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As I advised the Justice Committee in my letter of 24 June, officials in the Scottish Government’s Justice Analytical Services and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service have been working on modelling that sets out an analysis of the potential court backlog, and this work will be shared with the Committee. Officials within Justice Analytical Services will also contact the Scottish Parliament Information Centre to share some of the underlying modelling with researchers there.

Whilst the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows that volume of crime has fallen significantly since 2008-09 (down 45%), we know crime reporting rates have remained stable throughout that period, and are similar to the rates in England and Wales. Adults in Scotland are now less likely to experience crime than those in England and Wales, who had an equivalent victimisation rate of 14.9% in 2018-19.

There are many reasons why people do not report crime to the police, for example some victims view these incidents as private, personal or family matters.

We are clear that we want victims to report crime to the police in order to access justice and we also want victims to have access to the support services they need and deserve. We are taking forward a range of actions both to encourage greater reporting and to encourage the uptake of support.

The total number of police officers – 17,431 (as at 31 March 2020) – is an increase of 1,197 police officers (+7.4%) from the position in 2007, and strengthening public contact and engagement is a key objective of Policing 2026.

In 2020-21 we are providing funding to Neighbourhood Watch Scotland (£115,000) and Crimestoppers Scotland (£99,000) to assist with their work in addressing crime, community safety and empowering victims to speak up. In 2018-19 there were 1,414 positive outcomes (arrest and charge, prevention, disruptions, referral to a support organisations and interventions) as a result of reports to Crimestoppers.

Victims and witnesses of crime who suffer fear or distress have a right to have special measures taken in court – such as providing evidence via video link, or behind a screen to avoid having to come face to face with the accused. The Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses published by Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, the Scottish Prison Service and the Parole Board for Scotland ensure that victims and witnesses know what they have a right to expect during their interaction with these agencies.

In 2020-21 we are providing £18 million to support victims of crime, including to third sector organisations who provide practical and emotional support to victims and their families. The Victims Taskforce has been established to improve support, advice and information for victims of crime and their families as they interact with the justice system. Further information on the Taskforce can be found here https://www.gov.scot/groups/victims-taskforce/ .

A Taskforce work stream chaired by Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid considers issues specific to victims of gender based violence and is taking forward a roundtable on the safeguarding of privacy rights for sexual offence victims and barriers to reporting.

Additionally, the Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Bill empowers victims, giving them greater choice which may positively influence their decision to report the crime to police and encouraging those who may be reluctant to make a police report to access appropriate NHS services.

In 2017 we published an ambitious programme of work to tackle hate crime and build community cohesion and the Cabinet Secretary for Communities chairs an Action Group to take this work forward. Key priorities include raising awareness of hate crime and encouraging reporting. We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate crime to report it to the police or by using one of the many third party reporting centres across Scotland. We have also expanded our Navigators programme to reach more vulnerable people when they attend Hospital A&E, helping them access the services and support they need.

The 10 “Nightingale” courts in England and Wales are being set up for civil and non-custody cases. Running full trials in external venues was one of a range of options to restart jury trials put forward by the Scottish Government but, following our discussions with partners and stakeholders, it is not one of the options currently being focussed on. Jury trials in Scotland have now recommenced using two different models, while virtual proceedings are being used for summary and civil business. We are continuing to work with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to explore additional innovative solutions to enable recovery across the justice system.

The position remains as per my answer of 4 June 2020. The impact of Covid-19 has meant development of new services in this area is not likely to be possible while the current focus is on maintaining and recovering justice services. My intention is though that these discussions will resume as soon as practically possible.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days”

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

The published Financial Memorandum which accompanies the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill details the Scottish Government’s estimates regarding the number of additional prosecutions that may take place should the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill be enacted.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

The responses to the, ‘ One Scotland: Hate Has No Home Here ’, consultation and public awareness events yielded valuable information both from individual and organisational perspectives.

Subsequently the Scottish Government contracted independent external analysts who undertook the analysis of the consultation responses and produced a report , which was then published on the Scottish Government website in June 2019.

Contained within Annex A of the report is a list of all the organisations who responded to the consultation broken down into four categories: third sector bodies, public sector and partnership bodies, faith groups and other organisations .

These responses can also be viewed individually on the Scottish Government’s Consultation website unless the organisation requested that their response remain anonymous.

I announced on 3 July that the Scottish Government is establishing the Performing Arts Venues Relief fund – a £10 million fund to support Scotland’s performing arts venues to be administered by Creative Scotland so that organisations across Scotland are able to access this much-needed money as quickly as possible. On 5th of July, the UK Government announced a £1.57 billion support package, with £97 million for Scotland which the First Minister has confirmed will be used for the arts, culture and heritage.

We welcome this announcement and we are pleased that the UK Government has listened to our calls for significant funding for the arts, culture and heritage sectors and is using its borrowing powers, which we don’t have, to deliver this level of support. The Scottish Government is currently establishing the best means and the criteria to provide additional support to those in the arts, culture and heritage sectors who have been so badly affected by Covid-19.