Chamber and committees

Caledonian Service funding to local authorities is paid through the Section 27 funding for Justice Services (the Men’s Programme) with additional monies for the Women and Children’s Service paid out under separate funding powers.

The following table shows Section 27 funding in previous years:

There are 20 local authority areas that currently deliver the Caledonian System, with the most recent area, West Dunbartonshire, starting delivery in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government announced additional investment of £11.4 million for justice social work services for 2024-25 to help build capacity, strengthen and improve services, existing and new, and to support local prioritisation aimed at reducing reoffending.

The Scottish Government wrote to the 12 Local Authorities who currently do not deliver the Caledonian System seeking views on whether in light of the additional sums provided they want to consider roll out of the Caledonian System in their area and wished to access central training and support.

All 12 areas have now responded. The majority of Local Authorities advised that their additional funding was being used for other areas that they considered to be of priority and they would not wish to consider roll out of the Caledonian system at this time. Several areas did note potential interest and will shortly meet the Caledonian National Team in Community Justice Scotland (CJS) to discuss the potential for any further roll out.

We were also made aware that some local authority areas have committed themselves to delivering alternative domestic abuse programmes and therefore have advised that they would not wish to change delivery to the Caledonian System at this time.

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly.

Decisions about when to issue Recorded Police Warning’s (RPWs) are an independent operational matter for Police Scotland and the offence types covered by Recorded Police Warnings (RPWs) are a matter for the Lord Advocate as part of her independent role as head of Scotland’s system of prosecution. Police Scotland's Direct Measures Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) sets out a standard and instruction where an officer dealing with an incident may issue a RPW, where he or she has reason to believe that the person has committed one of the relevant offences and meets the necessary criteria.

As such, the Scottish Government has not sought a full list of criminal offences that can be disposed of by way of a RPW from (a) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service or (b) Police Scotland.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

Since 2011 Scottish Ministers have invested over £65 million in public EV charging. Scotland now has over 5,000 public EV charge points and is on target to have 6,000 public EV charge points by 2026, through a combination of public and increasing private sector investment. Scotland has the best provision of public EV charge points per head of population of anywhere in the UK, outside of London, and the most rapid charge points per head of population of any region in the UK.

Transport Scotland has also to-date provided £5.7 million to support the installation of 18,861 domestic charge points and £10.8 million to support 1,432 higher powered workplace charge points, complementing the public network.

In June 2023 the Scottish Government published its Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network, highlighting the need for a transition towards a public charging network that is largely financed and delivered by the private sector. In 2024, the private sector is forecast to invest £40 million to £55 million in public EV charging in Scotland.

The Government is investing a further £30 million through our EV infrastructure fund, supporting Local Authorities across Scotland, and prioritising areas of Scotland that are less likely to attract private investment, including rural and island communities.

Since 21-22, the Scottish Government has provided over £15 million of financial support to Local Authorities to support the installing of public EV charge points.

The First Minister emphasised his Government’s commitment to Scotland’s independence in his first call with the Prime Minister earlier this month. The Scottish Government stands ready to engage at any point with the UK Government to begin talks about the change to the Scottish Parliament’s powers to allow the Scottish people to choose their future.

Within the context of the challenging budget position for 2024-25, achieving a balanced budget requires difficult decisions and robust spending control. Discussions are ongoing to work through priorities and finalise funding allocations within budget lines, including the Strengthening Communities Programme (SCP). Funding is being released as decisions are taken so ensuring that activity can proceed in agreed areas as soon as possible whilst this review continues.

However, in response to ongoing discussions with Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) and other SCP partners, the release of funds to support April salaries costs is being processed for the community organisations supported by DTAS. Officials are in regular communication with DTAS and the other SCP delivery partners on this issue.

The Scottish Government fully appreciates the hard work and dedication of partners in Scotland around delivering employability services which support a reduction in child poverty levels and support those facing structural barriers to enter into and sustain employment. Discussions are continuing to finalise allocations, with funding being released as decisions are taken to ensure activities in agreed areas can proceed as soon as possible.

Policy and regulation of energy networks in the UK, including their operation, maintenance and resilience, are reserved to the UK Government.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with stakeholders, including network companies, across the energy industry. The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy and I last met with SSEN, alongside SPEN and ESO, on 21 March to discuss the ESO’s ‘Beyond 2030’ network recommendations for connection and delivery of clean power to homes and businesses across GB, where we stressed the need for meaningful and early engagement with communities.

Scotland has a regime of statutory salmon conservation orders in place which are refreshed annually. Salmon caught in rivers in poor conservation status, classified as category 3, are not allowed to be retained, thus ensuring the protection of the species where it is at greatest risk.