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This information is not recorded by COPFS.

Cases that are discontinued are marked with an appropriate No Further Action reason.

None of the No Further Action Marking categories used within COPFS allow us to identify any cases which were discontinued due to witness citations not being served on time.

For your information, figures for the total cases marked No Further Action for the last 5 years are published on the Crown Office website ( Case processing statistics 2017 to 2022 ).

In addition, the following table provides cases marked for No Further Action since 1 April 2013 broken down by the appropriate category as used by COPFS: -

There were no prosecutions under section 40(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (where main crime) since 1 January 2014.

Please note: The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

I met with the Chair and Vice Chairs of SPT on 23 November 2022, during a visit to see progress on the Subway Modernisation programme. We discussed that programme, in addition to our mutual interest and shared desire to support the continued recovery of public transport patronage in the West of Scotland. We have agreed to meet again to continue the dialogue and collaboratively working.

Official completion data for the 2022 nursing and midwifery graduate cohort is not available. As a result, the Scottish Government is unable to provide a retention rate for newly qualified nurses and midwives in 2022.

The Bill does not propose that 75,000 local authority employees would transfer. As the policy memorandum to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill makes clear the under the National Care Service, services will continue to be planned, designed and delivered locally because the care boards will plan and commission services for their local area. For social care services currently provided in-house by local authorities, that may continue under a commissioning arrangement with the care board, or the care board may take over direct delivery, with staff transferring to the care board. These will be decisions to be taken locally as the care boards are established. Once the structure and governance of care boards and their localities have been decided, decisions about the employment of staff will be made.

Thorough consideration will be given to all options regarding pensions and stakeholders will be consulted before any decisions are taken.

Decisions on how the £5 million of loss and damage funding will be allocated are yet to be taken. Decisions will be made on the recommendation of needs assessments and undertaken in consultation with stakeholders and communities. These funds are in addition to the £2 million we announced last year, of which £1.7 million is already on the ground. Funds to date have been allocated through participatory mechanisms with those communities most impacted as well as to funding research on needs assessments and case studies.

In advance of the emergency legislation we set up a working group with social landlords to help assess the options for rents beyond 31 March and to understand and gather evidence on the impact of the rent cap measures for tenants and the implications for landlord service delivery, business and investment plans. That work is continuing and will inform the first review of the legislation, due to be completed by 14 January 2023. During the passage of the Bill we further committed to giving clarity and certainty to social landlords on rent-setting no later than by the 14 January review point, and to considering all options to keep rents affordable for tenants.

Social landlords have already made substantial investment in energy efficiency to remove poor energy efficiency as a driver for fuel poverty and contribute to achieving the Scottish Government’s ambitious climate change emissions reductions targets. The independent Scottish Housing Regulator reports that 88% of social homes already meet the first milestone of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH). We are working with landlords to review future EESSH milestones to ensure that they are aligned with climate change targets.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, which launched in August 2020, has been designed to accelerate the delivery of energy efficiency measures and zero emissions heating systems in social housing across Scotland. It will make at least £200 million available to registered social landlords until 2026.

Acknowledging that the public sector alone cannot bear the long-term cost of converting homes, the Green Heat Finance Taskforce has been established to assess and recommend ways the public sector, communities and private finance can collaborate to scale up investment. A dedicated sub-group has been established to consider the best routes to financing and funding the retrofit of the existing social housing stock.

Ministers were advised by CMAL that there was not sufficient confidence that the vessel would meet the relevant regulatory requirements for operating in UK waters as set out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and by the relevant class society. There were also a number of other uncertainties around the modifications that would be required to meet the requirements for operating on Calmac routes.

As Transport for Edinburgh owns and operates the tram system, any decisions on concessionary travel on Edinburgh trams are for the City of Edinburgh Council to make. We are, however, undertaking a Fair Fares Review that will look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes.

The Bill does not propose that 75,000 local authority employees would transfer. As the policy memorandum to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill makes clear that under the National Care Service, services will continue to be planned, designed and delivered locally because the care boards will plan and commission services for their local area. For social care services currently provided in-house by local authorities, that may continue under a commissioning arrangement with the care board, or the care board may take over direct delivery, with staff transferring to the care board. These will be decisions to be taken locally as the care boards are established. Once the structure and governance of care boards and their localities have been decided, decisions about the employment of staff will be made.