Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-08919

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been made against Police Scotland in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government do not hold the data requested.

Since the formation of Police Scotland in 2013, Police Scotland’s Professional Standards Department have been responsible for investigating complaints against officers up to the rank of Chief Superintendent. Any complaints against senior officers are a matter for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

The SPA Complaints and Conduct Committee provide annual and quarterly reports on complaints. The most recent annual report covers the period 2020/21: https://www.spa.police.uk/spa-media/mq1jgwsq/spa-complaints-conduct-committee-2020_21-annual-report-final-dp-update.pdf

Further information, including archived reports are available on the SPA website: https://www.spa.police.uk/meetings.

You may also be interested in information published on Police Scotland’s disclosure log where responses to FOIs are published: https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/

Question reference: S6W-08827

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it assigned to NHS Ayrshire and Arran to help prevent drug-related deaths in 2021-22.

Please find the requested information in the following tables.

Table 1: NHS Board Baseline funding for Alcohol and Drug Services ; Ayrshire and Arran.

NHS Board	2021-22 Allocation
Ayrshire & Arran	£3,715,311

Additional Funding

In 2021-22 NHS Ayrshire & Arran received a further £3,397,782.20 above the baseline funding to support their Alcohol and Drug services and other projects. This was allocated directly to the ADP’s and Health Boards and also through the Corra Foundation. A full breakdown is below.

Table 2: Funding committed to Alcohol and Drug Services in Ayrshire and Arran Health Board

Funding stream	2021-22 Allocation
Buvidal	£564,770
Outreach allocation	£221,257
Near-fatal overdose pathways allocation	£221,257
Lived and living experience panels/forums allocation	£36,878
Programme for Government	£1,254,453
Drug Deaths Taskforce Funding	£216,641
Total	£2,515,263

Table 3: Funding delivered to projects in Ayrshire and Arran by the Corra Foundation 2021-22

Organisation Name	Fund	Local Authority (primary)	Amount Awarded 2021-22
Ayrshire Justice Services Partnership - Drug Treatment & Testing Order Service	Improvement Fund	North Ayrshire	£55,416.00
Ayrshire Justice Services Partnership - Drug Treatment & Testing Order Service	Improvement Fund	North Ayrshire	£53,856.00
Blue Triangle Housing Association Ltd	Improvement Fund	South Ayrshire	£42,914.00
Blue Triangle Housing Association Ltd	Improvement Fund	South Ayrshire	£51,152.00
Broken Chains	Grassroots Fund	South Ayrshire	£27,600.00
Children 1st	Children and Families Fund	North Ayrshire	£94,462.00
East Ayrshire Advocacy Services (EAAS)	Grassroots Fund	East Ayrshire	£24,300.00
East Ayrshire Churches Homelessness Action	Grassroots Fund	East Ayrshire	£15,830.00
East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership	Children and Families Fund	East Ayrshire	£100,000.00
Freedom Fighters	Local Support Fund	North Ayrshire	£50,000.00
Impact Arts Projects	Children and Families Fund	North Ayrshire	£83,633.00
North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership	Improvement Fund	North Ayrshire	£49,147.00
Occupational Therapy North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership	Improvement Fund	North Ayrshire	£21,000.00
onside ayrshire cic	Grassroots Fund	North Ayrshire	£26,380.00
Patchwork Recovery Community	Grassroots Fund	East Ayrshire	£20,000.00
Recovery Ayr	Local Support Fund	South Ayrshire	£33,500.00
Recovery Ayr	Grassroots Fund	South Ayrshire	£38,000.00
Recovery Enterprises Scotland	Grassroots Fund	East Ayrshire	£46,288.00
Vineburgh Community Association	Local Support Fund	North Ayrshire	£49,041.20
Total			£882,519.20

Question reference: S6W-08842

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding the proposals to allow Ukrainian refugees settling in Scotland access to study at Scottish universities free of charge, with access to living cost support.

Ukrainians who arrive in Scotland and wish to undertake a course of study in Further or Higher Education will be entitled to home tuition fee status, free tuition and living cost support for the duration of their studies. This entitlement has been enshrined in the new student support regulations which were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 6 May 2022 and come into force on 1 August, being the start of the 2022- 23 Academic Year.

In addition, the Scottish Government also announced on 14 April, the creation of a new £1 million International Students’ Emergency Fund for international students who were facing financial hardship as a result of a significant change of circumstances.

Ukrainian students who have previously chosen to study at a college or university in Scotland and are facing financial hardship as a result of the Russian invasion will be eligible to apply to their college or university for support.

