Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government remains committed to modernising and improving the prison estate, to ensure it is fit for purpose for those that live and work in prisons and supports the rehabilitation of people living there.

Our current infrastructure priorities are the replacements for HMP Barlinnie and HMP Inverness.

Neither the Scottish Government or the Scottish Prison Service have current plans to redevelop the site of HMP Shotts.

We are currently developing detailed proposals for the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS). A formal remit will be drawn up (and published) in due course.

A key part of the work being done is to develop governance and oversight of the work being done to tackle racism in Scotland, as per the recommendation of the Expert Group on Ethnicity and Covid-19 (ERG). This will include consideration of how to measure, track and evaluate progress made in eradicating racism in Scotland.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns any form of racism, hatred or prejudice. We must all play our part in challenging such behaviour and attitudes.

We are currently developing detailed proposals for the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS). A formal remit will be drawn up (and published) in due course.

The work of the Observatory will align closely with our obligations under the Equality Act (2010) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and will inform and support implementation of the Convention in Scotland.

Agreement has been reached through the Police Negotiating Board for a 7% increase to officer pay across all ranks for 2023-24. It means that police officers in Scotland remain the best paid in the UK.

The agreement recognises the valuable contribution police officers make to keeping people and communities across Scotland safe. It is also cognisant of the current economic climate and seeks to recognise the fact that officers are unable to take industrial action.

This agreement ensures a cumulative 12.35% increase in police officer pay since 1 April 2022 which broadly mirrors wage growth for firefighters in the Scottish Fire Rescue Service. In 2023-24 Nurses and Paramedics received a 6.5% pay award.

The 2023-24 Programme for Government and Pay Strategy maintains our commitment to a four-day working week public sector pilot to assess environmental, health and wellbeing benefits and productivity gains this could bring.

The pilot and the concluding report will ensure meaningful insights are gained on the benefits and risks of a four-day working week approach.

We are currently seeking an expert partner organisation to support pilot participants, assist with the pilot design and produce an evaluation report. The work of the expert partner organisation will define the framework to judge the effectiveness of the public sector four-day working week pilot proposal.

The Investing in Communities Fund (ICF) currently supports 105 organisations receiving a share of £27 million over the three years 2023-24 to 2025-26. Many of the organisations receiving ICF are delivering their projects for more than one community area thereby enabling an even wider combined benefit and providing assistance for people living in more than 128 communities.

The organisations that have been supported have been published along with details of the funding awards. ICF Round 2 - List of successful organisations

The deployment, working conditions and health and wellbeing of officers are matters for the Chief Constable. There are processes and mechanisms in place for the Scottish Police Federation to raise any concerns or suggestions for change with Police Scotland through the Joint Negotiating Consultative Committee (JNCC), whose membership includes staff associations and trade unions.

I have three scheduled meetings per year and met with the Scottish Police Federation on 21 December 2022, 10 May 2023 and is scheduled to meet them on 21 September 2023. The Federation also meet regularly with senior Scottish Government officials. During these meetings matters of interest and concern to federation members are discussed.

In appointing the membership of the Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill Steering Group, we aimed to ensure that all key groups of partners, in public, private, community and third sectors were represented.

Membership of the CWB Bill Steering Group can be altered over time, as different expertise may be required as development of legislative proposals is progressed.

The Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group was established to ensure a multi-agency, strategic approach towards the development and delivery of Scotland’s Hate Crime Strategy .

Members are drawn from the following organisations:

• Age Scotland
• BEMIS
• CEMVO
• COPFS
• COSLA
• Education Scotland
• Equality Network
• Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA)
• Interfaith Scotland
• Police Scotland
• Respectme
• YouthLink Scotland
• Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (observer)

Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) (observer)There is currently no expectation in the Terms of Reference for the Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group that individual names of members from attending organisations will be published.

Scotland’s public transport network currently offers passengers a mix of smartcard, smart payment and digital platforms for their travel needs. Transport Scotland made smartcards interoperable in 2019, and via our £1.1m Smart Pay Grant fund, we’ve supported operators to accept contactless bank payments, with around 98% of buses now enabled for this.

As technology advances, we are committed to progressing with smart, digital and integrated ticketing and payment with operators to facilitate easier, tailored ticketing enhancements to meet local needs.

We are progressing measures in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, setting a smart ticketing delivery framework, enhancing governance, technology and powers. The National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board will be established this year, with representatives from different modes, authorities and user groups. Advice will be provided on strategic direction and a smart technological standard for smart ticketing which will be specified by Scottish Ministers. The Act will also enhance the ticketing powers of local authorities, including for ticketing arrangements to include connecting rail and ferry services.

We are refreshing our Smart Delivery Strategy which will set out our approach and timescales to supporting the future of smart ticketing, so it enhances integration, accessibility and satisfaction. This is informed by a public survey that ran in Spring 2023.