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I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table indicates the number of incidents in each month where an individual was identified as being Unlawfully at Large in that month from January 2020 until July 2022:

As part of our commitment for decarbonisation the Scottish Government, and associated Agencies, is working towards our commitment to phase out the need for all petrol or diesel cars in the public sector fleet by 2025 and for all other new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.

Presently, Scottish Government’s overall fleet is comprised of 66% ultra-low emitting vehicles (ULEV), of which 27% of the fleet is fully electric.

The Scottish Government only hold central records for its own and Crown Office Procurator Fiscals Service fleets. The Crown Office Procurator Fiscals Service fleet do not currently operate any zero emission or ultra-low emitting vehicles.

No information is held for any of the other related Agencies.

The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 places a responsibility on any person who has control of any premises to ensure that those occupying the premises are safe from harm caused by fire. The legislation places a duty on those responsible for fire safety within relevant premises to carry out a fire risk assessment.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is the authority responsible for enforcing this legislation. The Service may visit certain premises to ascertain whether the fire precautions are being maintained to a satisfactory standard and that the requirements of the legislation are being met.

As for SEPA's role, it ensures waste management operators operate their sites in a manner that does not pollute the environment or harm human health. In the event of a serious fire, SEPA typically works with the SFRS, the local authority and the public health authorities.

SEPA will continue to work with the SFRS to address fire risk in the waste industry, taking account of any lessons from the recent fire at the Suez Recycling and Recovery plant, and in particular, will continue to support the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum which is a partnership between the HSE, the waste industry, the fire and rescue services and the UK environmental regulators. The WISH forum has produced guidance on fire prevention for the industry and this can be found at the following link: https://www.wishforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WASTE-28.pdf .

The concessionary travel vouchers continue to entitle the traveller to a free berth on overnight services. However, COVID-19 restrictions mean cabins may no longer be shared and so additional vouchers can be used offset the cost of cabins for sole use. The effects of shared cabins not being available has been recognised and will be considered as part of the Ferry Fares Policy review in the Islands Connectivity Plan.

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. Welcome Hub staff will talk to those who have arrived about their immediate needs, including language support.

Public services in Scotland – including healthcare, welfare, schools, councils and housing services – must provide individuals with a qualified interpreter if they need one. Some councils are also offering translated information on a variety of subject matters, and guests from Ukraine can discuss the availability of these with their assigned local authority caseworker.

The Scottish Refugee Council are working with the Scottish Government to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme, which includes translation and interpreting services. The Scottish Refugee Council have received funding from the Scottish Government to recruit additional advisors for their Refugee Integration Service, including Ukrainian speakers, as part of their work to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme.

We recognise that translation and interpreting services for people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine are extremely important and the Scottish Refugee Council have asked that anyone wishing to offer assistance in this area contact them to discuss what support they can offer.

It has been heart-warming to see the groundswell of support from our communities, pubic services, third sector and partners for people fleeing Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have worked closely and collaboratively with partners to stand up our Warm Scots Welcome response, ensuring that all those arriving from Ukraine are accommodated and supported as soon as they arrive in Scotland. Local authority caseworkers are in place to enable access to services including healthcare, education, employment and benefits advice.

In collaboration with the Scottish Refugee Council, we have delivered three public webinar sessions for hosts. Scottish Government officials regularly engage with community groups working to support people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and those who have volunteered to host displaced people in their homes.

We are working closely with the UK Government, local authorities and other partners to ensure we are ready to welcome people to Scotland and ensure they are provided with the safety and security they need to rebuild their lives. A national matching service, delivered by COSLA and Scottish Government, is working hard to find longer-term accommodation for displaced people from Ukraine, ensuring their full integration into communities across the country.

All 32 Scottish local authorities are working to conduct the necessary person and property checks for volunteers in Scotland who, having signed up initially for the UK Government scheme, have continued to express interest in hosting displaced people. Once checks have been completed, if the offer is deemed suitable, these hosts' details are uploaded onto the national matching service database, so that displaced people can be offered the opportunity to move into their homes.

We are aware that some volunteer hosts have expressed interest but have not yet been contacted, while others are still awaiting the outcome of checks. The Scottish Government is grateful to volunteer hosts for their generosity, and their patience. We are working closely with local authorities and with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), doing all we can to speed up the matching process and increase the numbers of displaced people moving into host accommodation, including enhancing teams to boost capacity.

Scottish Governments priority is to ensure that displaced people who are already here, and those who have applied and are granted permission to travel, are able to stay in appropriate temporary accommodation and get the right support ahead of moving into safe, sustainable longer-term accommodation.

The Scottish Government has also made available £11.2 million in funding to help local authorities increase their teams to help people with temporary resettlement into communities across Scotland, and also to invest in making improvements to housing stock so that there are more homes available for Ukrainians to move into. We have also provided a further £1.3 million to the Scottish Refugee Council to enable it to increase its capacity and extend invaluable help and support to arriving Ukrainians, many of whom will have experienced significant trauma.

We are taking significant action to increase our temporary accommodation capacity as well as boosting our matching system to maximise the number of people who can be placed with volunteer hosts who have completed the necessary safeguarding checks. We have, for example, chartered a second passenger ship, M/S Ambition, to be located in Glasgow. The ship should be fully operational in September, and it will provide up to a further 1750 people with the same level of facilities and support currently available to those on the M/S Victoria in Edinburgh.

Due to the urgent need to respond to a humanitarian crisis, the Scottish Government undertook rapid engagement with relevant organisations prior to and immediately after taking the decision to support displaced persons from Ukraine.

To address stakeholder concerns around the speed of the UK Government’s private matching scheme, as well as safeguarding issues, the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed to commit to an initial triage of 3000 displaced people from Ukraine through a Super Sponsor Scheme. This provided a fast and safe alternative to private sponsorship, meaning people could travel immediately and be provided with temporary accommodation, meals and a range of support and advice including translation, assessing medical needs (such as trauma) and applying for benefits.

The process of matching of arrivals from Ukraine has drawn on COSLA’s extensive experience. Such as with the Syrian Resettlement Programme, which saw all 32 local authorities in Scotland participate and welcome over 3,300 refugees into their communities.

The Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor Scheme has now offered sanctuary to over 10,000 displaced people from Ukraine to travel to safety in Scotland, far exceeding the original commitment and providing sanctuary for people who otherwise could not have travelled were it not for the Super Sponsor Scheme.

Pay for council workers, excluding teachers, is determined through negotiations at the Scottish Joint Committee (SJC). These negotiations take place between the trade unions (UNISON, Unite and GMB) and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), who act on behalf of Scotland’s 32 councils.

The Scottish Government continues to urge both parties to continue negotiations via the SJC in order to achieve a negotiated settlement which avoids industrial action.