Question reference: S6W-08843

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the next monthly recorded crime in Scotland statistics are due for publication.

When the monthly recorded crime in Scotland statistics were last published in April, they highlighted to users that these official statistics would be replaced with a quarterly release of National Statistics, which will present the latest rolling 12-month period. As part of the transition to a quarterly release schedule, and to ensure the publication of data in as timely a manner as possible, the release of the annual National Statistics publication for 2021-22 is being brought forward from September to 28 June.

These and other changes to the production of the recorded crime statistics are a matter for independent statisticians and the Scottish Crime Recording Board, not Ministers. They were approved by the Board following a public consultation of users. The Board’s remit includes ensuring the production of crime statistics is undertaken in a manner consistent with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. An associated report on responses to the consultation and the resulting changes was published on 24 March ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/consultation-future-recorded-crime-police-activity-statistics-summary-responses-discussion-next-steps/ ).

Question reference: S6W-08809

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no maximum bidding price has been stipulated within the awards process for floating offshore wind projects looking to progress through the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) process, in light of a maximum bidding price being stipulated in the commercial-scale ScotWind leasing round.

It is for Crown Estate Scotland, As managers of Crown assets in Scotland, to set seabed leasing fees.

The INTOG leasing round, due to be launched summer 2022, is a ‘first of its kind’ and there is no direct precedent to consider when finalising the design of the leasing arrangements. The objectives for INTOG (stimulating innovation and decarbonising oil & gas) are different from those of other offshore leasing rounds and as a result some key features of INTOG, including pricing, are also different.

Due to the specific nature of the projects, the novel commercial models, and the potential risks relating to such a new type of project, Crown Estate Scotland want to give the opportunity for the market to set the appropriate price given that this is a new and untested landscape.

The ScotWind price cap was designed to ensure that projects competing for limited Plan Options were viable in the long-term, would maximise supply chain opportunities and incentivise floating wind projects, that are ideal for Scotland's deeper waters but comparatively more expensive.

Question reference: S6W-08808

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what role (a) ministers and (b) Crown Estate Scotland will have in finalising the scoring criteria and weighting for Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leases for floating offshore wind projects.

Crown Estate Scotland have designed and are responsible for the leasing arrangements for the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) process, this includes development of the weighting and evaluation criteria for applications. Crown Estate Scotland outlined the proposals for evaluation criteria in the Leasing Information Document (LID) released on 22 February 2022. The purpose of the LID is to provide developers with a clear understanding of the application process and contractual structure of the leasing round.

Question reference: S6W-08777

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing statutory powers to apply a public interest to all landholdings above an agreed scale.

We are committed to bringing forward a new Land Reform Bill in this parliamentary session. We will undertake a wide-ranging consultation this year on proposals for the Bill, which will build on our land reform measures to date and will further tackle Scotland’s historically iniquitous patterns of land ownership - including by tackling problematic scale and concentration of ownership. The Bill will aim to ensure that the public interest is considered on transfers of particularly large scale land holdings.

Question reference: S6W-08781

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been done to map out land ownership since the publication of the 2019 report, The effects associated with concentrated and large-scale land ownership in Scotland: a research review by the Scottish Land Commission.

Documenting land ownership in Scotland is a key aim of the Land Register of Scotland which is held and maintained by The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (ROS) and is accessible online free of charge. Registers of Scotland (RoS) RoS are continually working to record land ownership and improve land mass coverage of records on the Land Register. Full completion of the Land Register is dependent on landowners submitting applications, however, RoS have made significant progress over the last year in their approach to making data held within the General Register of Sasines rather than the Land Register more accessible. As a result they can now link Sasine property search sheets to a map for the first time, making it visually more helpful and accessible. This is also a way of showing indicative ownership extents of Sasines titles which will help fill in current gaps in the Land Register.

Question reference: S6O-01213

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what efforts it is making to assist those who work in the nuclear energy sector to transition to suitable alternative employment.

The decommissioning of nuclear sites requires the retention of a highly skilled workforce over many years and their transferable skills could be utilised by the renewables sector as part of our transition to net zero.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will be published in Autumn 2022 and will provide a road map for the future of Scotland’s energy system. The development process will include engagement, offering the opportunity for those within or associated with the nuclear energy industry to contribute to this dialogue.

In December 2020 the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland published the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) setting out the actions required to ensure Scotland’s labour market is able to effectively support the transition to net zero.

Question reference: S6O-01237

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what priority it attaches to developing relationships with other European countries.

Chamber and committees