The Lord Advocate has not provided the statement of prosecution policy regarding the safer drug consumption in Glasgow as of yet. It is anticipated that this will be provided in the coming weeks, ahead of the planned opening of the facility. The decision as to whether or not the statement of prosecution policy is published is one for the Lord Advocate.

All agricultural businesses that have employees are required to comply with the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order (AWO). The monitoring of compliance with the AWO takes the form of Control Test Inspection (CTIs). Each year, a selection of 120 businesses, encompassing employers and workplaces, are randomly selected from the information taken from the June Scottish Agricultural Census. In 2024, circa 8200 businesses were deemed to have employees covered by the AWO. In addition to CTIs, the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team will investigate all businesses where employees have raised complaints.

There are currently 21 Scottish Government employees working as Agricultural Wage Inspectors. This role is conducted by Agricultural Officers who work for Rural Payments & Inspections Division and are responsible for other statutory functions in addition to agricultural wages inspections.

No independent contractors conduct the role of Agricultural Wages Inspector on behalf of the Scottish Government.

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I have asked their Chief Executive, Adrian Gillespie, to contact you directly with a response.

The Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) recommendations have helped to inform many of the actions included in the Culture Strategy Action Plan, published in 2023. The Action Plan sets out current and planned activity and is available at A Culture Strategy for Scotland: Action Plan (www.gov.scot).

The Scottish Government continues to discuss with the other devolved administrations as part the Microchipping Devolved Administration Working Group ways to improve traceability of breeders.

With regards to current requirements to record breeder information, as part of The Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016 this Government made it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped and for the following details be recorded

• 7 (d) where applicable, the fact that the keeper of the dog is also a breeder
• 7 (e) where applicable, the fact that the keeper of the dog is a person who holds a breeding licence granted under section 1(2) of the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973(7) and, if so —

(i) the name of the local authority which issued the breeder’s licence; and

(ii) the breeder’s licence number or code (if any);

The Legal Aid Fund is demand-led and directly linked to application numbers and all eligible costs are met. The Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Annual Accounts and Report 2023-24 show that the total cost of legal aid has increased 12% on the previous year to £151 million, 16% higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20 and just under £10 million above the Scottish Legal Aid Boards’s budget of £141.3 million. Indications for this financial year show that expenditure levels are predicted to rise to around £171 million which will be the highest ever recorded.

Fees were uprated in 2019 by 3% and in 2021 by 5% and a further 5% came into effect in April 2022. Fees were increased most recently in April 2023 implementing an £11 million package of legal aid reforms and an uplift worth 10.25%. The compound effect of these increases is just over 25% and is a year-on-year increase in expenditure and investment in legal aid.

The most recent increase came into force on 29 April 2023, taking the total additional funding in legal aid to £31 million since April 2021.

In addition to fee increases, other forms of investment have been delivered by the Scottish Government. In 2021 a further £9 million in funding was also made available to assist legal aid providers through the pandemic.

The Scottish Government also provided funding to establish 40 traineeships in legal aid firms during 2021. The total additional funding package for legal aid providers between 2021-22 was worth £20 million.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Annual Accounts and Report 2023-24 can be found here: Annual Report and Accounts - Scottish Legal Aid Board (slab.org.uk).

The Scottish Legal Aid Board doesn’t use the register of criminal legal aid solicitors as an indication of solicitor availability. A small number of solicitors register and do small amounts of work to meet ad hoc requests from individual clients. They often choose to eventually withdraw from the register rather than meeting the requirements for remaining on it. A better indication of solicitor supply is the number of active solicitors – those solicitors who have carried out criminal legal aid work in the last 12 months.

The number of solicitors actively involved in criminal legal assistance has remained relatively stable for the last four years, with activity heavily concentrated among the busier solicitors. Based on active solicitor numbers there has been a reduction of 23 active solicitors – or 3% - in last four years.

The Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) was paused pending the outcome of a strategic stakeholder review. This work will now be considered as part of the Scottish Government’s review of how the culture and creative industries sector can be best supported going forward as set out in PfG 2024-25.

The Creative Industries Leadership Group (CILG) has not been convened by The Scottish Government since its meeting on 8 June 2022. However, the Scottish Government carries out regular engagement with key stakeholders across the Creative Industries sector, including those involved with CILG, as part of the normal business of Government.