Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold the data requested.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is responsible for issuing Victim Notification Scheme packs. They have advised that the number of packs issued over the last 3 years is:

2018-19 1,880

2019-20 1,788

2020-21 1,158

Eligible victims can register for the scheme at any time. The Scottish Prison Service have advised that the numbers of victims who have opted to register for the scheme in the last 3 years, are as follows:

2018-19 443

2019-20 472

2020-21 306

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The allocation of resources, and the Health and Wellbeing of Police Officers and Police Staff, are matters for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. Despite constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, policing services have been maintained and improved and we will protect the police resource budget in real terms for the entirety of this Parliamentary term, as we did for the last. We have invested over £10 billion in policing since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013 and have increased the policing budget by £75.5 million in 2021-22.

Police officers and staff can access a range of services to care for their physical and mental health through Police Scotland's “Your Wellbeing Matters” programme. This includes the introduction of Wellbeing Champions, and has resulted in raised awareness of the services available such as occupational health and employee assistance, which offer counselling, and specific interactions through the Trauma Risk Management programme (TRiM).

We have made a commitment to increase the direct investment into mental health services by at least 25% and ensure that, by the end of the parliament, 10% of our frontline NHS budget will be invested in mental health services.

We have also set our plan to prevent, mitigate and respond to the mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic through our ‘Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan’, published in October 2020, which sets out our response to the mental health effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, containing over 100 actions. The Plan is supported by a £120 million Recovery and Renewal fund, announced in February 2021. The Fund will transform services, with a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention. We expect total spend, including by NHS Scotland, on mental health in 2021-22, to be in excess of £1.2 billion.

The Scottish Government and relevant agencies have, to date, spent £885,000 on transport planning, venue, communications and marketing in preparations for COP26. Scottish Ministers have made clear their expectation that all additional operational costs, such as transport planning, will be borne by the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has committed to dedicate £100 million funding, of the £180 million Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, to accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland over the next five years and support the realisation of our ambition for 5GW installed hydrogen production capacity by 2030. More details on the proposed design and scope of the Fund will be published alongside the Hydrogen Action Plan later this year.

The Scottish Government has consistently called for the furlough scheme to remain in place for as long as it is needed to support businesses as we move through recovery. Whilst the figures show those on furlough are reducing, there is still a significant number of jobs which continue to be supported by this scheme. The Scottish Government is doing all it can to protect Scotland’s economy and ensure that as many people as possible on furlough keep their jobs.

We recognise that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses of all kinds across Scotland and we are doing everything we can with the limited powers available to us to support the hospitality sector.

More detailed information on the support that is available for Hospitality can be found here:

Financial Support for Tourism - COVID-19 | VisitScotland.org .

Following the UK’s exit from the EU on 31 December 2020, the EU State aid regime was effectively revoked from UK law from 1 January 2021 and therefore ceased to apply in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Scottish Government continue to work under the interim Subsidy Control regime introduced by the UK Government on 1 January 2021 and provisions held within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Alongside this, consideration has to be given to any further UK Subsidy Control obligations such as World Trade Organisation membership and commitments arising from international treaties and Fair Trade Agreements to which the United Kingdom is a party. However, our preference is to continue to align with EU State aid rules as a safe harbour for interventions and to help facilitate any future accession arrangements.

Scottish Government has regularly engaged with public bodies prior to the UK’s exit from the EU and from 1 January 2021 to keep them abreast of Subsidy Control requirements, issuing technical guidance and information received via colleagues in UK Government. This is an ongoing process.

Four nations discussions on policy for fully vaccinated travellers has benefited from analysis and research from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and other sources.

The success of the vaccination programme means we have now started to change restrictions that apply to fully vaccinated travellers from Amber list countries. Initially this applied to UK residents who have been vaccinated by the NHS.

From 2 August, fully-vaccinated passengers arriving from amber list countries in EU member states*, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City, and the USA do not have to quarantine or take a day 8 test upon arrival in Scotland.

They have to carry with them a form of certification to provide details of their vaccine status. For US arrivals, this proof is a CDC card showing you are fully vaccinated, along with proof of residence in the US. All arrivals from Europe must show a record of vaccination through the European Digital COVID Certificate.

Amber arrivals who have been fully vaccinated must take a pre-departure test before arrival into Scotland, alongside a PCR test on or before day 2 after arrival.

The forensic analysis of digital items and the management of any backlog are matters for the Chief Constable and Police Scotland.

Police Scotland are committed to providing the best possible service to the victims of crime and witnesses and will only examine a digital device where there is a legal basis and where it is necessary, justified and proportionate to the incident or crime under investigation. The number of digital items in Police Scotland’s possession currently awaiting forensic analysis demonstrates the importance of examination of digital devices for modern criminal investigations. Police Scotland recognises the demand in this complex area and consideration is being given to investment in additional staffing, technology and partnerships in order to enhance their existing capabilities in this area.

Police Scotland’s recently published Cyber Strategy and ongoing strategic Cyber Capabilities Project is evidence of their prioritisation of cyber related demand.

Police Scotland are using their internal management information, detailing how many Cyber Kiosk examinations have been progressed in the previous month, to assist in identifying areas for improvement and to enable them to move forward in this complex area.

Yes, the Scottish Ferry Services Plan (2013-2022) which will be replaced by the Islands Connectivity Plan at the end of 2022.

Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan (2013-2022) (transport.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government does not collect data on suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the UK as this a statutory function of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The MHRA produces a weekly summary of Yellow Card reporting and includes other safety investigations carried out by the MHRA under the COVID-19 Vaccine Surveillance Strategy. On 1 July this report was updated to include new data up to 23 June 2021. The MHRA does not currently break down these data by treatment required at secondary or primary clinical care settings.

The number of suspected ADR reports received in the UK for COVID-19 vaccines up to and including 23 June were as follows:

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