By its nature, it is difficult to estimate the volume of crime in Scotland which doesn’t come to the attention of the police. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) asks victims of crime whether they reported the incident to the police (or any other authority). As a survey of adults living in private residences within Scotland, the SCJS findings do not include any crimes against children (those aged under 16), those living in communal establishments or businesses.

The SCJS results are typically reported for financial years ending in March with figures for 2023-24 due to be published in 2025. The latest figures available, for 2021-22, estimated that 29% of property and violent crimes combined were reported to the police (based on interviews over October 2021 to December 2022), this splits into 27% and 34% for property and violent crimes respectively.

From the 2023-24 survey sweep, the SCJS questionnaire was expanded to include measures of fraud and computer misuse victimisation, including estimates of those cases reported to the police. The first results from this new module will be published alongside the main report next year.

Finally, the survey also asks about experiences of sexual victimisation and partner abuse. The latest figures for 2018-20 estimated that the police came to know about the most recent (or only) incident for 22% and 16% of respondents who experienced serious sexual assault or partner abuse respectively since the age of 16.

We encourage victims to report all crimes to Police Scotland, who are committed to protecting our communities.

This information is not collected or held by the Scottish Government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23571 on 13 December 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

On the 3 September 2024, the Scottish Government pre-budget fiscal update outlined savings measures of £115.8m in the Health and Social Care budget, with funding redirected to support emerging pressures within Health and Social Care, not used for wider SG spending.

A breakdown of the savings can be found at: Scottish Government Pre-Budget Fiscal Update: Letter to Finance Committee - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We remain committed to delivering a Just Transition Plan that reflects the needs of the industrial site operators, workforce and the wider community and anticipate the launch of a draft plan for consultation in the coming months.

We will update the Parliament on the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan in due course.

£756 million of ScotWind option fees were received, of which £96 million was used in 2022-23 to support the overall financial position. No ScotWind Revenues were utilised in 2023-24.

£200 million of ScotWind Revenues were profiled as required to support the funding position in the original Scottish Budget for 2024-25. As was set out in the Fiscal Statement to parliament on 3 September current planning is on the basis of utilising up to £460 million of additional ScotWind revenue funding in the current financial year, the entirety of the remaining Scotwind option fee funding.

The statement made clear the intention to reduce this down as far as possible depending on the final financial position, with an update on the in-year consequential position expected at the UK Budget on October 30th. Decisions on the future utilisation of ScotWind Revenues will be taken in due course.

The latest EY Attractiveness survey, published 11 July 2024, shows that for the ninth consecutive year Scotland was the top performing part of the UK for foreign direct investment (FDI) projects outside of London. Scotland remains highly attractive as an FDI destination, with 26% of investors looking to invest or expand in Scotland in the next year. This is up from 19.2% in 2022 and ranks behind only London – as well as being well ahead of the UK’s other regions and devolved administrations.

Information on how Scotland has performed relative to other UK nations and regions are available via the EY attractiveness survey (the latest results can be found here: ey-scotland-attractiveness-survey-07-2024.pdf) and the Department for Business and Trade Inward Investment Results (the latest results can be found here: DBT inward investment results 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Minister for Employment and Investment's answer to your question S6W-28567 on 30 July 2024 provided details on investment in Scotland for the past five years from a UK-based parent company. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Operational decisions on course delivery are a matter for individual colleges. I did however, write to the Principal of City of Glasgow College on 8 July to encourage continued constructive dialogue between the College and its trade union partners to find ways to keep the centre open.

The Scottish Government welcomes the new partnership agreement reached between the College and the Trade Union Congress to safeguard the delivery of trade union education at the City of Glasgow College.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28974 on 19 September 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

A Cell Sharing Risk Assessment (CSRA) is conducted on every occasion where two (or more) individuals are required to share one cell.

A CSRA provides a generic assessment of the suitability for individuals to share cells with an option for additional detail and context regarding identified risks to be recorded. Once complete, the CSRA assessment will be used to make an informed decision on the individual’s suitability to share cells, based on known risk and operational necessity.

Individuals will never knowingly be asked to share a cell when it is in direct conflict with what has been recorded in the CSRA.