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A framework setting out a consistent position regarding the storage, removal and enforced prohibition of combustible materials in common areas is being taken forward by a Working Group made up of relevant stakeholders and is expected to be completed before the end of 2019.

We will shortly publish the analysis report of the responses to the consultation paper " Protecting Children: Review of section 12 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 and section 42 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009" . The consultation sought views on potential changes to the criminal offence of cruelty to children to ensure it reflects modern understandings of what constitutes child abuse and neglect, including making it explicit that the offence covers emotional harm.

The response to our consultation shows there is a deep interest in this area and the overwhelmingly positive response to our proposals confirms there is interest in further reforms. Respondents also raised a number of potential issues and complexities with such a reform and we consider that further engagement on the detail of legislative reform is required.

This is a complex and sensitive area of the law and we are currently carefully considering responses to help shape our next steps before consulting on draft provisions.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Following several months of positive discussions with the POA(S) regarding prison officers’ pay, SPS made a pay offer on 9 August 2019.

The offer is a three year deal for 2019-22 providing a 6% pay rise for prison officers in year 1, with higher awards of 6.4% and 6.6% respectively for staff in Bands C and D at the top of their pay band maximum. This is followed by further 4% rises, for those earning up to £36,500, in years 2 and 3.

The POA(S) announced on 30 August 2019 that following a ballot of their members the offer had been overwhelming accepted.

As set out in my answer to questions S5W-22749 on 2 May 2019 and S5W-19571 on 7 November 2018, we were seeking an Order under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998 to facilitate recovery of the surcharge via deduction from benefits and bring Scotland into line with the powers that already exist in England and Wales.

The Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Modification) Order 2019 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/1092/signature/made subsequently came into force on 8 July 2019.

We intend to lay the Victim Surcharge (Scotland) Regulations, which will implement the surcharge, before the Scottish Parliament shortly.

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 have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Operational guidance has been developed to support our staff to better understand how to minimise exposure to unknown substances. As new and emerging substances come to our attention, this guidance will be reviewed in order to ensure that the health and safety of staff is maintained at all times. SPS also has robust mail handling procedures in place across all Scottish prisons to deter and disrupt attempts to introduce illicit articles to the prison estate and support the identification of any substances recovered.

SPS is currently trialling technology across a number of sites to support the identification of illicit substances on paper. Early indications suggest that this technology is preventing illicit substances from entering our prisons.

A Strategic Risk and Threat Group (SRTG) has also been established which is responsible for providing an overview of any emerging threats and the deployment of resources and tactical options. The SRTG is responsible for the management of a national tasking log which supports planned programmes of large scale tactical searching across the estate. These searches are frequently supported by trained drug detection dogs able to identify illicit substances which have been impregnated on to paper.

Procurement of the roadside screening devices for implementation of the Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

However, Scottish Government officials have been in touch with Police Scotland who have advised a quantity of devices capable of testing for cannabis and cocaine have been received by Police Scotland to facilitate training of relevant officers, and more will be delivered in due course to facilitate further training. A larger batch will be delivered and distributed ahead of the 21 October 2019 implementation date. Post implementation, Police Scotland will take delivery of more devices as and when required, to ensure operational effectiveness, while minimising potential for waste, noting there is a service life for such screening devices.

The Scottish Government consults regularly on the modernisation of civil law, often as a consequence of the law reform work carried out by the Scottish Law Commission in this area.

By way of example in the past year we have or are consulting on: Judicial Factors (August 2019); the law of Succession (May 2019); Defamation in Scots Law (April 2019); Success Fee Arrangements in Scotland (January 2019); The future of civil partnerships in Scotland (December 2018); and Review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and creation of family justice modernisation strategy (September 2018).

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with Police Scotland and a range of issues are discussed.

We are protecting Police Scotland’s revenue budget during this Parliament to deliver a £100 million boost by 2021 and total Scottish Government funding for the SPA in 2019-20 is increasing by £42.3 million meaning the annual policing budget is now over £1.2 billion. We also continue to press the UK Government for a refund of the £125 million paid by Police Scotland in VAT between 2013 and 2018 – money that could be used to support transformation.

The precise allocation of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable, but Police Scotland has specialised Offender Management Units within each of its 13 territorial divisions. Currently they have access to 49 dedicated vehicles which allow them to undertake their operational duties and manage offenders.

It is not solely the responsibility of a police unit to protect the public. In Scotland, MAPPA – our Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements – brings together the Police, Local Authorities and other agencies, in partnership as the Responsible Authorities, to assess and manage the risk posed for certain categories of offender.

Police Scotland has been subject of a joint HMICS and Care Inspectorate Thematic Review of MAPPA in Scotland, which was published in 2015 and a 2017 progress report by HMICS acknowledged the progress made against the 10 recommendations in the original report.

We have established the Victims Taskforce to improve the experiences of victims of crime as they interact with the justice system We have also committed to improving the support and information available to victims and their families in relation to temporary prison release arrangements.

Victims are informed that it is the role of the Scottish Prison Service to ensure that the sentence is served in accordance with the law, to challenge the factors that lead to the offending in the first place and to help individuals prepare for their return to the community better prepared to live a life free of offending should they wish to do so. This includes improving their work prospects by teaching new skills, providing education and work opportunities as well as ensuring that the necessary systems are in place to support the individual as well as manage any risks. However, if a representation (by individuals who have joined the Victim Notification Scheme) contains information which is relevant to risk this may prevent a prisoner from being temporarily released.

For individuals who have joined the Victim Notification Scheme, and have expressed a desire to make representations in relation to licence conditions under section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, Scottish Prison Service will write to seek their representations no less than two weeks before any decision will be taken on release. This includes prisoners who are: on Home Detention Curfew; on temporary release (but only on the first occasion that the prisoner is considered); or being considered for release by the Parole Board for Scotland.