Chamber and committees

CalMac are focussing their efforts on the Ar Turas Go-Live event. However, TS officials have had an initial meeting with CalMac to investigate potential options for eBooking of multi-journey tickets. This is at an early stage. It is important to note the wider benefits that the Ar Turas System will bring for both customers and staff.

Wider fares policy will be considered as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan and future fares options will be considered through that process.

The pardon provided for under the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act 2022 recognises the disproportionate impact felt by former miners and those closest to them, as a result of taking part in the strike. The purpose of the pardon is to remove the stigma of a conviction, to restore dignity, and to help the mining communities heal old wounds. Due to the lack of surviving records, it was not feasible to require people to formally apply for the pardon. That is why the pardon was designed to be collective and automatic for those who consider that the qualifying criteria set out under the 2022 Act are met. This is a pardon for people to own for themselves or for their loved ones.

Given that there is no application process nor any requirement on an individual to notify the Scottish Government that they have successfully met the criteria, the Scottish Government has no information as to how many people have undertaken a self-assessment. However, it should be noted that data published at Westminster after the strike had ended indicates that 720 people were convicted in Scotland in respect of 993 offences relating to the strike.

The Scottish Government has produced guidance to assist people to self-assess whether they are eligible. The guidance is available at www.gov.scot/publications/miners-strike-pardons-scotland-act-2022-pardon-eligibility-self-assessment-guide/ and confirms the types of offences included in the pardon and who may be eligible.

The Scottish Government’s Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) attended the Home Office ESMCP Programme Board on 22 March 2023.

No Scottish Government official or Minister has been called to give evidence to the Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry. As the Inquiry is independent of Ministers, it is for the Chair to determine how the Inquiry’s terms of reference are interpreted and direct how the Inquiry carries out its duties. It is entirely for the Chair to consider who to seek statements from and who to call to give evidence to the Inquiry.

The Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry publishes its expenditure on a quarterly basis on its website: http://www.shekubayohinquiry.scot/inquiry-costs

The latest published figures show that the Inquiry has spent £10.4m since its setting-up date on 30 November 2020 until 31 December 2022:

Please see the data requested on Police recorded forced marriage related offences in Scotland since 2016 in the following table.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are working with key stakeholders and partners to understand the risks that lithium-ion batteries (LIB), contained within most electric vehicles, present to communities across Scotland. A bespoke working group is focused on these risks, and its findings will strengthen SFRS’s community safety work going forward. SFRS urges users of LIB technology to take the appropriate steps when disposing of spent battery units to ensure reduced risk of fire.

Scottish Government officials have met with the following groups and organisations on the minimum age of marriage and related matters:

AMINA- Muslim Women’s Resource Centre

Article 12 in Scotland

Association of Registrars of Scotland

Caledonian Humanist Association

Evangelical Alliance

Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid

Humanist Society Scotland

IKWRO Women’s Rights Organisation

Independent Humanist Ceremonies

JustRight Scotland

Karma Nirvana

Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project

Scottish Council of Jewish Communities

Saheliya

Scottish Women’s Aid

Shakti Women’s Aid

Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)

UNICEF UK

They have also met with some Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and with two Scottish family law academics.

I intend for these meetings to continue. My officials are planning to meet representatives of the following bodies, some of which will have received invitations to discuss the issues.

The Baptist Union of Scotland

The Church of Scotland

The Free Church of Scotland

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

Glasgow Central Mosque

Hindu Forum of Britain

The Methodist Church

The Muslim Council of Scotland

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers in Scotland)

The Roman Catholic Church (The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland)

The Salvation Army

The Scottish Association of Mosques

The Scottish Episcopal Church

Sikhs in Scotland

The Scottish Unitarian Association

The Synod of Scotland of the United Reformed Church

The United Free Church of Scotland

The member is welcome to write to me with details of other interested groups who want to be involved.

The Scottish Government recognises the continuing rise in gonorrhoea diagnoses, and we are grateful for the efforts of the dedicated clinicians who continue to work to find and treat affected individuals.

We acknowledge the impact that the pandemic has had on service capacity and levels of routine testing. That is why the upcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Strategy, which will be published this Spring, has a strong Covid recovery focus, and why we have invested over £500,000 into development of online STI testing. A pilot of this has begun in NHS Lothian, and we will continue to work with our NHS partners to understand how it may be further expanded.

The independent Scottish Sentencing Council's guideline for sentencing young people took effect from 26 January 2022. The development of a sentencing guideline has 8 stages associated with it. Stage 8 is monitoring and review once a guideline is in force. It is for the Sentencing Council to decide how best to monitor and review the operation of their guidelines. Further information is contained on the Scottish Sentencing Council website. https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-guidelines/methodology/stage-8-monitoring-and-review/ .