Chamber and committees

Minister for Community Safety is responsible for provision of duty solicitors.

The Solicitor Contact Line provides telephone advice to people in Police Stations across Scotland, and also arranges for local duty solicitors to attend the police station.

There were no formal requests to adopt the definition.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with the UK Government regarding low-emission shipping since the decision to take Ferguson Marine Engineering into public ownership.

The Scottish Government invested significant capital in financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 to secure the three passenger/vehicle vessels and the two freight vessels that currently serve the Northern Isles routes. This investment ensures that all five vessels are owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) and are available for long-term deployment on these routes to support both the island communities and important island based industries.

The Scottish Government’s Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan (VRDP) published in January 2018 intimated that there is a need to plan for continued provision of suitable and adequate tonnage on the Northern Isles ferry service network. That work is ongoing.

The Scottish Government has listened to island concerns regarding future passenger and freight offerings. CMAL is currently looking at future design options for freight vessels for the Northern Isles services and has recently appointed naval architects. CMAL is engaging with the freight and aquaculture sectors on the islands to ascertain future requirements.

Paragraph 3.2 of the voluntary control measures for the live capture of Scottish wild wrasse for salmon farms relates to information and data gathering. It highlights that fishers are required to supply numbers of under and over-sized fish by species, for the first 20 traps deployed each week on their Fish 1 forms. Out with the voluntary control measures, the reporting of landings to Marine Scotland via the Fish 1 form is a statutory requirement.

The latest information available to us shows from 1 May to 31 November 2018, fishers reported 16178 undersized and 1578 oversized wrasse, in addition to 15610 retained target-sized wrasse.

Work is continuing to reduce dependence on wild-caught wrasse. This is being achieved through their culture, as well as alternative methods of controlling sea lice in salmon aquaculture.

The Tackling Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Group includes representation from:

• Black and Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure in Scotland (BEMIS)
• The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Police Scotland
• Respect me
• Equality Network
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
• Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations (CEMVO)
• YouthLink Scotland
• Glasgow Disability Alliance
• Interfaith Scotland
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Education Scotland

We have also engaged with the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and the Community Security Trust.

Research proposals are currently being considered with various partners to explore aspects of wrasse biology, including spawning.

In March this year, the Minister for Mental Health announced an independent review into the delivery of forensic mental health services in Scotland.

The review which includes consideration of the provision of professional and expert witness psychiatric and psychological reports to Scottish Courts and the impact any delays may have on people awaiting sentencing is chaired by Derek Barron, director of care at Erskine. Mr Barron brings long-standing experience in mental health nursing across a number of NHS Boards. His experience in providing visible, transformational leadership across services will be instrumental in ensuring delivery of this review that will encompass hospitals, prisons, courts, and the community.

The review includes representation from:

• people with lived experience of forensic mental health services, their relatives, carers and representatives;
• organisations commissioning, delivering and monitoring forensic mental health services as well as those providing support services;
• staff-side and professional organisations; and,
• organisations involved in legal and court proceedings;

and is expected to provide recommendations by the end of June 2020. However, it is important that the review is comprehensive, with those with lived experience of forensic mental health services at its heart, so the timescale will be kept under review.

As outlined in the answer to question S5W-25436, the nature of associations with Serco through contractual relationships are considered on a case by case basis, by applying criteria which are set out in public procurement legislation. All decisions and criteria must relate to the subject matter of the contract and be applied in a way that treats bidders equally, without discrimination and act in a transparent and proportionate manner.