Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is opposed to the use of mosquito anti-loitering devices and does not believe the use of these devices is consistent with our approach to tackling antisocial behaviour which seeks to promote strong and supportive communities where the rights of individuals are recognised and respected.

We believe the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 currently provides sufficient measures to help police and local authorities deal with antisocial behaviour wherever it arises.

We take young people’s complaints and safeguarding of their rights seriously and understand the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland’s concerns on the use of mosquito devices and young people’s rights and have taken action which is within our current powers to minimise the impact that these devices have on children and young people. This has included contacting the main public sector bodies to discourage the use of these devices on their estates. Use of these devices appears to be very limited in Scotland. We understand that none of the main public sector bodies use them on their sites and, last year, Police Scotland advised that they were not aware of them being used in any premises across the country.

We have additionally lobbied the UK Government to take action on these devices – but there appears to be no current UK action planned to regulate, license or otherwise prevent the sale of anti-loitering devices.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09757 on 2 August 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Rooms for Refugees is a hosting service run by Positive Action in Housing. Scottish Government officials met with representatives from PAIH on 30 June to discuss their experience of running a matching service.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that there is a thriving music industry in Scotland, including grassroots music venues, which are key to supporting emerging Scottish talent.

That is why the Scottish Government’s Grassroots Music Venues Stabilisation Fund (GMVSF) provided grassroots live music venues with £6.2 million of emergency funds to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and prevent closures. Music venues were also able to apply to the £25m Cancellation Fund for Cultural Organisations in early 2022, which supported creative businesses which had been adversely financially impacted by cancellations or postponement of activities due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

The Scottish Government is content to engage further with the Music Venue Trust to discuss their new initiative to build community ownership of grassroots music venues, including in Glasgow.

The specifics of the Islands Bond are still being carefully considered in light of the strong feedback we have received from island residents, and within the new context of the current energy crisis and rising living costs which are being experienced by many islanders.

In response to this, details setting out the direction of travel for the policy will be announced later this summer.

Many remote and rural communities in Scotland are hugely impacted by wildfire incidents, which can also cause significant environmental and economic damage. This is something the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is very aware of, and it works closely with key partners, including land managers and communities, to establish a common understanding of the risks, prevention measures and response procedures. SFRS has produced a wildfire strategy with partnership at its heart, that will ensure that personnel are equipped and trained to deal with these emergency risks and that the Service’s delivery model has sufficient resilience and flexibility to support wildfire incidents occurring over extended geographies and timescales – ensuring the right resources in the right place at the right time to fight wildfires. This not only provides a framework for wildfire response but also a strong platform for preventative work including a joined-up approach to land management including the use of Muirburn and prescribed burning but also wildfire mitigation in planning stages for new forest plantations.

The Scottish Government’s Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2022, launched in the spring this year, asks SFRS to continue to invest in the provision of specialist resources, technological advancements and forward thinking operational practices to enhance its response to wildfire events. It states that SFRS should continue to make use of local assets available to bolster its response during prolonged or widespread incidents such as wildfire.

We are already seeing warming here in Scotland, with more extreme weather events and rising sea levels. As a nation we must adapt to these changes and prepare for the impacts of global climate change which are already locked in. The Scottish Government is responding to the full range of climate risks identified for Scotland through its 2019 Adaptation Programme, which sets out more than 170 policies and proposals to build resilience to the impacts of global climate change.

Officials held engagement sessions on the Islands Bond with a number of key island stakeholders in the latter part of 2021. These are detailed in the table below. In addition to these sessions, officials also engaged with the National Islands Plan Delivery Group , the group established to support implementation of the National Islands Plan. This engagement took place between 14 July 2021 and 13 August 2021.

Islands Stakeholder Engagement Sessions

Police Scotland currently have 69 police station custody suites. However, the Police Scotland custody estate is flexible and the number of custody centres open at any one time may change depending on demand.

The NHS assumed legal responsibility to provide healthcare, including mental healthcare, to persons in police custody in 2014. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold data on the mental health workforce in police custody suites. However, mental health assessments are available to all arrested persons in police custody and are provided either in person in custody, in person at a local hospital, by telephone or facilitated via NHS Near Me video consultation.

Under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027, an additional 35.6 whole time equivalent mental health posts have been recruited to police station custody suites.

The pay of Marine Scotland seafarers is determined by the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy as these staff are civil servants with civil service terms and conditions. CalMac Ferries Ltd is a private company - their staff are not civil servants, so pay and other terms and conditions are determined outside of Public Sector Pay Policy. We consider the pay and benefits (including the civil service pension) for Marine Scotland seafarers are reasonable and competitive in the external job market which is reflected in the volume of applications received for recent job adverts. We will review the pay structure of Marine Scotland staff as part of the reform option in Pay Policy 2022-23.

Work to determine the most suitable procurement options for the remaining sections of the A9 dualling is ongoing. This is a complex exercise which looks at a number of factors including how the project can be delivered most efficiently by the industry, whilst minimising disruption to road users and helping to support economic recovery post-COVID. An update on the outcomes of this complex piece of work will be provided when the work is completed.