Chamber and committees

The full implementation cost for Digital Evidence Sharing Capability is £33 Million over a 10-year period which is detailed in the full business case. This figure includes supplier costs, storage, and resources from justice partners. DESC will deliver considerable savings of time and cost in the way that evidence is managed and used.

Police Scotland are the lead delivery partner for Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) and are responsible for planning and milestone management. DESC roll out is currently expected to start in early 2024.

The implementation cost of DESC is funded by Scottish Government. There is no cost expected to be paid from Police Scotland or other justice partners existing budget.

When DESC is fully implemented the lifetime management costs of DESC are expected to be met from justice partners, including Police Scotland. The efficiency benefits delivered by DESC are projected to offset these costs.

The Scottish Government is aware that a wide range of views is held by passengers, ScotRail staff and other interested parties, including British Transport Police about alcohol ban on ScotRail trains.

Transport Scotland officials are engaging with British Transport Police, amongst other organisations to ensure that these views are given due consideration.

The Scottish Government is continuing the phased implementation of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2019. A presumption in favour of pre-recording the evidence of child witnesses in cases which involve specified offences is already in place in the High Court, unless specific exceptions apply. We remain committed to extending this presumption to children giving evidence in relevant cases in the sheriff courts and will publish a revised Implementation Plan by the end of March.

We continue to support national rollout of the new Scottish Child Interview Model for Joint Investigative Interviews with over £2 million funding and have committed further support through the Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder Phase. The model aims to secure a child’s best evidence at the earliest opportunity, while minimising retraumatisation. We have commissioned an independent evaluation of the model and its expected outcomes. It is anticipated that the model will be available across Scotland by the end of 2024.

Decisions on the national designation of services are considered by NHS National Services Division (NHS NSD) as part of NHS National Services Scotland.

NHS NSD have encouraged the MRgFUS team in NHS Tayside to submit a formal application for national designation of the MRgFUS service in Dundee, supported by the health board’s Executive Leadership Team, for consideration and scrutiny. NHS NSD hopes to receive such an application from NHS Tayside for 2024-25.

I have asked my officials at Transport Scotland’s to engage with British Transport Police, ScotRail, Scottish Rail Holdings, Transport Focus and Trade Unions, amongst other organisations to ensure that all views held on the existing alcohol ban on ScotRail trains are given due consideration.

Once advice has been provided to me and a decision made, the Parliament will be informed of the outcome.

As noted in the answer to S6W-22430 by Fiona Hyslop on 7 November 2023, we do not hold specific data on the frequency or average duration of road closures for the purpose of crime scene investigation. This is consistent with the answer to S4W-23569, answered by Derek Mackay in 2015, which noted that Transport Scotland does not hold definitive data that indicates when Police Scotland have carried out a crime scene investigation.

The information provided with the answer to S4W-23569 sought to be helpful by providing what information was held by Transport Scotland i.e. the number and duration of closures on specific routes. However the answer clearly advised that the information provided represented where police attendance was reported and which may or may not have involved a crime scene investigation. It also noted that Police Scotland do on occasions close roads for crime scene investigation without notifying Transport Scotland.

We would therefore reiterate that the closure of a road in the aftermath of an accident is a matter for Police Scotland, who liaise with NHS colleagues as appropriate to understand if accident investigation is merited. The decision to reopen a road after an investigation is also a matter for the Police in their operational capacity.

The Scottish Government continues to fully cooperate with the UK Infected Blood Inquiry and has provided significant input to the Inquiry to date, including by providing hundreds of relevant files as evidence, through provision of written statements and oral evidence, and by providing a detailed closing submission to the Inquiry, which can be found on the Infected Blood Inquiry’s website at SUBS0000056 - Closing submissions to the Infected Blood Inquiry by the Scottish Government - 16 Dec 2022.pdf .

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is collaborating with the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) on a joint multiple technology appraisal (MTA) of cystic fibrosis (CF) medicines, including Kaftrio®. The NICE recommendations that were published on 3 November are draft and could change following the current consultation period.

Existing patients and new patients who are started on a CF medicine while the MTA is ongoing will continue to have access to the medicine after NICE and the SMC issue their final recommendations, irrespective of the outcome.

In addition, this week the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) extended the licence for Kaftrio and Kalydeco to include children aged two to five years old. This extension helps address the unmet needs of younger children with cystic fibrosis.