Chamber and committees

No formal resource impact analysis has as yet been carried out in relation to additional resources or staff which might be needed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in relation to the proposal that fatal accident inquiries should be held on a discretionary basis into the deaths of Scots abroad. The question of resources and staffing will be fully considered when a business and regulatory impact assessment is carried out for the necessary primary legislation when it is brought forward.

Deaths of Scots abroad are registered in the local jurisdiction according to local law. There is no additional duty in Scots law on the next of kin to register in Scotland as well, so there is no information available on the total number of such deaths.

It is not therefore possible to estimate how many deaths of persons domiciled in Scotland who die abroad each year will result in additional fatal accident inquiries, though numbers are expected to be very low.

Lord Cullen, in his Review of the Fatal Accident Inquiry Legislation, expressed the view that it would be unjustifiable to hold mandatory fatal accident inquiries in such cases and that such inquiries should only be held at the discretion of the Lord Advocate. He went on to say that the Lord Advocate would require to consider “whether there had been circumstances which called for investigation, whether there had been a satisfactory investigation and whether there was a prospect of an FAI yielding significant findings.” He went on: “I envisage that, out of respect for the investigating authorities in the foreign jurisdiction, such discretion might be exercised rarely”.

Preliminary discussions were held with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) regarding the proposal that fatal accident inquiries should be held into deaths of persons domiciled in Scotland who die abroad at the time when the Scottish Government was considering its response to Lord Cullen’s Review of the Fatal Accident Inquiry Legislation. This may be viewed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/18150120/0.

Further discussions will be held with COPFS when a Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment is carried out during consultation on the legislative proposals which will implement the Cullen recommendations, so far as these require primary legislation. A full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment will be carried out when legislation is brought forward to the Parliament and COPFS will obviously be further consulted at that point.

Deaths of Scots abroad are registered in the local jurisdiction according to local law. There is no additional duty in Scots law on the next of kin to register in Scotland, so no information is available on the total number of such deaths. It is possible, but not obligatory, to register the death of a British citizen abroad at the local British Consulate. The numbers of such registrations is small – 45 in 2007; 47 in 2008; 56 in 2009; 47 in 2010 and 52 in 2011.

Deaths abroad of members of the armed forces are registered by the Ministry of Defence. If the deceased was born in Scotland, a copy of the death registration is passed to the Registrar General for Scotland. The Registrar General received 6 such death records in 2007; 8 in 2008; 5 in 2009; 7 in 2010 and 6 in 2011.

I announced on 13 December his decision to ask Professor Andrew Coyle (Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies in London University and Visiting Professor in the University of Essex) formally to review the Scottish Government’s proposals on independent monitoring of prisons. Professor Coyle will produce a report on his findings and recommendations by 31 January 2013. The remit of the review will be to consider specifically:

the extent to which the proposals meet the Government’s obligations under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OPCAT)

responses of prisoners, prison staff and stakeholders to the new proposals

independent monitoring of legalised police cells.

I informed Parliament by responding to a parliamentary question, from John Finnie MSP on 13 September 2012 – (S4W-09606). All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has taken forward key pieces of work following the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission’s recommendations in its report published in October 2011.

In April 2012, the Scottish Government, COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) and NHS Scotland issued the Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) Planning and Reporting Guidance for 2012-15. The report aims to support the embedding of outcomes based planning and reporting at local level, help ADPs to self assess their performance and articulate their contribution to their local single outcome agreement (SOA), as well as contributing to the overall progress in supporting alcohol and drug prevention, support and treatment.

The Scottish Government has also started work to revise the 2006 National Quality Standards for Substance Misuse Services to align more closely with the aims of the Road to Recovery and connect clearly with the Quality Alcohol Treatment and Support (QATS) report and its associated recommendations. National Quality Standards for service delivery will set expectations for operation and management that are clear to all concerned – service providers, service users and their families - and can help to drive a culture of continuous evaluation and improvement for services across the country.

The Scottish Government has ensured that the commission is kept informed of the work activity of the Children Affected by Parental Substance (CAPSM) Steering Group.

The commission’s Chair and Executive Group has met with the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Roseanna Cunningham to discuss the report and recommendations. Scottish Government officials attend the commission’s quarterly meetings and provide an update on specific pieces of work being taken forward as a result of the commission’s recommendations.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with the UK Government regarding the updating of the national guidelines for healthcare professionals – Drug Misuse and Dependence UK Guidelines on Clinical Management (Orange Guidelines).

This is because the Scottish Government has started work to revise the 2006 National Quality Standards for Substance Misuse Services to align more closely with the aims of the Road to Recovery and connect clearly with the Quality Alcohol Treatment and Support (QATS) report and its associated recommendations. National Quality Standards for service delivery will set expectations for operation and management that are clear to all concerned – service providers, service users and their families - and can help to drive a culture of continuous evaluation and improvement for services across the country.

Work on the national quality standards will inform what updates are required for the Orange Guidelines with the aim of starting this work in the spring of 2013.

There has been no change to the criteria in relation to identifying the appropriate level at which an offender should be managed under MAPPA.

MAPPA Guidance was first issued in 2006. Version 5 was published in January 2012. Part 7 of the guidance provides information relating to risk assessments, risk thresholds and risk management plans, and sign-posts further sources of information and guidance on this subject. The guidance is available on the Scottish Government website and a link is provided below.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/01/12094716/0.

There are no current plans. Since 2010 there has been a 0.7% rise in the number of offenders reported for breach of the notification requirements against a 3.6% increase in the number of registered sex offenders managed through MAPPA. Most offenders are managed at level 1. This is not unique to Scotland but applies to the arrangements in England and Wales where the majority of cases (94%) are managed at Level 1.