Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14930 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

We continue to work with our justice partners and victims’ organisations to explore a ‘single point of contact’ model of victim support. Further details will be available later in the Spring.

The Sentencing Council is an independent body which decides its own business plan. The current plan runs until September 2018 and does not include work in relation to sentencing guidelines for murder or culpable homicide. The Sentencing Council will shortly be preparing its next business plan for the period October 2018 to September 2021.

In 2006 the Scottish Government published a Charter for Grandchildren which aims to highlight the role of the wider family. It is available at the following link http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/112493/0027333.pdf

The Scottish Government plans to launch a consultation in spring 2018 on the review of part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. This consultation will cover a wide range of issues. It will seek views on whether there should be a presumption in the 1995 Act that children should have contact with their grandparents.

The Scottish Government has agreed with the UK Government, through the Fiscal Framework, that any new benefits or discretionary payments introduced by the Scottish Government must provide additional income for a recipient and not result in an automatic offsetting reduction by the UK government in their entitlement elsewhere in the UK benefits system.

The Scottish Government currently expects Business Pledge spend to be around £13,000 in the next financial year.

The Scottish Business Pledge overall costs arranged by financial year are:

2015-16 – £44,518 including £36,000 to set up the website as a marketing tool.

2016-17 - £9,075

2017-18 – £24,115

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08109 on 27 March 2017.

A survey of businesses who had signed up to the Pledge for nine months or more, was conducted in late 2017 and the resulting progress report is due for publication shortly.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08109 on 27 March 2017.

Scottish Ministers agreed that Scottish Business Pledge progress should be monitored on a regular basis. A recent survey of Scottish Business Pledge signatories has been undertaken and results are due for publication shortly.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

COPFS is developing a protocol to support effective consultation between pathologists instructed by the Crown and the defence. This work is ongoing. The completion of that work and publication date of any consultation protocol will be informed by the responses from forensic pathologists and consultation with the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates. It is therefore not possible to confirm an expected publication date at this time.