Chamber and committees

According to Police Scotland's most up to date information, there are 101 mapped Organised Crime Groups in Scotland as at 31 March 2023.

As advised in the answer to question S6W-16147 on 11 April 2023, the Scottish Government continues to conduct the necessary and proper financial due diligence on the delivery of 801 and 802, including on the funding request submitted by Ferguson Marine in September 2022 and following the revised delivery schedule submitted by Ferguson Marine in March 2023.

Ministers will update Parliament once this process has concluded.

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 refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15997 on 25 March 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

The Scottish Government continues to conduct the necessary and proper financial due diligence on the delivery of 801 and 802, including on the funding request submitted by Ferguson Marine in September 2022 and following the revised delivery schedule submitted by Ferguson Marine in March 2023.

Ministers will update Parliament once this process has concluded.

The Scottish Government has engagement with Audit Scotland in relation to the Lochaber Guarantee and the year end accounts. The outcome of the most recent Consolidated accounts for the 2021-2022 financial year has been published in full on the Scottish Government’s website and the Auditor General has publicly commented on the findings in relation to Lochaber in December 2022 which can be accessed at this link https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/publications/the-202122-audit-of-the-scottish-government-consolidated-accounts .

The Auditor General has stated at page 12 of the 2021-2022 Audit that:

“I have concluded for 2021-22, the Scottish Government’s approach to setting the level of provision against the potential exposure through the guarantee is reasonable”.

There is no sea bass catch entitlement specific to the Solway Firth. The commercial level of European sea bass which may be caught within British fishery limits is subject to the provisions contained within The Sea Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which revised article 10 of Council Regulation (EU) 2020/123.

The results of the Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021-22, and reports from schools and parents about young people vaping, are of great concern to the Scottish Government.

Vapes are an age restricted product and should not be sold to anyone under the age of 18. In October 2022 we wrote to all registered retailers of these products to remind them of their duty of sale and we regularly meet with Trading Standards on enforcement.

Our recent consultation proposed restrictions on vaping products and we are aiming to bring forward new regulations in 2023. Any action we seek to take will build on the regulations already in place to restrict the marketing, promotion and sale of vaping products to under 18s.

We will publish our refreshed Tobacco Action Plan this year, which will include actions to reduce vaping among young people.

We are reviewing vaping education for young people in schools and have also funded ASH Scotland to work with a range of youth organisations on the risks associated with vaping.

Crown Estate Scotland are responsible for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing process. The INTOG leasing process is still ongoing.The first agreement stage in the leasing process, the offer of exclusivity agreements for offshore wind development rights over an area of seabed, was announced on 24 March 2023.

Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland are progressing the next stage of the joint planning and leasing process for INTOG. Scottish Government is committed to the sustainable management of Scottish seas. The on-going planning process will consider the potential impact of INTOG on the marine environment and other marine sectors. Following conclusion of the planning process in 2024, INTOG projects will be offered Option Agreements, the next stage in the leasing process.

As a matter of general good practice, any initiative such as INTOG would be evaluated following its completion to identify any lessons learned.

ScotRail has confirmed that 422 train carriages across the fleet have the capacity to store bicycles which equates to 1,506 spaces for bikes available on ScotRail trains.

There are 343 stations across the network that have cycle storage facilities available.

Marine Scotland has issued five commercial sea bass licences in total during the past 5 years (one each year to the same vessel (2019-2023)). The vessel is registered with our Fishery Office in Ayr.