Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24481 on 24 January 2023. 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 .l

I wrote to the then UK Government Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs, The Rt Hon Lord Benyon, on 14 November 2023 seeking clarity from the UK Government on whether XL Bully dog owners would be committing the offence of sale of an XL Bully dog if a dog owner living in England and Wales sought to do that outside of England and Wales.

The UK Government were unable to give a definitive answer indicating it would be ‘unlikely’ an offence would be committed in such a situation.

The Wild Salmon Strategy Implementation Plan Delivery Group was established following publication of the Implementation Plan. Information on membership of the group is available on the Scottish Government website along with a contact email address.

We have previously answered two FOIs on website visits to the Building a New Scotland Papers:

• Unique online visitor statistics: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Building a New Scotland webpage visitors: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Paper title: Building a New Scotland: Our marine sector in an independent Scotland

Main paper URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-marine-sector-independent-scotland/

Main paper publish date: 21-11-2023

Main paper views in first month (all pages): 2,775

Easy read URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-marine-sector-independent-scotland-easy-read-version/

Easy read publish date: 21-11-2023

Easy read views or download link clicks in first month: 298

Audio URL: https://on.soundcloud.com/5VJaA

Audio publish date: 21-11-2023

Audio link clicks in first month: 9

Community language landing pageURL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-marine-sector-independent-scotland/documents/

Translation publish date: 21-11-2023

Translation downloads in first month:

Arabic: 1

Bengalii: 1

Bulgarian: 0

Cantonese: 0

French: 4

Gaelic: 1

Hindi: 0

Italian: 3

Mandarin: 0

Polish: 1

Punjabi:1

Romanian: 0

Russian: 0

Spanish: 0

Ukrainian: 1

Urdu: 3

BSL YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDdIcputSSg

Date BSL Version Published: 21-11-2023

Views in first 30 days: 4

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water has used an economic assessment that balances the cost of supplying the water with the cost of finding and fixing leaks to determine Scottish Water's target leakage level of 408ML/d. In future iterations Scottish Water will apply estimates of future water supply side investment which will be guided by climate change impacts and other factors, e.g. moving populations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24498 on 23 January 2024. 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

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. The Scottish Government has made available the following amounts to local authorities for flood protection scheme and other actions.

More than 100 projects have received support from the Green Jobs Fund.

Jobs created through the Green Jobs Fund are categorised as green jobs if they meet certain criteria including being defined as:

• Jobs in businesses that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources.
• Jobs in which workers’ duties involve making their establishment’s production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources.

118 projects have been forecast to create up to 6,956 green jobs.

As was acknowledged by the Lord Advocate in her statement to Parliament on the 16 th January, any miscarriage of justice that has occurred as a result of the Horizon IT systems requires to be identified and addressed. The Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission (“the SCCRC”) is the independent public body that investigates and reviews alleged miscarriages of justice in Scotland.

The SCCRC was established in 1999. Its role is to review and investigate cases where it is alleged that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred in relation to conviction, sentence or both. Its aim is to investigate all cases efficiently, without undue delay and to a consistently high standard, and to strengthen public confidence in the ability of the Scottish criminal justice system to address miscarriages of justice.

Any person convicted of a criminal offence in Scotland who considers that their conviction was a miscarriage of justice may apply to the SCCRC. The SCCRC is an independent body. It does not represent the prosecution, the defence, the police, the courts or any other part of the criminal justice system. It will consider all applications and review cases to decide whether they should be referred to the High Court to be considered again. The SCCRC will refer all cases to the High Court where it believes that there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

To apply, an individual can complete an application form which should set out the details of the conviction which they believe resulted in a miscarriage of justice. Applications forms can be obtained from the SCCRC or online. An individual may apply directly to the SCCRC and there is no charge or fee for the Commission to review any case.

With the assistance of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the SCCRC has already written to at least 73 individuals. It is however important to recognise the different roles of the Commission and COPFS. The Commission is the proper body to be approaching individuals who may have been impacted by the Horizon IT system. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has engaged with the Commission and will continue to do so to support its ongoing work in these cases. I know that anything that can be done to assist and support those who have been affected to come forward will be done to ensure that there is access to justice for all who may be affected.

NHS Boards are responsible for implementing the National Code of Practice for GP premises.

The NHSScotland National Primary Care (GP) Premises Group has been set up to consider all matters relating to GP Premises including:

• Oversight of the implementation of the Code of Practice for GP Premises.
• Implementation of GP Sustainability Loans.
• Consideration and review of available guidance.
• Consideration of appropriate schedules of accommodation within Primary Care premises, and specifically that of General Practice occupied areas and how this may affect reimbursement.
• Provide a platform for the Scottish Government to present papers/proposals to the group.
• Provide a platform for the BMA to present papers to the group.
• Provide a platform for the NHS Boards to present papers to the group.
• Ensure the Rent Review Process is consistent and supports the intent of the GP contract where required.
• Standardise approaches, e.g. standardise leases across Scotland.

Health Boards are represented on a regional basis alongside the BMA, the Scottish Government and other stakeholders.