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The requested data on police officers working in administrative roles is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. HMICS continues to work with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to provide independent assurance on the measurement and delivery of increased operational policing capacity.

It is a matter for the Chief Constable, with oversight from the Scottish Police Authority, to consider the size and shape of the policing workforce, taking into account the needs of our communities and in light of changing demands.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Scottish Police Authority has responsibility for the police estate. I have asked the Chief Executive, Hugh Grover, to write to you with this information.

The information requested is not held centrally. I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21679 on 1 March 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 .

As set out in Programme for Government we want to have restorative justice services widely available across Scotland by 2023 and will publish a Restorative Justice Action Plan by Spring 2019 that will set out how we will deliver this aim.

We are working in collaboration with a range of partners to develop the Action Plan. This has included issuing a questionnaire to Local Authorities, the report from which was published in June 2018

(https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2018/06/
restorative-justice-survey-response-analysis/documents/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1
de8bd55/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1de8bd55/govscot:document ), and holding two stakeholder workshops in November 2018. We are also engaging with members of the Restorative Justice Forum.

Further consultation activity will be undertaken prior to finalising the Action Plan. This will include consulting on an order under section 5(2) of the Victims and Witnesses Act 2014, to prescribe who must have regard to the 'Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice in Scotland'.

The following report, which was published in June 2018, details the results from a questionnaire completed by local authorities to establish a baseline of how restorative justice practices are being delivered across Scotland.

(https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2018/06/
restorative-justice-survey-response-analysis/documents/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1
de8bd55/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1de8bd55/govscot:document ).

I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21679 on 1 March 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

Local authorities are responsible for delivering community sentences and national completion rates for Community Payback Orders (CPOs) are 70%, as reported in the Criminal Justice Social Work statistics for 2017-18.

The Scottish Government is working with national and local partners including Community Justice Scotland, Social Work Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, local authorities and third sector partners to help ensure orders are implemented as effectively as possible and improve completion rates where possible.

Updated CPO Practice guidance was published on 25 January 2019 which supports effective practice, and included a focus on breach and compliance, and reiterates the importance of successful completion.

Community Justice Scotland will lay two reports in Parliament in March based on local authority CPO annual returns, and the Care Inspectorate is leading on scrutiny and assurance activity of community justice and criminal justice social work in Scotland, with an emphasis on CPOs. This was specifically requested by the Scottish Government and was informed by analysis of last year’s Criminal Justice Social Work statistics. The latest statistics will inform further engagement with local authorities as we work to ensure community sentences are as effective as possible.

Effective use of CPOs has contributed to a 19 year low in reconviction rates and additional funding has been provided for community sentences since 2016-17. This additional funding increased to £5.5 million in 2018-19, and has been protected in the draft budget for 2019-20.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Decisions about the publication of internal research are a matter for Police Scotland. You can contact Police Scotland by writing to Chief Constable Iain Livingstone QPM, Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan Castle, Kincardine, FK10 4BE.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the information and support available to victims and families when prisoners are released. We recognise that the release process can be unfamiliar and distressing for family members.

That is why we have established a Victims Taskforce to identify ways to improve support, advice and information available for victims of crime and their families as they interact with the Scottish criminal justice system. This programme of work will be informed directly by victims themselves. The Taskforce will have an oversight role to the suite of Programme for Government commitments related to victims, which includes ensuring that victims and their families have better information and greater support ahead of prison release arrangements.

In 2018-19 the Scottish Government provided the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) with a total fiscal budget i.e. resource and capital of £296.9 million which included additional spending capacity of £15.5 million. This comprised of £5.5 million extra direct funding and ensuring SFRS was able to benefit in full from being able to recover £10 million in VAT from March 2018.

In 2019-20 SFRS has been allocated a fiscal budget of £302.4 million which includes an additional £5.5 million in support of its transformation programme.

Release on compassionate grounds generally applies where individuals have a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon, where the prisoner is severely incapacitated or where continued imprisonment would endanger or shorten his or her life expectancy. Release may also be considered where tragic family circumstances are a factor.