Chamber and committees

I have today announced a £15 million Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund. This is in recognition of the important role that small, grass roots, community groups play in supporting adult mental health and wellbeing and aims to build on the excellent examples of good practice we have seen emerge throughout the pandemic.

It also reflects the importance that the Scottish Government places on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those in distress, ensuring that individuals can access a range of different types of support to match their needs.

The Scottish Government has been discussing with businesses and other stakeholders the detailed plans for implementing the previously-announced policy to end overseas trade support and promotion activities focused solely on fossil fuel goods and services by the time of COP26. Under this policy, trade support and promotion will be refocused to support the Scottish Government’s objective of a Just Transition.

In the light of those discussions, and in recognition of the need for SMEs to have sufficient time to adjust, when this policy enters into force on 1 November 2021 it will include an exemption for SMEs until 31 March 2022. This matches the timing of the equivalent policy of the UK government, bearing in mind that in many cases the companies affected work with and receive support from both governments. Detailed guidance on the implementation of the policy, including this and other exemptions, will be published on the Scottish Government website at 2pm Friday 15 October at this link - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802014662 .

A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.

It would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to comment on the day to day operational matters of SEPA as independent environmental regulator. However, I understand that SEPA intend to provide you with a written update regarding the Tarbolton Moss Landfill Site.

Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, COPFS concluded 59 FAIs, an increase from 57 the previous year. This increase took place notwithstanding an increase of more than 40% deaths reported to COPFS compared to previous years as well as the restrictions on court business for much of that period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In relation to those 59 FAIs, 43 related to deaths which had occurred between 2018 and 2020.

In recognition of the fact that some death investigations have taken too long, COPFS has made significant changes to its practices and additional resources have been applied to this important area of work. There has been a particular focus on clearing a backlog of cases and consequently some older FAIs concluded during this period which will have affected the figures quoted.

There are legitimate and unavoidable reasons for prolonged periods of investigation: the overriding necessity of conducting death investigations thoroughly; the need to wait for the outcome of other related investigations; the need to obtain expert advice; and the need to consider and, in some cases, conclude criminal proceedings before holding an FAI.

Fair Start Scotland (FSS) is Scotland’s national devolved employability support service, which helps those further from the labour market to progress towards and into fair and sustainable fair work.

We published the third Fair Start Scotland Annual Report on the 14^th October 2021. The report gives an overview of progress throughout 2021-21, highlighting how the service adapted to the demands of COVID-19 and the changing employability landscape to ensure that Fair Start Scotland participants continued to be supported.

It is available from SPICe at reference SG/2021/244

We are also publishing Fair Start Scotland Evaluation Report 4: Overview of year 3. This is the fourth FSS evaluation report, and details the research that supports the third year of service delivery up to 31 March 2021. The report includes findings from a telephone survey of over 1000 participants; local area case studies; interviews with participants across the country, senior Scottish Government colleagues and senior DWP stakeholders, analysis of management information on participants’ outcomes and an economic evaluation which includes an assessment of the value for money of the service.

This report is available from the Scottish Government website here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802014587

The Annual Report and evaluation findings demonstrate how Fair Start Scotland responded to the significant challenges that COVID-19 brought over the last 18 months.

Despite these challenges and the various difficulties faced by participants during this time, over 10,000 people chose to join Fair Start Scotland for help in year three and to date 4,170 of those participants have moved into work.

The impacts of COVID-19 are likely to have a profound and lasting impact on FSS delivery and our ambitions, however the extension of the Fair Start Scotland service for a further two years until 31 March 2023 has ensured that there is continued support and much needed stability for those facing long term unemployment.

As we enter the fourth year of FSS delivery, we are firmly focused on high quality delivery and outcomes, and making our services inclusive and accessible for all. We will also continue to make improvements to the service through our “test and learn” approach working closely with our partners and participants to ensure they continue to receive a quality, tailored service with dignity and respect at the centre of their support.

We also continue to work towards our No One Left Behind ambitions, working with local government and other partners to develop a locally responsive and flexible employability system that delivers the right support at the right time for those who need it most.

We have consistently pushed the boundaries in our procurement activity to achieve payment of the real Living Wage to those employed in public contracts, and have provided extensive guidance and support to public bodies on this issue.

We are making payment of the real Living Wage a condition of winning Scottish Government contracts and we will engage widely to encourage this practice across the public sector in Scotland.

We acknowledge the valuable work that others such as the Fair Work Convention and the Poverty Alliance have undertaken in this area.

The Scottish Government will bring this matter to parliament on return from parliamentary recess.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. The training and development of Police Officers is a matter for the Chief Constable, with oversight by the Scottish Police Authority.

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

The average number of hours per week that convicted prisoners spend on purposeful activity a) across the prison estate and (b) in each penal establishment in each year since 2016-17 is as follows: -

The work of Police Scotland’s International Development and Innovation Unit and the papers presented at meetings of their International Development Board are a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, who is operationally independent of the Scottish Government. The decision to enter into UK Government funded contracts to train police forces in countries such as Sri Lanka is also a matter for the Chief Constable with the Scottish Police Authority having responsibility for oversight and scrutiny of his decisions.

Police Scotland has confirmed that their work in Sri Lanka is aimed to improve community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. The training was initially paused due to the coronavirus pandemic and they are now awaiting the outcome of the review of the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment for Sri Lanka, which is the responsibility of the UK Government, so that this can be given due consideration.