Chamber and committees

NHS Boards have reporting systems to capture data on violence and aggression - including sexual assault. I strongly encourage staff to report any and all instances of violent and aggressive behaviour.

Health Improvement Scotland are working with all NHS boards and partner organisations to standardise the reporting of adverse events, and have developed a national framework which was published in February.

This details the importance of national standards of reporting and the requirement for monitoring and publishing of data. This will facilitate the collation of accurate data nationally.

The courts have extensive powers to deal robustly with sexual offending. All instances of such behaviour should be reported and escalated to Police Scotland as quickly as possible for consideration of necessary action.

All calls received by Police Scotland receive an initial assessment based on the THRIVE model (Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigative Opportunity, Vulnerability and Engagement) to enable informed decision making on prioritisation. Given the unpredictable and often violent nature of domestic abuse, incidents are assessed with consideration given to the safety of the victim and family, background history for the victim and suspect, severity of the allegation and evidential opportunities.

Police Scotland have advised that an incident will be graded appropriately and fast tracked where necessary with the police response will be victim led as much as possible.

Police Scotland’s three year business plan also seeks to ensure that victims are fully heard and supported through a service that is tailored to their needs, and that the service works with partners to ensure vulnerable people can access appropriate care at the right time.

The Scottish Government is aware of the research by the University of Cambridge and the University of the Highlands and Islands and recognises that the use of lead in ammunition continues to pose risks to human health, wildlife, and the environment. We prioritised work under assimilated law in 2021 to propose a restriction for lead in ammunition, in agreement with the Welsh and UK Governments, to address these ongoing risks.

We have been working with UK and Welsh Governments to reach a decision following the publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s Opinion on this restriction proposal in December 2024. Once a decision has been agreed between the UK Government, Scottish, and Welsh Ministers, the UK Government will publish a decision report on its website. The Secretary of State must then seek the consent of Scottish and Welsh Ministers to a UK statutory instrument to make this decision law.

The SG recognises the harm to retail businesses caused by shoplifting and are fully behind the action Police Scotland and its partners are taking action to prevent it. There are complex reasons behind the increase and Police Scotland have been clear that they believe cost of living has also been a factor. We are making £3 million available in our budget for 2025-26 to help tackle the issue which costs businesses millions each year and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops. Police Scotland will work in partnership with the retail sector on how best to use this additional funding for maximum impact.

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding electronic monitoring use across a broader range of licences and court orders, including exploring the use of new technology, such as remote alcohol monitoring, which is provided for by the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019.

Regulations came into force on 31 January 2025 which enable the use of GPS monitoring devices for those released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC). As work continues to embed these changes, we will engage with justice partners to explore the potential uses of new technologies, including both GPS and remote substance monitoring technologies. The functionality of GPS tags may have a role in helping to address particular behaviour associated with problematic alcohol use, for example, by excluding someone from a town centre on a Saturday night.

The National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) is a planning tool that informs and provides guidance on marine use decisions covering where, when, if and how development takes place. The regulation and management of marine activities including fishing are covered by sector specific regulations outside of planning.

The NMP2 will support the outcomes set out in the fisheries management strategy, and guide decision makers to consider how fisheries management will interact with decisions. This includes supporting improvements in the collection of spatial data, and the requirements for consideration of this data in planning decisions.

The Scottish Government supports the Police Scotland Fleet Strategy. Telematics is a key element of that Strategy which aims to provide a fit for purpose, safe, reliable, and cost-effective police fleet.

The Scottish Government greatly values Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) across Scotland. We know that many disabled people currently face significant barriers. DPOs support thousands of disabled people across Scotland through programmes which build the confidence, connections and capacity of disabled people.

£5 million of our Equality and Human Rights fund supports Disabled People’s Organisations to tackle inequality and discrimination, furthering equality, and advancing the realisation of human rights in Scotland.

We are also investing an additional £2 million for the Disability Equality Plan and are working closely with DPOs on delivering essential support to Scotland’s disabled people.

As a reserved matter, the Scottish Government has no powers over the smart-meter roll out and does not hold information on its progress. The UK Government publishes quarterly statistics on the smart meter roll out which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/smart-meters-in-great-britain-quarterly-update-september-2024

The UK Government has made a commitment that all households will be offered a smart meter upgrade by the end of this year. However, many in Scotland, particularly those in our rural and island communities, face ongoing difficulties with smart meter connectivity, wiring or a lack of engineers, thus preventing them from upgrading or causing metering issues when they do.

Since the start of the smart meter roll out in January 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged regularly with the UK Government and Ofgem to ensure all smart meter users across Scotland have full network access.

While telecommunications is reserved to the UK Government, we have proactively addressed poor network coverage through digital infrastructure programmes such as Reaching 100% and the Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) programme. We have delivered 55 mobile masts in rural and island areas, all of which are available on an open access basis and could potentially be used to site smart meter radio infrastructure.

However, the Data Communications Company (DCC) controls the digital energy infrastructure for Great Britain, and collects and shares smart meter data with energy suppliers via the Wide Area Network (WAN). In establishing how best to collect this data, the DCC took the decision that in the “north” region of Great Britain, including Scotland, the use of long range radio would allow signals to travel further across hills and mountains, reaching more rural communities more easily. It is clear that this does not always work in practice and many households and businesses are unable to install a working smart meter.

On 8 January, I wrote to the UK Minister for Energy Consumers, Dr Miatta Fahnbulleh, calling for the UK Government to take steps to allow the DCC to use mobile technology to provide a signal to homes in Scotland. In her response, Minister Fahnbulleh advised that the DCC is currently undertaking work to develop technical solutions to overcome the connectivity issues that currently prevent some consumers from accessing the WAN.

Further, on 10 March, I reiterated my view to Ofgem that an update to the DCC license conditions would provide enduring protection to consumers given the pace at which technical solutions are likely to change and the potential for meters to become unfit for purpose through no fault of the consumer.

Fit-for-purpose smart meters provide numerous benefits to consumers including real time usage data which can help consumers cut their energy usage and save money. It is therefore critical that the UK Government, Ofgem, and the DCC work together to urgently resolve these issues.

A comprehensive range of monitoring activities are undertaken across Scotland for a variety of purposes. This includes for public health, at designated bathing waters, and assessing the state of the water environment. No new monitoring activities are planned in the Clyde estuary north of Largs.