Chamber and committees

The police record details of all personal injury accidents, including on the A82 trunk road, however road design is not recorded as a contributory factor.

The Scottish Government does not provide specific funding to local authorities or third sector organisations in relation to the work of Home Office immigration compliance and enforcement teams.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and is a matter for Police Scotland and the Crown Office respectively.

There is joint working between Home Office immigration enforcement and the Border Policing Command within Police Scotland’s Specialist Crime Division, the focus of which has been to protect vulnerable people and identify those foreign national offenders who are causing harm to communities. At present Police Scotland have one officer seconded to Home Office immigration enforcement. There is one Home Office immigration enforcement officer embedded within Specialist Crime Division and two officers embedded within key custody suites to ensure the appropriate checks on detainees are being carried out.

The Scottish Government does not provide facilities to Home Office immigration compliance and enforcement teams. Home Office immigration enforcement can request from Police Scotland, with 72 hours’ notice, use of custody facilities where these may be required for an operation. The location of these custody facilities is dependent upon where the operation is to take place. Home Office Immigration Enforcement utilise custody suites as directed by Police Scotland.

The branch of Home Office immigration that deals with criminal matters is the Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigation team, which has responsibility for disrupting and dismantling organised criminal networks involved in organised immigration crime. Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service liaises with the Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigation team on criminal matters.

The Home Office immigration compliance and enforcement teams deal with civil matters of immigration law. The Lord Advocate is the head of the system of prosecution and investigation of sudden, suspicious, unexpected and unexplained deaths in Scotland. The Lord Advocate does not instruct Home Office immigration compliance and enforcement teams, which operate in Scotland.

The police in Scotland operate independently of ministers and any decisions on the contract for the police vehicle recovery service are matters for the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland.

The storage and handling of evidence with reference to alleged criminal offences are operational matters for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Court Service or for other relevant specialist reporting agencies, such as local authority Trading Standards; the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Health & Safety Executive, HM Revenue and Customs etc. The appropriate safeguarding of evidence is the responsibility of each agency and the Scottish Government has no direct role on these matters.

The Crown Office guide for specialist reporting agencies includes advice about the importance of preserving evidence and the careful handling of relevant productions. The guide is available through the following link: www.copfs.gov.uk.

The report into the breakdown of the MV Hamnavoe was published by Transport Scotland on 7 March 2014 and includes details of costs incurred. Serco NorthLink Ferries Ltd are in discussion with their insurers and updated information will be made available after those discussions have concluded.