A public consultation on improving victims’ experiences of the justice system will open from today, 10 May 2022, until 3 August 2022. It will be available at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/victimsconsultation .

The consultation focuses on proposed legislative reforms with particular reference to victims of sexual offences. It takes forward our Programme for Government commitments to introduce a statutory right to anonymity for complainers in sexual offence cases, establish a Victims’ Commissioner and carefully consider the recommendations from Lady Dorrian’s Review into the management of sexual offence cases that require a legislative basis to deliver.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving victims’ experiences of the justice system by putting them at its centre. This consultation explores how to do this by making the justice system more trauma informed and person centred. It is an important part of a wide-ranging programme of work to bring about transformational change necessary to ensure our justice system is trusted, modern, smart and effective.

We will continue to take an open and collaborative approach to achieve this aim, and this consultation will seek to capture the views of a broad range of stakeholders including legal professionals, the third sector and those with lived experience of the system.

I look forward to considering the full range of views received.

Court programming is a matter for the senior judiciary, supported by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). SCTS advise that jury trials resumed in Dumfries Sheriff Court in April 2021. Under present arrangements, the jurors for these trials attend the remote jury centre in Ayr . However, from July the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service will begin decommissioning remote jury centres for most purposes. That process is due to be completed by October, and so on current planning assumptions jurors should be cited back to local courts - including Dumfries - by October.

Allotments and their provision are the responsibility of local authorities. That is set out in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. However, since 2012, the Scottish Government has allocated more than £1.6 million to directly support and increase the land that is available for community growing.

This funding includes:

The Community Growing Fund, a grant scheme for the years 2019/2020 and 2020/21, providing a total of £80,000 to local community growing groups public bodies and third sector organisations.

For the years 2016 to 2022, nearly £490,000 has been allocated to various growing groups in Scotland, amongst them are Trellis, Social Farms and Gardens and Grow Green.

Funding to the Green Action Trust (previously Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN)) to allocate grants to projects that aim to increase the amount of land for community growing. Since 2012 around £1.04 million has been provided.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) accredit all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes leading to the award of the Standard for Provisional Registration in Scotland. The GTCS will agree content with the relevant ITE provider to ensure that the content will support student teachers to develop their knowledge, understanding and practice. As set out in the Standard for Professional Registration, teachers are expected to employ teaching strategies and resources to meet the needs and abilities of every learner.

Education Scotland offers support to practitioners in a number of areas, including literacy and synthetic phonics, through online platforms such as the Glow based National Literacy Professional Learning Community.

Delivery partners hold the ScotSpirit budget enabling them to book breaks for unpaid carers and low-income families with participating businesses from October 2021 to December 2022. Therefore, the budget is spent with business as and when breaks are booked and taken rather than a set number of voucher being available for issue.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all survivors of childhood abuse. Through the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) Fund, 29 organisations across Scotland are funded to provide support to adult survivors of childhood abuse including (but not exclusive to) those who have been abused in care.

Future Pathways supports people who experienced childhood abuse or neglect while living in care in Scotland. Future Pathways is fully funded by Scottish Government as part of a wider strategy developed by the Scottish Government to address the legacy of historic abuse in Scotland. A diverse range of survivors are currently receiving support through Future Pathways, including those who attended Fornethy House residential school.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with members of the Fornethy House Residential School Survivors campaign group in the coming weeks. My officials will arrange a suitable date and time.

The latest forecasts produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that £15 million will be spent on Self-Isolation Support Grants in 2022-23. The Commission will be publishing new forecasts on 31 May 2022 following engagement with Scottish Government. We will continue to collect and publish monthly Management Information on applications, awards, and expenditure.

The Scottish Government does not have the information which has been requested.

Patient safety is a key priority for the Scottish Government. We are taking forward a programme of work aimed at preventing harm as a result of sodium valproate, and also ensuring that those who have been impacted receive the care they need.

The Scottish Government regularly consult with trade unions on matters impacting the workforce, in line with our partnership agreement, and have notified them of enhanced recruitment controls being put in place. We remain committed to making the best and most efficient use of our resources.