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The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) is responsible for allocating the budget for the policing of Scotland, which includes allocations to the Chief Constable and also to the Director of the Forensics Service. The Scottish Government had a number of discussions with the SPA and Police Scotland finance leads during the course of the 2019-20 spending review. The SPA considered and approved its budget for 2019-20 at its meeting on 28 March 2019.

We are committed to protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of this Parliament – a boost of £100 million by 2021. The value of the real terms protection in 2019-20 is £19.1m.

Total Scottish Government funding for the Scottish Police Authority in 2019-20 is increasing by £42.3 million, meaning the annual policing budget is now over £1.2 billion. 87% of the policing budget pays for the salaries of police staff and officers and we have invested an additional £11.2 million in the workforce, including a 6.5% pay increase for police officers. This year’s budget also includes a 52% (£12 million) increase to the capital budget and £30.2 million of reform and change funding.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22550 on 3 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22550 on 3 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22550 on 3 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Commencement provisions for the Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 raise a number of important and complex issues, including, but not limited to, the appropriate duration for any transitional period given the range of statutory obligations that would be subject to a shortened period of prescription. The Scottish Government are currently in discussions with stakeholders about these issues. The intention is to lay the Commencement Order as soon as practicable.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22550 on 3 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22550 on 3 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22550 on 3 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists to deliver a sustainable and regular supply of educational psychologists to meet future need. The NSSGEP last met on 29 April 2019.

The current priority for the group is the implementation of the Scottish Government/ COSLA partnership funding training arrangements which they helped develop and which were agreed in 2018. The University of Dundee started 29 trainees under these new arrangements in September 2018, and are currently recruiting trainees to take up the next round of 30 training places this autumn.

Information on the overall number of tags removed for emergency medical reasons is not routinely collated by the electronic monitoring service provider.

However, in every case where the Electronic Monitoring service provider is notified that a tag has been removed for emergency medical reasons, they are required to obtain confirmation of that fact from a medical professional and where appropriate report this to the relevant authority.