COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Instances of stalking in 2023-24 will be published within the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2023-24 accredited official statistics on 25 June 2024. The most recently published data shows there were 872 crimes of stalking recorded by police over the year ending December 2023.

We do not hold information on the specific proportion of stalking cases recorded by the police that led to a prosecution. This is because the recorded crime and criminal proceedings statistics are not operationally linked. Recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland, while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases once they have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only a single conviction for the ‘main charge’ (the one receiving the most severe sentence) would be counted in the court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility a crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.

Noting the above, the latest published Criminal Proceedings in Scotland accredited official statistics show 401 people were proceeded against in court for a crime of stalking in 2021-22.

The Scottish Government participates in the UK Hydrogen Propulsion Manufacturing Taskforce. The taskforce works to develop recommendations on how government and industry can maximise investment opportunities for the UK manufacturing of hydrogen propulsion systems. This has included reference to the opportunities for hydrogen fuel cell buses. The taskforce has been paused during the pre-election period for the UK general election.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy alongside battery electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when battery electrification is challenging. However, it is up to individual bus operating companies to determine what type of zero emission vehicles best suits their particular circumstances, and for manufacturers to respond to that demand in the way that they think is most appropriate.

Scottish Forestry maintains very close working relationships with the relevant Local Authority and timber businesses in this region. Whilst we are aware of the closure of the Aboyne Bridge, and there have been discussions with local forest businesses around the implications of further deterioration on the adjacent Dinnet Bridge, Scottish Forestry has not received a request from the Local Authority for support towards reopening the Aboyne Bridge currently.

Scottish Forestry recently awarded £101,000 from the Strategic Timber Transport Fund to support £202,000 of improvements to the nearby B976 Birsemore to Dinnet Bridge Road through collaboration with Aberdeenshire Council.

The waste hierarchy already has provision for different types of thermal treatment technology. For example, while incineration without energy recovery is classed as disposal, energy from waste processes (producing usable electricity and/or heat) can be classed as recovery of energy.

Moreover, there is scope within the waste hierarchy for technologies that produce products to be classed as recycling if appropriate. For example, where the Anaerobic Digestion of food waste is undertaken to appropriate standards to produce a usable product, this is already classified as recycling in the Official Statistics published by SEPA.

We, therefore, are not considering making additional provisions through the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) regulations 2012 (“the PPC regulations”).

The National Cancer Medicines Advisory Group (NCMAG) will review the use of Anastrozole, Tamoxifen and Raloxifene as a preventative treatments for post-menopausal women at a moderate or high risk of breast cancer at a rescheduled meeting in Autumn 2024.

In anticipation of potential NCMAG advice, Scottish Government is considering how these drugs may fit in to a chemoprevention care pathway within NHS Scotland, including patient identification and monitoring.

Permitting is a matter for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), who make this information available in the public domain here: Find an Authorisation Document | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) .

As at 30 April 2024, through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) 198 connections have been successfully delivered so far across Dumfries and Galloway, 36 are currently planned, and a further 3 have been requested. There are no unsuccessful applications.

There are currently 10 suppliers who are registered to deliver services through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme that may be able to provide a service within the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area, which includes the Mid Galloway and Wigtown West council ward. These are suppliers who have existing commercial customers within Dumfries and Galloway.

Anyone can search for a supplier by local authority or the technology that they offer using the filters available here:

Find a supplier | Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband

The circumstances for the use of the direction-making powers in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are not set out in legislation, nor are they a matter of convention. In deciding whether or not to use these powers, Ministers would consider a range of factors, including carbon reduction goals and capacity needs, and would also take into account SEPA’s role and statutory functions as Scotland’s independent environmental regulator.