Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of reported incidents of online scams, though estimates are available on the volume of police recorded fraud that was cyber-enabled over 2018-19 to 2020-21 (see the following table). Further detail is available in Table A12 of the 2020-21 recorded crime National Statistics .

As with other types of crime, not all cases of fraud are reported to the police, and cyber-enabled fraud can potentially encompass a wide range of incident types.

At least part of the increase in 2020-21 may be due to the significant impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and government instructions to limit social contact. For example, in their ‘ Crime in England and Wales : year ending March 2021’ release, the Office for National Statistics noted that an increase in fraud and computer misuse offences could reflect perpetrators taking advantage of behavioural changes during the pandemic, such as increased online shopping.

Furthermore, a procedural change was made to the recording of international crime in 2020-21, whereby cases carried out by a perpetrator who was likely to be outside the UK are now included. This change resulted in an estimated 900 additional crimes of cyber-enabled fraud being recorded in the latest year. Estimates for 2021-22 will be published later in the year as part of the 2021-22 recorded crime National Statistics.

Police recorded fraud in Scotland that was estimated to be cyber-enabled.

The 2021 Country and Regional Analysis (produced by HM Treasury) includes analysis of expenditure on public services in Scotland and comparisons with other parts of the UK as a whole. In 2020-21 public order and safety spending in Scotland was £3.1bn. On a per capita basis, spending in Scotland was 11% higher than in England and 7% higher than in Wales, as shown in the following table:

Public Order & Safety Expenditure (per capita)

There are already significant safeguards in place around deaths in police custody in Scotland. Police Scotland must refer deaths in custody to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and a fatal accident inquiry must be held, unless the Lord Advocate is satisfied that the circumstances have already been clearly established in other proceedings.

In her review of Police Complaints Handling, Dame Elish Angiolini made specific recommendations relating to deaths in custody. We continue to work with partners to implement these and will consult on those recommendations which are likely to require legislation this year.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) undertake regular inspections of police custody facilities in Scotland.

Furthermore, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has a statutory duty to maintain and manage an Independent Custody Visiting Scheme (ICVS) to monitor the welfare of people detained in police custody facilities throughout Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07334 on 25 March 2022. 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 .

We welcome people from Hong Kong who have chosen to move to Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting their integration into our communities and we have also published a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, on our website.

The Scottish Government is taking a coordinated cross-portfolio approach to support BN(O) nationals coming to Scotland, working with COSLA to assess the impact on public services in key local authorities. We have been pressing the UK Government to provide clarity on when the £2.98M funding for integration support will be transferred to the Scottish Government.

This data is not centrally available; aggregated data for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Waiting Times is sent to Public Health Scotland (PHS) from each NHS Board. It does not contain explicit information on the number of young people who have learning disabilities. It reports on the number of referrals for young people to services; numbers waiting to start treatment and total waiting; not accepted for treatment from referral and Did Not Attend status numbers for 1st contact appointments; and the time between referral and first treatment.

PHS are developing a patient level dataset, Child, Adolescent and Psychological Therapies National Dataset (CAPTND) and the Scottish Government has commissioned Directors of eHealth in NHS Boards, working with others, including PHS , to work to improve the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) digital infrastructure. This will enable the recording and extraction of the full CAMHS and Psychological Therapies (PT) National Dataset (CAPTND), which will allow improved reporting on patient characteristics.

The information for parliamentary questions S6W-07334, S6W-07336 and S6W-07337 on 25 March 2022 is not held centrally. Please visit the National Care Framework for Huntington’s Disease website to obtain further information on the services and support available to people with Huntington’s Disease through NHS Scotland, by health board area.

The Scottish Huntington’s Association also maintains a list of HD Clinical Leads by health board on its website: HD Clinical Leads • Scottish Huntington's Association (hdscotland.org) .

Presymptomatic genetic testing is available for those with a family history of Huntington disease and tests whether the person has inherited the faulty gene associated with the condition. This is delivered by our genetic laboratory services and data on the number of people tested is not held by the Scottish Government.

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 .

Since 2015 we have committed over £500,000 in funding to the Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) towards the development of the national care framework for Huntington’s Disease (HD) and in funding towards the organisation’s specialist support services and initiatives to raise awareness of the condition.

I was pleased to meet with the SHA on 10 November 2021 to discuss motion S6M-00923, the progress on the Framework for HD and to understand the provision of specialist services in Scotland. We will continue to work with NHS, third sector partners and people affected by Huntington’s Disease to drive up standards of care.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-007334 on 25 March 2022. 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 .

Our £44m Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme adopts a whole-systems approach to diagnosing and treating cancer as early as possible – ranging from screening and public awareness campaigns to diagnostics and data. The NHS Recovery Plan, published August 2021, commits an additional £20m for the Programme. A symptom-checker tool is included on the DCE website (getcheckedearly.org) to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer, including ovarian cancer.

An Early Cancer Diagnosis Programme Board has been formed, Chaired by Dr Catherine Calderwood, National Clinical Director at the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. This group will be responsible for shaping and supporting the delivery of Scotland’s early diagnosis agenda over the coming years, including any additional public awareness campaigns. Research is currently being undertaken to better understand the possible barriers and levers to early diagnosis that any new DCE campaigns should focus on, with results expected in April.