Seòmar agus comataidhean

Do you see political will to remove trade barriers?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the public inquiry examining the events surrounding the death of Sheku Bayoh. (S6O-00461)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that update.

Police officers, lawyers, the Crown Office and many others will not have to worry about the financial implications of attending the inquiry. Despite having asked many times, Sheku Bayoh’s family has received no response on whether its costs for attending the inquiry will also be covered. The family remains under serious financial strain as it continues its fight for the truth.

The former justice secretary stated that the Bayoh family would be front and centre of the inquiry. Can the current justice secretary confirm that its concerns will be immediately addressed?

I remember those eight sessions fondly, and I do not remember this issue coming up. It is interesting that it was identified through the extensive IT build as an issue of due diligence. It seems to be a logical loophole to close.

What is the timescale for the roll-out of the register, and where are we with building in seamlessness of use for the public and users of the multiple registers, such that they can come to a portal and find out—in a way that makes sense to ordinary people, who do not have the benefit of experience of conveyancing and trust law—who owns a piece of land and who is influencing the ownership and management of that land?

I think that it was Rhodri Morgan who said that devolution is a great laboratory, and there is definitely an opportunity to innovate. Will you comment on the fishing gear issue?

I want to go a bit deeper into the issue of rural communities. At the moment, there is a big cost differential between installing a low-carbon system and sticking with an oil-based system, but how can that differential be reduced over time?

Another issue that people have raised with me is the wider servicing infrastructure. If people are being asked to make the jump to a low-carbon system and the supply chain is not there, there will be no cost reduction in that respect, but what if there is no maintenance and servicing infrastructure either? That will be a concern for people and a barrier to making that jump. I am interested to hear about the thinking about that in the heat in buildings strategy and how it will merge with the targets that have been set.

In terms of work on that supply chain, how do you see the energy agency co-ordinating action? What will it do in practice? Will it rely more on local government delivery partners or voluntary sector agencies? I am looking for some clarity around what practical actions the agency will take on the ground to tackle some of these issues and to roll out programmes.

My final question is about an issue that Fife Council raised with me yesterday. It is now very difficult to get energy companies to become the default provider for council tenants. SSE is not interested in being the default provider for Fife Council. Are you aware of that issue? We are seeing more and more energy companies going to the wall, so fewer energy companies can provide a competitive offering for council tenants. There seems to be a lack of appetite for taking on council tenants, which is worrying.

First of all, we should congratulate the petitioners on managing to change Government policy. Translocations are now happening, which is great; indeed, I think that one happened yesterday in the Stirling area.

To be fair, I think that some follow-up work is needed on the back of this. Although it would probably be useful to write to the Scottish Government, I think that we should certainly write to NatureScot to ask for more detail on its view of the change in the beaver management framework, particularly with regard to existing licences for lethal control, the funding of translocations and how the process itself can be streamlined. I know that some of that will come through forthcoming guidance, but I would still be reluctant to close the petition. You could look at this and think that pretty much everything that the petitioners have asked for is now happening, but there are some issues for the future with regard to guidance and the management framework that will need to be followed up, to ensure that we get substantial change.

I agree with all the comments so far. An important part of access is the cost, particularly for those who are vulnerable and cannot afford regular travel. I know that many young people in the islands use a ferry service in the way that people on the mainland might use a bus service. It would be useful to know what consideration the Scottish Government has given to that. The roll-out of concessionary travel for under-22s on the buses is starting in January, but it would be interesting to know whether the Government has done any analysis of the cost of extending that to ferries. I know that the transport minister announced several weeks ago that the fair fares review will look in detail at the structure of ferry prices and how that will impact on people who are struggling.