The following table sets out the total number of accused reported to Ayr Procurator Fiscal Office receiving a first substantive marking of a fiscal fine in each of the last 5 years.

Prosecutors do not always choose to mark a case for no action, they may require to do so if there is not sufficient admissible evidence available in law to justify prosecutorial action or where the statutory time limits have been exceeded.

The following table sets out the total number of criminal cases in which no action was taken by the prosecutor at a) Ayr and b) Kilmarnock in each of the last 5 years.

Bereaved families should not have to wait this time to receive final confirmation of the cause of death of a loved one, and this is not a situation which COPFS endorses. It is imperative that this information is provided as soon as possible, as these delays simply compound distress and anxiety.

The current delays relate to the time taken to receive toxicology analysis to assist pathologists in the preparation of the final post mortem report.

Given previous concerns about toxicology analysis times, the service covering most of Scotland transferred to the Scottish Police Authority on 1 December 2022 following substantial investment by the Scottish Government. Although the initial timescale for a new laboratory being fully operational was the first quarter of 2023, this was impacted by a combination of factors including a water contamination problem that shut the laboratory down for two weeks, as well as the time required for the new equipment in the lab to be calibrated, and testing methods verified. These are matters outwith COPFS control.

There has therefore been a disappointing but unavoidable knock-on effect on the completion of toxicology analysis, and thereafter submission to COPFS of final post mortem reports from pathologists. Additionally, a significant increase in deaths being reported to COPFS compared to pre-pandemic levels has resulted in a corresponding increase in instructed post mortem examinations. This has also impacted on how quickly post mortem reports can be completed.

Every effort is being made by COPFS, the Scottish Police Authority and pathologists working together across Scotland to reduce the time taken to provide final reports to families. I have been assured that the laboratory has been fully operational since the end of May 2023. The analysis backlogs which built up over the course of this year are being addressed as a priority by the toxicologists, who advise that by November 2023 the average time for analysis to be completed and submitted to the pathologist for a non-suspicious death will be 5 weeks.

COPFS has also allocated additional resource internally to process this year's backlog of final post mortem reports as they are received from pathologists, to seek to reduce the lengthy delays being experienced.

In our response to the Scottish Mental Health Law Review we committed to establish a Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme to further enhance and protect human rights within legislation, policy and practice. This includes a commitment to enhance carers’ rights and role in practice through further developing and promoting carer awareness training for staff working with people with mental or intellectual disability across health and social care settings, by 2026.

These actions will also be set out in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan, which will be published in Autumn 2023.

We have funded NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop three training modules for the health and social care workforce, including those working with mental or intellectual disability across health and social care settings, to help them to identify, include and support unpaid carers. We expect those to be launched by the end of 2023.

Specific data on job creation is not collected. Over the past ten years, the estimated numbers of manufacturing jobs in Scotland, rounded to the nearest 1,000, were as follows:

We understand from regular contact with colleagues in UK Government that the third round of the Levelling Up Fund is in development however we have no further information or clarity on when or how the funds will be allocated.

The Scottish Government maintains that this funding should be devolved to us to distribute in line with our regional economic policy arrangements.

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

Serco who currently operates HMP Kilmarnock are not contractually obliged to install Body Worn Video Cameras (BWVCs). There are currently no plans to retain BWVCs currently in use by Officers at HMP Kilmarnock, post-transfer in March 2024.

The feasibility of a pilot to test the introduction of BWVCs across the SPS estate is however being considered in partnership with Trade Union Partners.

The Scottish Government places great importance on leisure facilities, particularly swimming pools and believes everyone should have access to these services locally.

We are fully aware that local authorities are facing challenging financial circumstances, particularly in the maintenance and operating of facilities such as swimming pools and ice rinks, largely due to energy costs and other cost of living pressures.

The Scottish Government received consequentials of £5.816m from the UK Government from their swimming pool fund. These consequentials are added to the Scottish Block as a whole and it is ultimately for Ministers to decide how to utilise available funding in the context of a challenging financial backdrop and existing budgetary pressures.

In 2023-24 the Scottish Government provided nearly £13.5bn in the Local Government Settlement and increased the resources available to local government by more than £793 million, including £100 million of additional funding at Stage 3 of the Budget Bill, funded in part by consequentials provided at the UK Budget. This was a real terms increase of £376 million or 3% compared to the 2022-23 Budget figures. In addition, Scottish Ministers allocated a further £55m ahead of the summer. This follows on from the additional £1 billion of funding provided to Local Government in 2022-23.

The funding of local sports and leisure facilities, including swimming pools is the responsibility of our local authorities and, as independent corporate bodies, it is for local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

As the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice updated in her statement to Parliament, local authorities have a statutory responsibility to ensure that their schools are safe for pupils, staff and their users. In line with this responsibility, they continue to carry out assessments of their school buildings, and Ministers have been clear to authorities that those must be carried out as a matter of the highest priority. At present, I am meeting with COSLA on a weekly basis to review the position.

It is imperative that there is transparency around the schools where RAAC has been identified and the mitigations that are in place. This is why, on 8 September, a list of the 16 local authorities where reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been found in some schools was published in a Scottish Government news release ( Local authorities publish RAAC data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ). Local authorities have now published a list of any schools where RAAC has been identified, and it would be for those individual local authorities to decide if they publish the projected cost to remedy any issues within their school estate.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21088 on 21 September 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