Chamber and committees

The introduction of biometric technology systems in schools is a matter for education authorities and schools. The Scottish Government has published guidance on the use and implementation of biometric identification systems in schools, which aims to support them in their decision-making about the introduction and implementation of biometric systems in Scottish schools.

This guidance is clear that the views of parents, pupils and school staff should be taken into account as part of the decision-making process to introduce and implement biometric technology systems. This guidance is available on the Scottish Government's website through the following link: https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2010/11/11112141/0 .

Table 1: Number of individual prisoners liberated per month from 1 st September 2016 to 21 st August 2018.

Programme for Government 2017-18 includes a commitment to consult and develop proposals to reform crofting law during this parliamentary session. A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of the Scottish Government’s other legislative priorities. Meantime, Scottish Government officials are working closely with stakeholders to consider the issues to be taken forward that will deliver change quickly and easily; to provide clarity in law and have a positive outcome for crofters and crofting communities, while avoiding unintended consequences.

Action 15 within the Mental Health Strategy outlines our clear commitment to funding 800 additional mental health workers in key settings, including custody suites and prisons, ensuring that local provision and support is at the heart of our plans. Funding for this commitment will reach £35 million by 2022.

It is vital that this investment has the greatest possible impact and acts as a catalyst for better joint working between Health and Justice services. Therefore, the Scottish Government has asked the Health and Justice Collaboration Improvement Board to develop advice on how to achieve this as part of the Action 15 investment following its next meeting on 11 September.

Answering the member’s question requires access to data which we do not hold centrally: a broad range of professionals work in the field of mental health, employed by a variety of organisations (Scottish Prison Service, NHS, Local Authorities, Third Sector) in different capacities. Many are multi-skilled, combining mental health with other kinds of expertise. They may work with more than one of the partners he identifies, and may or may not work full-time. These factors mean I cannot give him the data he requests.

The Scottish Government aims to embed a culture of fair work and fair work practices within all workplaces across Scotland. Our work is underpinned by the Fair Work Framework, published by the Fair Work Convention in 2016, and promotes fair work as work that offers effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect; that balances the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers and that can generate benefits for individuals, organisations and society.

The Scottish Government has committed to Scotland becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025 and we will publish an Action Plan by the end of this year to drive progress on this, using the powers available to us. However, responsibility for employment law and the law relating to protected disclosures in the workplace lies with the UK Government.

The Act makes provision in a number of areas. The provisions concerning the domestic abuse aggravation, mandatory jury directions in certain sexual offence cases, extension of courts' powers to impose non-harassment orders and extension of Scottish courts' extra-territorial jurisdiction over certain sexual offences against children were commenced in April 2017.

The new offence concerning the non-consensual sharing of intimate images came into effect in July 2017. As set out in the answer to S5W-17846 on 8 August 2018, the provisions which replace three existing civil protective orders (Risk of Sexual Harm Orders, Foreign Travel Orders and Sexual Offence Prevention Orders) with two new orders, Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders, have not yet been brought into force.

As set out in the answer to S5W-17840 on 8 August 2018, statistics on the number of offences recorded by the police will be published in September 2018 and statistics on criminal proceedings will be published in early 2019.

The Scottish Government monitors the effectiveness of legislation on an on-going basis in conjunction with justice system partners. There are no plans for a formal review of the implementation of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 at this time.

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.

The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 does not create a new power to impose Non-Harassment Orders. It amends provisions at section 234A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 concerning the powers of the criminal courts to impose a non-harassment order on an offender following an application from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. These powers now extend to circumstances where an accused person is acquitted because of not being criminally responsible due to a mental disorder or where a court finds a person unfit to stand trial due to mental or physical condition, but establishes after hearing evidence that they did something that would constitute an offence involving misconduct towards another person.

The provisions concerning sexual harm prevention orders and sexual risk orders will, in due course, replace sexual offence prevention orders, foreign travel orders and risk of sexual harm orders when commenced. The UK Ministry of Justice first requires to amend reserved legislation to ensure that these orders would have effect in the other jurisdictions of the UK before they come into effect.

The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 created a new offence of 'Disclosing, or threatening to disclose, an intimate photograph or film.' The offence came into effect on 3 July 2017.

The Scottish Government produces statistics on the number of crimes recorded by the police, rather than the number of complaints made. The Recorded Crime in Scotland 2017-18 National Statistics will be the first to include information on the new offence and these will be published on 25 September 2018.

The Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2017-18 National Statistics will be the first to include information on both people proceeded against and people convicted of disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate image. These will be published in early 2019.

Officials visited one of Police Scotland’s Cyber Hubs in November 2017. Two visits took place to ensure all relevant parties were able to attend. Police Scotland provided tours of their facilities and an overview of their cyber capabilities. The Head of the Cybercrime Unit was present for parts of the visits. These visits were with the aim of fact-finding for officials and were not formal meetings, so no formal minute was taken. A brief note of the visits was prepared for internal circulation, detailing attendees and topics under discussion.

Separate discussions took place by telephone in April and May of 2018. No formal record of these conversations was made, as telephone conversations are not routinely minuted unless actions or decisions arise from them.