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The Scottish Government fully appreciate the concerns expressed about the deliberate resale of tickets for profit, known as “touting” and recognise that some events do sell out quickly and ticket touts or online sellers take the opportunity to sell tickets at significantly higher prices.

The regulation of consumer protection is reserved to the UK Government. Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) is a UK government funded team intended to add capacity to local authority trading standards services in Scotland. TSS is funded by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and HM Treasury (HMT). The former Cabinet Secretary for the Economy raised concerns with UK Government on this issue.

Powers in relation to secondary ticketing are also reserved to Westminster and we cannot bring forward any legislation in this area under the current constitutional arrangements and so our contact has been directly with the UK Government rather than Trading Standards and Citizens Advice Scotland.

Scottish Government launched a consultation on 14 September which includes a Network Assessment of the adequacy of current and proposed Special Protection Areas in the marine environment. Responses to the consultation are invited by 9 November via the online consultation platform: https://consult.gov.scot/marine-scotland/sea-for-15-proposed-special-protection-areas/ .

The Scottish Government has pledged £7.5m funding over 2017- 2020 towards the Ambition 2030 food and drink industry strategy to support delivery of the aim to double the value of the sector to £30bn by 2030.

We are also taking forward a wide range of work across government to progress our ambition to be a Good Food Nation. Yesterday, I published a programme of measures that for the first time draws together the activities underway or which are planned to make a real difference to the lives of people in Scotland. This significant Programme of Measures demonstrates our very real commitment to grow Scotland as a Good Food Nation. We will also be consulting in the autumn, including on what legislative measures might be required to underpin the excellent work already being done.

The regulation of consumer protection is reserved to the UK Government. Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) is a UK government funded team intended to add capacity to local authority trading standards services in Scotland. TSS is funded by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and HM Treasury (HMT).

Powers in relation to secondary ticketing, known as "ticket touting" are also reserved to Westminster. The Scottish Government provided £125,000 to TSS in 2017-18 to fund the purchase of over 1,200 call blockers for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people. TSS is working with a range of organisations who engage with vulnerable individuals to ensure they go to those that need them the most. The call blockers being disseminated (trueCall devices) record the numbers that they block, which will enable intelligence to be gather to support enforcement work.

The funding is part of the Scottish Government’s response to the Nuisance Calls Commission, which was chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, and met three times between November 2016 and March 2017.

The Scottish Government's response to the report of the Scottish Expert Advisory Panel on the Collaborative Economy was published on 10 July 2018. The report can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781788519809.

The First Minister announced the £172,000 ShareLab Scotland fund on 6 July 2018 which is one of a range of actions identified in the response to the recommendations from the panel’s report. The fund will help identify and support projects that use online matching to help individuals and communities make better and more sustainable use of local resources, and that will contribute to Scotland’s vision of a fairer, more socially responsible collaborative economy.

Since the Small Grants Programme launched in 2013, 104 Scottish based organisations have applied for funding. The average amount applied for was £40,977.02 and the countries targeted were Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda. The table below provides a breakdown for each of the last five years of the Programme, however it should be noted that the ‘average amounts applied for’ figure is an average across three funding strands under the Programme, with different maximum funding amounts (project funding - £60,000, feasibility studies - £10,000 and capacity building - £10,000).

The Small Grants Programme only awarded grants for the Scottish Government’s International Development partner countries until 2017 when, following discussions with the international development sector, the eligibility criteria for awards from 2018 onwards were changed. In line with our International Development Strategy, published in December 2016, project grants under the Small Grants Programme may only be applied for in relation to our three SubSaharan partner countries, Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda; however, at the same time, eligibility for feasibility grants and capacity strengthening grants under the Programme were widened out, to now include any country whose Human Development scores were medium or low on the current United Nations Human Development Index.

The Scottish Government launched its Small Grants programme in 2013, with the first tranche of projects beginning in 2014. A full list of the organisations awarded funding to date, the amount awarded to each organisation and the countries targeted in each of the five years between 2014 and 2018 can be found on the Scottish Government's website: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/international-development-small-grants-programme-funding/

Work and workplace related health and safety is a reserved issue. The Scottish Government does not ordinarily collect the data requested.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulatory authority for Great Britain and, along with local authorities, is responsible for regulation and enforcement, including collection of data. The Scottish Government has no statutory involvement in workplace health and safety.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on enforcement actions taken by the relevant regulatory bodies.

COPFS Health and Safety Division lead the investigation and prosecution of all potential cases under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Its staff provide advice, support and (in the case of Police Scotland) direction to investigators from Police Scotland, the Health and Safety Executive, local authorities and other regulatory agencies in relation to such cases.

Every fatality at a place of work in Scotland is investigated as a potential corporate homicide. The Work Related Death Protocol for Scotland, signed by COPFS, ACPOS, British Transport Police and the HSE, ensures that when a work-related death occurs, a co-ordinated multi-agency investigation takes place, which allows for all possible offences to be considered.

Once reported to the Crown, each case is carefully considered by lawyers within the COPFS Health and Safety Division, on the basis of the relevant law and the available evidence.

Data are not available broken down as requested. COPFS have advised that since 2009, 14 cases, involving 18 companies or partnerships, have been reported to the Crown in respect of potential corporate homicide as well as other charges.

Of these cases, three remain under consideration by the Crown. One case, reported in 2011, was marked for no proceedings. The remaining cases have all resulted in a conviction in solemn proceedings, albeit that there have been no prosecutions or convictions under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. In each of those cases, the accused was convicted, in proceedings under section 76 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 of breaches of section 2 or section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Work 1974. The court has the same sentencing powers in relation to these offences as it has in relation to corporate homicide.

COPFS Health and Safety Division lead the investigation and prosecution of all potential cases under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Its staff provide advice, support and (in the case of Police Scotland) direction to investigators from Police Scotland, the Health and Safety Executive, local authorities and other regulatory agencies in relation to such cases.

Every fatality at a place of work in Scotland is investigated as a potential corporate homicide. The Work Related Death Protocol for Scotland, signed by COPFS, ACPOS, British Transport Police and the HSE, ensures that when a work-related death occurs, a co-ordinated multi-agency investigation takes place, which allows for all possible offences to be considered.

Once reported to the Crown, each case is carefully considered by lawyers within the COPFS Health and Safety Division, on the basis of the relevant law and the available evidence. Since 2009, 14 cases, involving 18 companies or partnerships, have been reported to the Crown in respect of potential corporate homicide as well as other charges.

Of these cases, three remain under consideration by the Crown. One case, reported in 2011, was marked for no proceedings. The remaining cases have all resulted in a conviction in solemn proceedings, albeit that there have been no prosecutions or convictions under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. In each of those cases, the accused was convicted, in proceedings under section 76 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 of breaches of section 2 or section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Work 1974. The court has the same sentencing powers in relation to these offences as it has in relation to corporate homicide.