Chamber and committees

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

The SPS and the Scottish Government worked directly with Victim Support Organisations including Victim Support Scotland ahead of automatic early release under the Prisoners (early Release) (Scotland) Act 2025, to raise awareness and encourage those who were eligible to sign up to the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS).

Temporary expediated systems of registration were also introduced for both the Victim Information Scheme (VIS) and VNS, which were live throughout the tranche releases and ran to 30 April 2025. These systems meant the normal registration process was streamlined to enable victims who were not currently registered, to register quicker and find out the release date of an offender. These temporary expediated systems were agreed by SPS with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

When victims were registered, they were notified by SPS if there was a change to the release date of the offender, ahead of the offender’s release from SPS custody.

The way in which the resilience fund will operate is being finalised. Information on the routes and/or islands that will be covered, eligibility criteria, application process and payment rates will be shared soon, including with eligible communities.

The way in which the resilience fund will operate is being finalised. Information on the routes and/or islands that will be covered, eligibility criteria, application process and payment rates will be shared soon, including with eligible communities.

With regards to the protection of wild peregrines in Scotland, the Scottish Government does not intend to make representations ahead of the 2026 peregrine breeding season to the UK Government Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to request that transaction specific certificates are issued for peregrine declared as captive bred in Scotland.

The requirement to issue Transaction Specific Certificates (TSC) for peregrine would not improve the accountability of a captive bred peregrine being purchased should that bird not be used commercially again.

A TSC would only improve accountability, where, following a transaction, it would require a new application by the new keeper and allow for a chain of custody to be formed in instances where the specimen has been utilised for commercial purposes across different keepers.

If an Article 10 certificate is issued as an Specimen Specific Certificate (SSC) then the certificate travels with the bird and a new keeper would not need to obtain a new certificate for the bird. Registration of any wild and unsourced bird is still required.

Section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Act provides that any person who possesses or controls any bird from a species listed in Schedule 4 must register the bird with the Scottish Ministers, and identify the bird with a ring or mark. Section 7 and Schedule 4 are commonly known as the bird registration scheme. The purpose of the bird registration scheme is to provide a mechanism to help deter illegal take from the wild of birds whose populations are threatened.

Regulation 5 and the schedule of the Wildlife and Countryside (Registration and Ringing of Certain Captive Birds) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 provides that the bird registration scheme also applies to peregrine falcon and merlin if they are not already registered through the Convention on the Control in Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). It is an offence to fail to register or ring/mark a bird if required to do so.

The Scottish Government does not hold copies of any assessments that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has made in this area. It is SFRS policy to remove pregnant firefighters from front-line operational duties to avoid any potential risks to the mother or unborn child.

The Scottish Government is working with Ferguson Marine and CMAL to understand fully the basis of the revised delivery plan for MV Glen Rosa. All requests for an additional budget for capital projects require detailed scrutiny processes before they can be approved and decisions taken on sources of funding within the overall Scottish Budget.

The purpose of the Glen Rosa review group is to interrogate the revised delivery plan to ensure it is realistic, efficient and focused on value for money.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37715 on 28 May 2025. 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 has not made an estimate of the number of barber shops linked to money laundering. Money laundering is investigated by Police Scotland working with partners including the National Crime Agency and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37794 on 29 May 2025. 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.