up to 16,000 new jobs will be created across Scotland reflecting the conclusions of the Airports Commission. These jobs are anticipated to come from a number of sectors relating to the introduction of new routes including tourism, exports, inward investment and at the airports themselves and from manufacturing related to construction and the logistics hub concept. The Scottish Government and Heathrow will work together to ensure that the wider terms of the Memorandum of Understanding are progressed and progress is monitored.

The Scottish Government's definition of new capacity is capacity which does not currently exist or is not currently available.

The charging cost of private patients being treated is a matter for local NHS Boards who are best placed to determine the cost of specific procedures being undertaken in their local hospitals.