- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2024
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024
Question to be taken in Chamber.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024
- Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the NatureScot licensing review.
Answer
NatureScot have recently published the terms of reference and outline timescales of the licensing review on their website at https://www.nature.scot/doc/species-licensing-review-terms-reference and https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/licensing/licensing-news .
The terms of reference have also been circulated to all interested key stakeholders.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27605 by Siobhian Brown on 28 May 2024, whether it has considered alternative approaches to carrying out this research in the event that the re-tendering process is unsuccessful, and whether this has been raised by the (a) Law Society of Scotland, (b) Scottish Solicitors Bar Association and (c) Scottish Legal Aid Board.
Answer
Alternative approaches to the work have been considered at meetings of the research group, which the Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, and the Scottish Legal Aid Board are part of, should the tendering process remain unsuccessful. Ministers are also very mindful that the recommendation of the Legal Aid Payment Advisory Panel was very clear that any research carried out should be independent from the Scottish Government and that there are commercial sensitivities around the data being sought. Any alternative approaches would have to be carefully considered to ensure that this independence remains and that legal aid providers have confidence in the data gathering process.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Water Safety Scotland finding that 39 suicide suspected fatalities at or near water occurred in 2023, which is an increase from previous years.
Answer
Every life lost to suicide is an enormous tragedy and while we welcome figures showing water related fatalities are at their lowest since 2018, we are not complacent. We are taking a whole of Government and societal approach towards suicide, focusing on addressing the social determinants, whilst ensuring we incorporate suicide prevention across our policy development and service delivery. To support this approach the Scottish Government published the Suicide Prevention Strategy in September 2022. It prioritises action on people with higher risk of suicide, and high risk settings which include locations which provide access to open water.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) First Minister (b) Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and (c) Lord Advocate, and any other ministers, and their officials, last met with the (i) Chief Constable and (ii) Deputy Chief Constables at Police Scotland, and what was discussed.
Answer
The First Minister last met with the Chief Constable on 16 May 2024. Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs was also in attendance. The agenda covered:
- Introduction
- Mental health and policing
- Criminal justice system
- Workforce and operating model
- Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill
- Hate crime
I meet the Chief Constable regularly. The last meeting was on 4 June 2024 with Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith also in attendance. The agenda covered:
- Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill
- Revised model of policing
- Criminal justice system
- Scottish Resilience Partnership
- Emma Caldwell Investigation – NPCC Request
The Lord Advocate last met with the Chief Constable on 12 March 2024. Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith was also in attendance. The Lord Advocate and Chief Constable discussed violence against women and girls in Scotland and how prosecutors and police officers could work together to improve outcomes for victims.
From January 2024, I agreed with the Chief Constable and SPA Chair to publish notes of their meetings, once approved, on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/police-minutes-of-regular-meetings
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27369 by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024, how many of the (a) 545 charges related to incidents that took place in and (b) 17 convictions were for crimes against residents of the Lothian region.
Answer
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical purposes and the information within it is structured accordingly. Information provided is at date of extract and may therefore be subject to change as data and systems are updated for operational reasons.
Of the 545 charges referred to in the answer to question S6W-27369, 90 charges took place in the Lothian region. For the purposes of this answer, the ‘Lothian region’ has been limited to charges reported to COPFS from Edinburgh and Livingston Sheriff Court Districts only.
Of the 17 convictions referred to in the answer to question S6W-27369, there were 2 which related to offending against residents of the Lothian region.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it considers workers in the so-called gig economy as part of the work that it is undertaking to make Scotland "a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025".
Answer
All workers should be paid fairly for the work they do and have the opportunity of job security. Recent research from Herriot-Watt University points to particular challenges in this regard in the gig economy.
These are not unique to Scotland. According to the Living Wage Foundation, 20% of workers in Scotland experience some form of work insecurity. Only London (18%) and the South East (19%) have lower levels compared to the highest region, Wales (26%). Research from the Fair Work Convention shows that other countries do better.
Responsibility for employment law, including the rights and protection of workers, is reserved to the UK Government, therefore the Scottish Government cannot legislate for greater job security. Nevertheless, through Fair Work First we require recipients of government funding to move away from the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and other non-standard types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security. This is part of our approach to delivering an economy that is fair, green and growing, while creating more secure, sustainable and satisfying jobs.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made regarding the delivery of a railway station in Winchburgh, including in relation to (a) developing the business case and (b) meeting the cost.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains supportive of a new station in Winchburgh and I am pleased to confirm that my officials and I met with representatives from West Lothian Council, Winchburgh Development Limited and Network Rail on 17 April to discuss the proposed station.
A number of actions to progress the station were agreed and I fully expect the development of the business case and routes towards locating potential funding streams to be discussed again, having formed part of the previous meeting agenda in April. I am also pleased to confirm my officials and I will attend a follow-up meeting with the organisations I mentioned previously on 25 June to further progress the matter.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the Ministerial Taskforce on Population last met, and what was discussed.
Answer
The Ministerial Population Taskforce meets quarterly to oversee delivery of Scotland’s Population Strategy and it last met on 20 March 2024. Items discussed included: Scotland’s Migration Service, in advance of its launch on 27 March; the linkages between housing policy and population; an update on planned National Records of Scotland statistical and Census publications; and an overview of progress in developing a Rural Delivery Plan. Minutes from the meeting will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 10 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to review cyber security, in light of the reported recent breaches at Scottish public bodies.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises that cyber resilience is paramount for the delivery of secure digital public services, and it works closely with the Scottish public sector to strengthen its cyber security posture through the implementation of The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland.
Staying ahead of cyber criminals is an ongoing battle; as technologies evolve, so do their tactics. Public bodies are responsible for their own cyber resilience and security arrangements and must continually adapt to emerging threats.
The Scottish Government supports public sector bodies to help strengthen their cyber resilience and address areas for improvement. This includes embedding robust security standards, controls and governance, maintaining and regularly testing incident response plans, training staff and learning lessons identified from incidents.
Additionally, the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre plays a key role in coordinating effective multi-agency response to incidents which impact on the public sector.
