Chamber and committees

This question relates to a recommendation in the report on HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS)’s inspection of the prosecution of summary domestic abuse cases which was instructed by the Lord Advocate and was published on 17 April 2024.

The relevant recommendation is:

Recommendation 2

In relation to the reporting of domestic abuse cases, COPFS should work with Police Scotland to:

[...]

(b) ensure that Standard Prosecution Reports fully address the victim’s views on court proceedings, bail conditions and non-harassment orders. Reasons for victims’ views should be fully explored and should be described, by both COPFS and Police Scotland, in appropriate and accurate language [...]

The Lord Advocate has accepted this recommendation.

COPFS is commencing work in relation to the areas identified in the HMIPS report and will provide updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report in due course.

The objective of the Housing (Scotland) Bill as introduced to Parliament on 26 March 2024 is to deliver a package of reforms which will help ensure people have a safe, secure, and affordable place to live. If passed by Parliament, the Bill will enable the delivery of our commitments which include longer-term private sector rent controls; duties aimed at the prevention of homelessness; and supporting social rented sector tenants experiencing domestic abuse.

On the specific issue of properties being habitable and well ventilated, all rented homes in Scotland must already meet the minimum Tolerable Standard which includes elements that require housing to be free from damp and have adequate ventilation. Social rented homes are also required to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

If landlords fail to comply, tenants can escalate complaints to the Scottish Public Sector Ombudsman. In the private rented sector, landlords are required by law to comply with the Repairing Standard. Where the minimum standards are not being met, tenants can apply to the First Tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) for a determination.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical purposes and the information within it is structured accordingly. Information provided is at date of extract and may therefore be subject to change as data and systems are updated for operational reasons.

From 1 April to 14 May 2024, 123 hate crime charges and 422 charges with one or more hate crime aggravations have been reported to COPFS. The combined total number of charges is 545.

As at 14 May 2024, 343 charges have been marked for court proceedings and a further 60 charges have been marked as “not separately actioned”. Where a charge is marked as “not separately actioned”, no action was taken against the charge, but action (prosecution in court) was taken against the accused and some of the libel in the charge may have been incorporated into a charge that was actioned.

COPFS is not the holder of conviction data but, according to our case management system, 26 charges have so far resolved after court proceedings, a conviction is recorded in 17 of these charges.

The parameters set out by the UK Government for offshore wind in AR6 were a step in the right direction but the subsequent budget announcement was disappointing and more must be done to ensure lost ground is regained.

We have regular engagement with the UK Government and have been clear they must also provide clarity on the longer-term approach that will be taken to support the renewables sector, both onshore and offshore, in order to provide the certainty needed to secure investment in the Scottish supply chain. To secure project delivery as well as investor and supply chain confidence, we have also stressed that the UK Government must provide timely grid connections and strengthened grid infrastructure.

Our commitment to invest up to £500 million of public sector funding over the next 5 years demonstrates that the Scottish Government is already doing what it can within our limited budget to support market certainty and support the delivery of our tremendous offshore wind ambitions.

Lothian Buses provided an update on service 69 to Transport Scotland officials in 2022, noting they had no plans to reinstate the service at that time. Most bus services across Scotland operate in an open de-regulated market and have done so since the 1980s. Scottish Ministers do not have the power to intervene directly in the provision of local services. This is solely a matter for individual bus operators who use their own commercial judgement on service routes, frequencies, and vehicle types.

Lothian Buses is owned by the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian Councils. However, it is operated and managed as an arms-length commercial operation by a board of directors. It would remain a matter for the local authority to determine whether there is a social need for a bus service that is not being provided commercially. Local authorities can subsidise these at their discretion.

Since 2021 the low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) has supported the productive reuse of 50.5 hectares of vacant and derelict land across nine projects in Glasgow.

The aim of the VDLIP is to help with tackling persistent vacant and derelict land, supporting place based approaches to delivering regeneration and sustainable inclusive growth, as part of a just transition to net-zero. It is not intended to fund the remediation and reuse of all sites that are registered as vacant and derelict land.

The £500,000 fund to leave pilot was announced in October 2023 and ended on 31 March 2024. Women’s Aid groups disbursed the funding on behalf of the Scottish Government in five pilot areas. The Scottish Government expects a full report from Scottish Women’s Aid on the outcomes achieved by the start of June. Interim reports show that the £500,000 fund has been fully distributed, with over 500 applications being approved.

The Scottish Government has had no meetings or discussion with Eurostar Group and other operators regarding the Regional Eurostar and Nightstar services, which was cancelled in the 1990's.

I met with the Chair and Chief Executive/National Convener of Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) on March 21, 2024 and discussed a range of issues relating to the operation of the tribunal element of the children’s hearings system, including matters related to the functions of the National Convener namely children’s panel capacity and CHS plans for the retention, recruitment and training of children’s panel volunteers.

The position described is entirely a matter for the CHS Chair. The Scottish Government is aware that the Chair of Children’s Hearings Scotland has been pleased to meet with other Members. The Member may wish to meet the Chair to seek further reassurance that these matters have been fully and appropriately addressed.