Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the amount of money lost through cryptocurrency scams and fraud in Scotland, and the data held for the Criminal Proceedings statistics is unable to separately identify any related charges and convictions which involve cryptocurrency. Collecting data on this subject is very challenging, with the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) highlighting that for most types of cyber fraud, a majority of victims did not report the incident to the authorities.

Scottish Government statisticians are continuing to develop the evidence base in this area. For example, the Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics now include analysis of cyber-crimes recorded by the police. In 2021-22 almost half (48%) of recorded fraud was estimated to have been online/through the internet, representing around 8,000 crimes. Whilst this will include incidents of cryptocurrency scams, these cases are not separately identifiable within the data. Work is also being taken forward to develop and incorporate a new module into the SCJS, which will allow us to estimate the volume of fraud and computer misuse experienced in Scotland, including those crimes not reported to the police. These new questions will include details of financial loss arising from cyber fraud. Users will be kept informed as to the development of this work, including when the first results are expected to be published.

Data from the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides estimates of the number and percentage of households with no central heating at a local authority level by averaging three years of data. The most recently available local authority data is for the 2017-19 period and is presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Number and percentage of households with no central heating by local authority, 2017-2019.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05896 on‎ 7 February 2022. 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

As at 23 January 2023, the Office of the Public Guardian are processing the following Power of Attorney applications:

• Electronic (EPOAR) submissions received on 25 May 2022
• Postal submissions received around 10 June 22

An expedited service is available for Power of Attorney applications that are to be processed urgently. Urgent applications will usually be processed within five working days.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13059 on 9 January 2023. 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

As outlined in the Scottish Budget 2023-24, the Scottish Government remains committed to introducing Air Departure Tax when a solution to the Highlands and Islands exemption issue has been found. The Scottish Government is carefully considering the implications for this of the UK subsidy control regime that was introduced in January 2023.

Until Air Departure Tax is introduced, the UK Government will maintain the application of Air Passenger Duty in Scotland.

The Scottish Government published a National Carers Strategy on 21 December. This sets out a cross-government approach to tackling issues that affect carers, including through health and social care policies. The Strategy sets out our intentions regarding carers’ healthcare at chapter 3. We will consider how to provide flexible health appointments for carers, including how we provide replacement care for appointments as part of the implementation process of the Strategy.

There are already a range of services in place that can support unpaid carers to better manage their health. Some have a carer-specific focus, while others are more general. The Scottish Government will continue to raise awareness of these services among unpaid carers and will ensure that our health services consider the needs of carers. Taking a strategic approach to this will support a joined-up approach that supports all aspects of carers’ lives, and this will be done under the auspices of the National Carers Strategy.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days

In terms of Criminal Proceedings statistics, there is no single crime of 'modern slavery'. However multiple types of crime involve, or can involve, 'slavery'. A list of these is provided below. Further information on slavery related activity is also available from the Anti-Slavery Commissioner, within their Annual Report .

• Slavery or forced labour
• Human organ offences
• Immoral traffic
• Procuration (excluding homosexual offences)
• Procuration (homosexual offences)
• Breach of trafficking and exploitation order

Most of these crime types fall under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. This came into effect on 31 May 2016. Prior to the 2015 Act, there were a number of offences under which crimes of modern slavery could be prosecuted.

The latest available information on the number of people prosecuted for modern slavery related crimes, since 2011-12, is provided in the following table.

Number of people prosecuted for modern slavery related crimes (where main crime) in Scottish courts, 2011-12 to 2020-21.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information as responsibility for the maintenance of Police vehicles sits with the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that they hold a stock of replacement dash cameras which can be fitted to their vehicles should one develop a fault; dependant on the locality of the vehicle, type of equipment fitted and the type of fault, this can be done on the same day.

I have asked Police Scotland to write to the member with this information.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The decision as to whether a member of staff discloses that they have attended hospital is one for the individual member of staff, and there is no requirement for this information to be shared. SPS has a focus on supporting staff who may have been injured, and ensuring that any reasonable preventative measures can be put in place to ensure that the likelihood of a similar incident occurring is mitigated as much as possible.

At this time, there are no plans to change the current methods of recording, however SPS will always look at ways which we can ensure we provide the right support to our staff.