Seòmar agus comataidhean

I confirmed to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 16 May that I was disappointed that Network Rail’s anticipated final costs for the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) have risen to that level. However, the delivery of EGIP remains affordable within the available funding within this railway regulatory Control Period, unlike projects managed by the UK Government in the rest of GB which are so over budget that many enhancement and renewal projects have had to be cancelled or postponed.

I committed to writing to the Committee once Network Rail has written to me formally confirming the Final Costs for EGIP.

We published the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2016 in December 2017. This is based on the views of head teachers, teachers and support staff at both primary and secondary schools across Scotland. The research found that the majority of pupils are well behaved and a credit to their school.

We want all our children and young people to behave in a respectful manner towards their peers and staff and no teacher should have to suffer abuse.

We are working closely with key stakeholders and the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviours in Schools, and will present an agreed plan of action to ensure continued improvements in behaviour can be realised.

The Scottish Strategy for Autism provides a framework for Integration Authorities (IAs), who are responsible for the strategic planning and decision making for all functions delegated to them, including autism services. The Scottish Government expects IAs to commission social care services which meet the needs of the autistic person for whom they are being commissioned. Social care service providers should ensure autistic people are met with recognition and understanding, and properly supported by trained staff.

The Scottish Government does not commission autism services. Integration Authorities are responsible for the strategic planning and decision making for all functions delegated to them, including autism services for autistic people in line with their statutory responsibilities under the Public Bodies (Joint Working)(Scotland) Act 2014.

This is a matter for Integration Authorities (IAs) and varies across Scotland. In some areas support is provided in-house, while in others it is provided by the national autism charities and local third sector organisations.

We recognise the importance of pre-and post-diagnostic autism support, and that is why the Scottish Government has committed to working with partners to develop a national autism resource. This resource will pull together information on all the national and local resources available to autistic people and their families.

The Scottish Strategy for Autism sets out a framework which seeks the removal of barriers to diagnosis across Scotland; however, diagnosis is a matter for Integration Authorities (IAs). Access to diagnosis varies across IAs, and in some there is no diagnostic provision for adults without a learning disability or a mental health condition. The Scottish Government is willing to work with IA to address these inequalities in access.

In 2016, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published SIGN 145, Assessment, diagnosis and interventions for autism spectrum disorder . The Scottish Government would expect IAs to follow these guidelines.

The intention to provide a 42 minute journey on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High route has always been aligned with the December 2018 timetable change date. Alex Hynes, ScotRail Alliance Managing Director, confirmed at his appearance at the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on 9 May 2018 he expects a fastest journey time of 42 minutes to be achieved from December 2018. The Scottish Government welcomes his commitment to explore options to improve upon this in future years.

The ScotRail Alliance has already delivered journey time improvements with some electric services on the route achieving 44 minutes since the December 2017 timetable change.

The one stop shop model was initially funded by the Scottish Government from the Scottish Strategy for Autism as a pilot to ensure autistic people received the support they needed following an autism assessment. There was an expectation that the six one stop shops would be embedded in local strategic delivery plans and become sustainable in each locality by the end of government funding. The remaining four One Stop Shops provide essential early intervention pre and post diagnostic support to autistic adults, children and their families and the services are valued however, the Scottish Government cannot continue to provide funding for local services.

Integration Authorities (IA) are responsible for the strategic planning and decision making for all services delegated to them, including services for autistic people, in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government policy. This means they are responsible for the delivery of local services and for the implementation of local autism strategies and action plans.

The Service Quality Incentive Regime (SQUIRE) is working as per design and continues to incentivise ScotRail to manage the improvement in performance of the services and facilities it is contracted to provide.

Due to the level of performance, Scottish Government requested action plans designed specifically to address the root causes of the poor performance. ScotRail delivered the action plans as per request but additionally instigated two organisational wide reviews, focussing on resourcing and recruitment and on managing pro-active and re-active maintenance.

It is envisaged that when the actions identified from the reviews are fully implemented they will have a significant positive impact on SQUIRE performance. Some of the actions have already been introduced and the early indications of improvement are encouraging.

Racism is completely unacceptable and we are committed to tackling it.

Racist incidents and racist hate crime have shown a downwards trend in Scotland in recent times, with racially motivated homicides being rare (in 2016-17, there were two victims of homicide that were reported to have had a racial motivation, representing 3 per cent of all victims in the latest year). The total number of homicides has fallen by 47% in the past ten years with racially motivated homicides accounting for just 1.1% of the overall figure.

One incident is too many though and we are resolved to do everything that it takes to ensure that Scotland is a place where there is zero tolerance of prejudice or bigotry in any form. That’s why our Race Equality Action Plan: A Fairer Scotland for All was published in December and includes over 120 actions which we will take over the lifetime of this Parliament to tackle racism and to improve the lives of minority ethnic communities in Scotland. This includes work to tackle hate crime and prejudice, and build greater community cohesion.