Chamber and committees

Child abuse is a broad term that doesn't have a specific legal definition. For context the World Health Organisation has defined 'Child maltreatment' as ‘the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation, which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power'. ( Child maltreatment (who.int) )

In general the Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on those convicted of crimes against children, as the Official Statistics on criminal proceedings do not include details on the age of the victim. This would include cases of non-sexual violence such as assault, and some sexual crimes such as rape and attempted rape. We can however provide this information for those crime types where it is clear from the legislation used that the victim was either a child or the intention of the perpetrator was to target a child.

We have received a clarification from the member who indicated they were interested in the Sexual assault of older child (13-15); Sexual assault of young child (under 13) and Sexual Abuse of trust of person under 18 crimes only. This is presented in the table below, showing convictions that did not result in a prison sentence for the years 2010-11 to 2019-20. The 2020-21 criminal proceedings Official Statistics will be published on 21 June.

People convicted for the Sexual assault of older child (13-15); Sexual assault of young child (under 13) and Sexual Abuse of trust (where main crime), excluding custodial sentences, 2010-11 to 2019-20 .

The Clyde 2020 Action Plan was published in April 2015, following the Clyde 2020 summit in 2014 and subsequent workshops. The Action Plan identified 13 objectives (under 5 high-level objectives), with accompanying actions under each objective. Of these, 2 have been completed, 2 have been partially completed, 5 are still underway and 4 have not yet been completed.

There are many pieces of ongoing research related to the work of Clyde 2020 and Marine Scotland undertakes ongoing survey work of relevance to the Clyde 2020 Action Plan. Research gaps identified by the Research Advisory Group have been incorporated into research priorities within PhDs and by organisations around the Clyde. A full list of related research and science projects currently underway or completed can be provided by Clyde 2020.

The significant expertise of members of Clyde 2020 has been utilised in the process of developing a draft regional marine plan for the Clyde marine region.

The Clyde 2020 initiative is currently considering its remit moving forward. As a sub-group of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership, the partnership are drafting a proposal on how Clyde 2020 will evolve, contribute and support the Clyde marine planning process. It is anticipated that the Clyde 2020 group will play an important role in the future governance of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership.

As of May 2022, 33 applications had been received for properties located in Shetland for the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme’s interim voucher, which offers up to £400 to secure a temporary superfast connection. Twenty six of these vouchers have been issued so far.

A total of 4 applications have been received for the R100 SBVS main voucher which offers up to £5,000 to secure a permanent superfast connection. Three of these vouchers have been issued so far.

The R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) is a key strand of R100 programme delivery. As of May 2022, 1,847 properties on Shetland were eligible for a voucher worth up to £5,000 through the R100 SBVS.

The honey industry and honey production is dependent on maintaining a healthy population of honey bees. The Scottish Government has a dedicated Bee Health Team, including bee health inspectors, that works in close partnership with the Bee Health Improvement Partnership (BHIP) which is made up of stakeholders with an interest in honey bees in Scotland. The objective of the BHIP is to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees for pollination and honey production in Scotland.

Scottish Government contributes to the funding of BeeBase, a database designed for beekeepers which supports inspections and health programmes in Scotland, England and Wales and provides a range of apicultural information for beekeepers. Scottish Government Bee Inspectors also collect samples of honey from beekeepers and honey producers in Scotland for medicine residue analysis as part of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate statutory surveillance scheme .

Scottish Government have worked with the key trade bodies across the food and drink sector to develop a COVID-19 recovery plan, which was announced in November 2020. We have committed support of £10m over in 2020-2022 towards the plan which contains 50 actions to support all sectors of Scotland’s food and drink industry to recover from Covid and Brexit. The focus is on two overarching aims: stimulating more demand in key markets; and supporting businesses to capitalise on this demand. Scotland Food & Drink lead on the delivery of the recovery plan and any honey producer looking for advice or support can contact them at [email protected]

In addition, a new £10.2m round of the Food Processing and Marketing Cooperation (FPMC) grants scheme was launched on 9 May 2022 with applications closing on 19 June 2022. Further information on the funding round can be accessed at https://www.ruralpayments.org/publicsite/futures/topics/all-schemes/food-processing--marketing-and-co-operation/ and we would encourage any honey producers who fit the eligibility criteria to consider applying.

In response to the amended Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, Draft National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 sets out policy proposals which aim to deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity from development.

A key element for the successful implementation and delivery of NPF4 is having a robust monitoring process in place, to be actively applied through the period of the framework. The Scottish Government has committed to working with relevant stakeholders, to develop an approach to monitoring of NPF4, making links across the national, regional and local levels.

The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland to develop an online platform for members of the public to access information on the average waiting times for a range of treatments within their health board area. We expect the platform to be available this summer.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08571 on 30 May 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08571 on  30 May 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 I said in March, we are committed to delivering the powers under section 34 of the 2019 Act before the summer recess to enable local authorities to run their own bus services in a way that they see fit within the wider context of their obligations. This power sits alongside their existing ability to subsidise services. We intend to deliver that commitment and are currently working with local transport authorities on the development of an information note to help implement the provision.