Chamber and committees

As head of the systems for the prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths in Scotland, I have set clear priorities, along with the Chief Constable for the Police Service of Scotland, for the investigation and prosecution of crime as measures to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak come into force.

The commitment of both the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Police Scotland is to keep the public safe from harm and to continue to deal effectively with those who break the law.

Very significant measures have been taken to support the public health guidance. These include new arrangements for court business which are aimed at significantly reducing social contact.

On 17 March 2020 the Lord President announced that no new jury trials would commence in the High Court or the sheriff court until further notice. Preliminary hearings will continue with the accused, if in custody, attending by video conference.

The Crown, with the Courts, is making arrangements to adjourn most summary trials, although a small number of summary trials will take place, generally involving an accused who is in custody.

The Police will continue to deal effectively with criminality, and to report cases to the Procurator Fiscal in the usual way. On 20 March 2020, I issued revised, rigorous guidelines, focused on public safety, for the Police to apply in the liberation of an arrested person pending further investigation or action.

Prosecutors will continue to make decisions about cases in accordance with the Scottish Prosecution Code; and they will continue to progress cases so far as possible within the constraints imposed by the current situation.

Adjustments have also been made to the system for the investigation of deaths with a view to reducing pressure on the medical profession and on the emergency services. An instruction has been issued that medical practitioners will no longer be required to report to the Crown deaths which are the result of COVID-19 or are presumed to be a result of COVID-19, unless there is some other substantive reason for reporting that death. And the Service is taking steps to minimise the need for medical practitioners or other NHS staff to attend a Fatal Accident Inquiry to give evidence.

This situation is evolving and work is also being done across the criminal justice system and Scottish Government to enable the effective administration of justice to continue.

Staff within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are following the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland guidance. This means many staff are working from home and only those staff whose role requires attendance at an office are being asked to travel to work.

It is appreciated that uncertainty about court proceedings can have a serious impact on those affected by crime and further information for witnesses, victims and those accused of crime has been published on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal website.

The most recent information provided by Rape Crisis Scotland on waiting lists across rape crisis centres is from October 2019 and as follows:

The Scottish Government is working closely with local government on a daily basis though COSLA and SOLACE to understand local resilience plans, to establish how we can best support them to rapidly respond to communities affected by COVID-19. We are also working closely with the representative bodies for social care providers on a range of issues to ensure that social care services are maintained during this challenging period.

On 18 March 2020 we announced a £70 million food fund as part of a £350 million package to support communities welfare and wellbeing in response to Covid-19. We want this fund to support the continuation of free school meals and to provide help to older people and, indeed, anyone who is struggling to access food, including those in receipt of care at home, either for financial reasons or because they are ill or self-isolating.

We understand that sport scotland has sought to explore all options in detail before making this decision, and that it is committed to supporting the future growth of sailing in Scotland as well as a future for the centre which will benefit the local community.

sport scotland has undertaken an extensive review, which has included consideration of impact on the following:

a) The local community and economy

sport scotland has consulted with the local community and conducted detailed discussions with staff and partners. sport scotland has determined that the Centre provides little direct economic benefit to the local economy. Its assessment includes an estimate of the economically active population of the island contributed by staff (0.4%), the percentage of ferry passenger journeys by staff and users on the Largs – Cumbrae route (1.5%), and the annual spend of the National Watersports Centre spent with local businesses and suppliers (£15,500 in 2018-19). sport scotland will publish a full Island Impact Assessment, which is expected on 27 March 2020.

b) People from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds

sport scotland has analysed bookings for the period from April 2018. This analysis found that only 5.3% of course bookings were made by customers in the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland (by SIMD datazones).

c) Scottish sailing

sport scotland is committed to supporting the development of sailing inScotland. sport scotland has worked closely with Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Scotland, the Scottish Governing Body for sailing, and has agreed how best to support the continued development of the sport across Scotland. RYA Scotland supports the decision, which will ensure that the future development of sailing will be driven by the sailing community. While not the primary purpose of the National Watersports Centre, it has been used by a small number of schools to provide a sailing experience for their students. The future provision of educational courses for children currently offered by Cumbrae National Watersports Centre will now be run from Inverclyde National Sports Training Centre.

Scottish Government officials are currently mapping residential rehabilitation opportunities across Scotland including improved referral pathways. Work around this is being accelerated in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government has introduced a £350m package of funding and coordinated support for individuals and communities affected by COVID-19, allowing better support for people who may be worried about accessing food and other essentials whether due to an income drop or self-isolation, including older adults.

We are in frequent contact with key national stakeholders such as the Trussell Trust, the Independent Food Aid Network and FareShare who are monitoring the availability of food supplies to community based organisations. We will be connecting these groups to Local Resilience Partnerships who are undertaking vital frontline work to respond to the needs of vulnerable people.

Through the Detect Cancer Early programme, the Scottish Government aims to increase the proportion of cancers that are detected at the earliest stages and includes increasing awareness of the symptoms of ovarian Cancer.

Our social marketing strategy and the latest ‘Survivors’ campaign aims to reduce fear of all cancer, which we know remains a key barrier to people presenting early and encourage those with any unusual or persistent changes to their body to visit their GP practice.

This is supported by our ‘Getcheckedearly’ website which has an ovarian cancer specific page with case studies and links to Target Ovarian Cancer and Cancer Research UK.

As March is ovarian cancer awareness month we would encourage any women with any potential signs of ovarian cancer to contact their GP practice.

Information regarding waiting times for psychological therapies in the prison estate is not held centrally by the Scottish Government or Information Services Division (ISD).

The Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 reinforces our commitment to improving mental health outcomes for those in the justice system, including those in prisons. A range of activity is taking place through the Health and Social Care in Prisons Programme, the National Prison Care Network, the response to the Expert Review of Provision of Mental Health Services at HMP YOI Polmont and Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy, which outlines our commitment to funding 800 additional mental health workers in prisons and other key settings.

Improving children's healthy weight is a top priority for the Scottish Government. T hat is why our ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce health inequalities sits at the heart of our Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan, published in 2018.

Primary 1 BMI data is important to measure progress at local and national level. It is a key component of our wider efforts to tackle childhood obesity which need to be underpinned by high quality data that is used to its full potential.

In January 2020, the Director of Population Health and the Chief Nursing Officer wrote jointly to all NHS Boards to highlight our concern about the decline in coverage and reassert the importance of the P1 data collection through Child Health Reviews as the key measure for monitoring progress on childhood obesity nationally and locally. We intend to follow up the letter with discussions with Boards in due course.

That said, it is anticipated that school closures as a result of COVID-19 will affect Boards' ability to carry out Child Health Reviews in the current academic year.