Chamber and committees

The Programme for Government published in September 2021 covered this Parliamentary session running up to March 2026. Within it, there is a commitment as follows:

'The Scottish Government’s law officers, amongst other roles, act as the head of the independent prosecution service and as members of the Scottish Government. We will consult on whether the prosecution and government functions of the law officers should be separated.'

Work is continuing to progress towards a Scottish Government consultation. Development of the consultation will be informed by an initial phase of expert research, which is currently underway. This research will ensure a detailed baseline understanding of the many distinct roles and functions of the Law Officers and will provide information on how the functions of Law Officers operate in other countries.

The independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has the operational responsibility for the collection of criminal fines in Scotland. On 17 October 2022, SCTS published their latest quarterly fines report. This report is an official statistics publication and uses a rolling three year collection rate which reflects that fines and financial penalties, by their nature, require time to pay. As such, using a full three year period containing both newer and older fines gives a more balanced view of collection rates.

The latest report indicated that the three year collection rate for all fine/penalty types showed improvement for both value and number when the figures as at 19 July 2022 are compared with 17 October 2022. For example, 86% of sheriff court fines were either paid or on track to be paid as at 17 October compared to 85% as at 19 July.

We welcome this improvement and support the efforts of SCTS to collect and enforce fines using all the available tools at their disposal.

Comprehensive data on the number of people accessing alcohol treatment services are not available.

Scottish Government is working to make alcohol treatment services more accessible to those who need them. An important part of this is by tackling stigma, to that end we will be publishing a Stigma Action Plan in early 2023.

We recognise the importance of residential rehabilitation being available to everybody who wants it - and for whom it is deemed to be clinically appropriate - at the time that they ask for it in every part of the country. That is why we have made £100 million available towards residential rehabilitation services and associated aftercare over this parliamentary term.

Alcohol treatment targets are being developed alongside stage two of the drugs targets implementation in 2024. This will ensure that people with problematic alcohol use continue to receive the same quality of care as those with problematic drug use.

Zero Waste Scotland sourced this information from SEPA’s waste data tool ( Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk) , to which their researchers applied a compositional analysis to provide the detail found in the table.

The Minutes of the Ardrossan Task Force meeting of 28 June 2022 have now been published on the Transport Scotland website and can be found alongside minutes of previous meetings at:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/transport-network/ports-and-harbours/ardrossan-harbour-task-force/

The Scottish Government approved funding of £10.16m for the project to repair the funicular and to undertake associated capital works on Cairngorm Mountain when it approved the business case submitted by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in 2020.

Following cost increases to the project, HIE re-considered the business case and concluded that reinstatement of the funicular was still the recommended option. Following review of the available options, the Scottish Government confirmed its continued support for the project and agreed to provide additional funding of £7m.

As part of the original business case, the Scottish Government agreed to provide funding towards the operating costs for Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL). The funding required from the Scottish Government depends on the CMSL’s income in a given year and is expected to reduce once the funicular is operational.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days .

The current policy position regarding unbundling of Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Service network was clearly expressed by the First Minister in February 2022, and we have no plans to split up the network. Future ferries policy will be developed in accordance with all relevant legislation and include appropriate consultation with stakeholders.

Transport Scotland officials have met with UK Department for Transport (DfT) counterparts on three occasions this year, most recently on 31 October 2022. At this meeting it was confirmed that a business case would need to be submitted to the UK Government for their approval to advance work on the A75 upgrade.

In 2012 a Speed Limit Review, in accordance with the Scottish Government issued guidance titled 'Setting Local Speed Limits: Guidance for Local Authorities ETLLD Circular 1/2006’, concluded that given the character, mean speed and accident rates, a 50 mph speed limit on the A76 is appropriate in Mennock. We are not aware of any change in the accident rate, mean speed, the number of junctions/accesses in the area, or other material change since the review was undertaken that would lead us to revisit the findings of the Speed Limit Review.

As part of the Road Safety Framework to 2030, we are undertaking a National Speed Management Review to support a range of policies supporting national outcomes. The multi-year review shall include public consultation and may possibly require legislative changes. Until this work is completed, the existing guidance will continue to be followed. Any speed limit changes will only be supported where these are evidenced as meeting the current guidance or through their likely contribution to the Scottish Government’s 2030 road safety targets.