Chamber and committees

Information on cases of sheep worrying is not held centrally in the format requested.

Information is available on the number of offences recorded by Police Scotland under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 – which relates to dogs worrying livestock on agricultural land (table below). However, as this legislation applies to all forms of livestock, these figures are not available for specific types of animal.

Table 1: Offences of Protection of Livestock from Dogs, North Ayrshire, 2018-19 to 2020-21.

We recognise the key role that ferry services play in supporting the economic, social and cultural development of island and remote mainland communities. We continue to invest in maintenance of the current ferry fleet, alongside our programme of new build and port investments.

The maintenance costs for the CalMac fleet in the period of the request are as follows.

Human trafficking is a hidden and often complex crime. Accurately assessing the scale of the problem in Scotland and beyond is challenging, although a range of estimates exist around the prevalence of the issue, both in the UK and globally.

Data on the number of trafficking victims in Scotland is drawn from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is the UK-wide framework for identifying potential victims of trafficking and ensuring they receive appropriate support and assistance.

Information from the NRM is released by the Home Office Single Competent Authority quarterly and in an end of year summary. Data relating to 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics .

The NHS is under extreme pressure due to the pandemic and NHS Ayrshire and Arran, like all Health Boards, is experiencing significant issues, including workforce challenges and high levels of delayed discharge.

To minimise pressures, last month I announced an additional £300 million package of measures to support health and care services. Over and above this and to maximise capacity during winter, we have invested £10 million in two new specialist programmes which aim to provide alternatives to admission and improve processes to ensure timely discharge.

Earlier this month I also announced further funding of £10 million to support Health Boards maintain resilience throughout winter by putting in place a range of measures including ensuring appropriate levels of staffing are in place across the system to facilitate efficient and effective patient care; enhancing front door teams to undertake assessments and avoid admissions, as well as enhancing pharmacists to rapidly respond to referrals and prepare timely discharge medications. NHS Ayrshire and Arran received £715,000 of this funding.

Myself and my senior officials have been meeting regularly with the Executive team at NHS Ayrshire and Arran to agree the immediate actions that will support improvements and minimise delays for patients. We have agreed with the Board a series of actions including a Short Life Working Group which specifically focuses on reducing the number of long delays and the length of time people spend in hospital.

The Victim Surcharge Fund is opened for applications from victim support organisations once sufficient money has accumulated to enable a viable exercise, which in turn is dependent on the number and value of fines imposed by the courts.

The Scottish Government will reopen the Victim Surcharge Fund for applications from victim support organisations to allow funding to be allocated during the 2021-22 financial year.

The funds distributed will depend on the amount that has accumulated in the Fund and the level of successful applications received.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This year the Scottish Government has increased funding for policing in Scotland by £75.5 million to more than £1.3 billion. The allocation of these resources across policing priorities is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable to determine.

People living in Scotland’s rural areas are less likely to be a victim of crime now than a decade ago, as detailed in the 2019-20 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. Over three-quarters (76%) of those living in rural areas believed that the local crime rate had been stable or fallen in the previous two years.

The Scottish Government will continue to bear down on crime in Scotland, through protecting police budgets as well as through substantial investment in preventative programmes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04288 on
‎ 24 November 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The following table provides information on the number of theft of a pedal cycle crimes recorded by the police in Inverclyde between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

Table: Number of theft of a pedal cycle crimes recorded by the police, Inverclyde, 2016-17 to 2020-21

As with other parts of Scotland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has faced unprecedented pressures over recent weeks. This has brought many unexpected challenges which are resulting in some patients waiting longer than necessary.

To help alleviate these pressures, we announced a substantial new investment of over £300 million in hospital and community care to support the NHS and social care system over winter. The will support a range of measures to maximise capacity in our hospitals and primary care, reduce delayed discharges, improve pay for social care staff, and ensure those in the community who need support receive effective and responsive care.

As part of our work to maximise capacity for winter, we are investing £10 million to support two new specialist programmes – Interface Care and Discharge without Delay - to support improved processes that ensure patients are discharged as soon as they are medically fit, avoiding unnecessary delays in hospital and ensure alternatives to admission.

Additionally, earlier this month I announced an additional £10 million winter funding which aims to ease pressures in A&E departments and minimise delays that patients are currently experiencing when they need urgent care. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde received £2.1 million of this funding.

We continue to meet regularly with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to discuss their local improvement plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04288 on

‎ 24 November 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers