Chamber and committees

National Records of Scotland (NRS) take forward a number of activities to protect the records in their care. This includes:

- The records are held in secure storage. Specialist conservators are employed to ensure that records are stored in the correct conditions and handled carefully to prevent damage to them, and to undertake conservation treatments where necessary

 - Specialist staff select, preserve and catalogue the records it holds. Archivists liaise with organisations and individuals depositing, or gifting records, or subject to the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, advising them on good record keeping, assessing and selecting records for permanent preservation and arranging their transfer to NRS

 - Many of the most popular records have been digitised and made available through the Scotlands People service, saving the original records from the wear and tear of frequent handling and ensuring that they can be passed on to future generations

 - There is a Historical Search Room service available for individuals requiring access to original records. Security is in place to protect the archive material

 - NRS has a range of protections in place to protect the more modern information in its care which includes personal information held secure and closed to public access

 - Increasingly, records are being created and kept in digital form, and NRS has a programme to ensure that it is able deal with the new challenges that this change in format brings, so that digital records of national significance can also be selected, preserved and made available to future generations.

In addition to the above protections, NRS is a member of the United Kingdom Archives Security Group which brings archive services together to exchange information on security issues, including techniques and methods to protect the integrity of archives. NRS holds accredited archive status under the UK Archive Service Standard, which defines good practice and agreed standards for archive services across the UK. The standard covers an organisation’s ability to develop, care for, and provide access to its collections, and those areas such as resources and planning which underpin those activities. Accreditation lasts for 6 years, with a mid-point health check and must then be re-applied for. NRS successfully passed a 3 year health check in November 2017.

The Scottish Government made clear our support to developing the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal in our 2018-19 Budget and reaffirmed that commitment at the Borderlands Stakeholders' Conference on Monday 18 June. My officials are engaging with the Borderlands authorities as they develop their propositions. I look forward to taking forward detailed negotiations to agree a Deal that drives inclusive and transformative growth across the area. The scale of the Deal will depend on the outcome of negotiations between the Borderlands partners and the Scottish and UK Governments. It is essential it aligns with the priorities of the enterprise agency and of the interim South of Scotland Economic Partnership to maximise the impact of investment and deliver the best outcome for the people of the South of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with Police Scotland and other partners to tackle crime in rural communities, including through the work of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime. Day to day decisions about the deployment of police officers are an operational matter for Police Scotland. However, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring Police Scotland has the resources it needs to keep people safe in all of Scotland's communities, whether rural or urban. That is why we are protecting the police resource budget in every year of the current parliament - a boost of £100m by 2020-21 - and committing £31m of reform funding in the current financial year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11830 on ‎2 November 2017. 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 Scottish Government made a Programme for Government commitment to establish Innovation and Investment Hubs in Dublin, London, Brussels, Berlin and Paris as an integral part of wider work across the Scottish Government, partners and businesses to support trade, investment, innovation and inter-governmental relations.

The First Minister officially opened the refurbished and enhanced Scotland House Brussels on 28 May 2018. Our operation in Brussels incorporates staff from Scottish Government, Scotland Europa and Scottish Development International into a single working space. This provides an even more effective platform to enhance our commitment to play an active role in Europe and to support our collaborative approach to working with Scottish, European and international stakeholders.

There is no Digital Skills Fund. However, I believe the question relates to the Digital Growth Fund, which was announced in March 2017 to offer up to £36m of loans to SMEs to enhance digital skills and capabilities. Phase one of this will be launched in June 2018 with the £2m Digital Development Loan.

After Consultation with the sector , it was decided to increase the scope of the loan to cover SMEs digital capabilities and processes as well as skills attainment.

As such, no loans have been issued as of yet.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (as amended) statutory responsibility for ensuring burial ground safety rests with individual burial authorities. In contrast, the general maintenance and upkeep of headstones and memorials is the responsibility of the lair owner. If a headstone or memorial is deemed unsafe following an inspection, burial authorities will take immediate action to make that headstone or memorial safe.

It is for the burial authority to inform the lair owner of action that may be taken within the burial ground.

The Scottish Government accepted the recommendation made by Sheriff Ruxton following the Craigton Cemetery Fatal Accident Inquiry that the Scottish Government should develop and publish national guidance on memorial safety, to be used by local authorities. This guidance will assist local authority burial authorities to manage memorial safety more effectively. A short term working group is being assembled to take this work forward.

The Scottish Government is currently in the process of implementing the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. Under this Act Scottish Ministers have powers to appoint Inspectors of Burial and to make regulations about the management of burial grounds. It is expected that work to develop these regulations will begin in 2019.

The personal licence is a key element of the alcohol licensing regime and many licence holders will require to renew these before September 2019 – the “ten year point”.

The Act requires that renewal applications are lodged no earlier than twelve months prior to expiry and no later than three months before expiry. The first personal licences issued under the Act have an expiry date of 1 September 2019. Therefore, the window for first renewal applications opens 31 August 2018 and closes 31 May 2019.

We will shortly seek stakeholder views on a review of the implications for boards and the trade of the upcoming renewal period for personal licences, and we are at an advanced stage in discussions with a preferred supplier to review and update the relevant personal licence holder qualifications – an announcement will be made in due course. The Scottish Government will also be undertaking detailed engagement with stakeholders to agree and publicise arrangements ahead of the ten year point for personal licence renewal in September 2019.

The Scottish Government has made clear that bullying and harassment of any worker, under any circumstances, is unacceptable.

Through the Scottish Government's endorsement and promotion of the Fair Work Convention's Framework, we are making clear that every worker, regardless of status or position, should be treated fairly and with respect.

Where workers feel they have been unfairly treated, they may have the option of raising concern through their workplace bullying and harassment process or seeking support from their trade union representative. The Scottish Government also promotes the role of ACAS in providing advice and support on workplace issues.

Where fair work has not been delivered, the Scottish Government believes that all workers should have access to justice via an Employment Tribunal. We have therefore secured powers over the management of the Employment Tribunal in Scotland to protect the rights of workers and prevent barriers to justice being imposed by the UK Government, such as the reintroduction of an Employment Tribunal fee regime.