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The applications process for Rural Priorities has not been closed or suspended. Applicants and agents may continue to submit proposals through the online applications system.

We are currently considering the arrangements for the next assessment round for applications which have been submitted to Rural Priorities. In light of the success of the February assessment round, it has been necessary to look again at the planned assessment rounds for the remainder of the year.

Any applicant who has put forward a proposal will have the opportunity to have their proposal considered in full at the next assessment round.

We will make an announcement on the dates for future assessment rounds in the near future.

Procurators Fiscal refer to Victim Information and Advice (VIA) staff in their office of all cases with victims, witnesses and/or families, who are eligible for the VIA service. This service is available to victims of, and witnesses to, crimes reported to the Procurator Fiscal which involve:

domestic abuse;

racial or religious aggravation;

sexual offences;

child victims and witnesses, and

crimes where any trial is likely to involve a jury.

The service is also available to the nearest relatives in cases of deaths which may involve criminal proceedings, or where there is to be a fatal accident inquiry or significant further inquiries and to vulnerable witnesses or victims who may need additional support. Referral to VIA is made once a decision has been taken to initiate criminal proceedings.

In considering the age at which it was appropriate for Victim Information and Advice (VIA) to send information on case progress direct to children and young people in their own right, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service consulted with the Children''s Commissioner. This is also consistent with the Vulnerable Witness (Scotland) Act 2004 which presumes that a child witness is of sufficient age and maturity to form a view on special measures if aged 12 or older.

It should be noted that the proposed changes to the age of criminal responsibility will harmonise this.

All cases of domestic abuse are referred electronically to Victim Information and Advice (VIA) staff by the Procurator Fiscal who has marked the case for criminal proceedings. procurators fiscal are provided with guidance and training on the referral procedure and there is an electronic prompt when marking any case to remind staff to consider whether the case should be referred to VIA.

The possible sentence is one of many factors the Procurator Fiscal considers in deciding whether to accept any plea which the accused is prepared to offer. A plea will only be accepted when it is considered to be in the public interest to do so.

There is a joint protocol between the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The protocol stresses the seriousness of domestic abuse and includes the presumption in favour of prosecuting all cases of domestic abuse which involve violence against the victim where there is sufficient evidence in law to prosecute.

In considering the age at which it was appropriate for Victim Information and Advice (VIA) to send information on case progress direct to children and young people in their own right, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service consulted with the Children''s Commissioner. This is also consistent with the Vulnerable Witness (Scotland) Act 2004 which presumes that a child witness is of sufficient age and maturity to form a view on special measures if aged 12 or older.

It should be noted that the proposed changes to the age of criminal responsibility will harmonise this.

Procurators fiscal have a duty to consider all pleas of guilty offered by the defence and to accept them where it is in the public interest to do so. The likely sentence is one factor in the process of considering whether to accept any pleas which the accused is prepared to offer. Other factors, include, the nature and gravity of the offences libelled, the views of the victim, where known, and the effect of adjusted pleas in avoiding the attendance and testimony of witnesses.

Procurators fiscal have a duty to consider all pleas of guilty offered by the defence and to accept them where it is in the public interest to do so. The views of the victim may, where known, be taken into account at the discretion of the Procurator Fiscal as one factor in the process of considering whether to accept any pleas which the accused is prepared to offer.

Victims receive the same level of information regardless of whether they are cited to give evidence at trial.

In dealing with domestic abuse cases, the police and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are committed to identifying best practice and obtaining consistency of approach in the investigation reporting and prosecution of these cases, with a view to improving the service that is provided to the public.

The Procurator Fiscal will consider all the circumstances of the case before deciding whether it is in the public interest to prosecute or, in exceptional cases, to take other action.

In considering the age at which it was appropriate for Victim Information and Advice (VIA) to send information on case progress direct to children and young people in their own right, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service consulted with the Children''s Commissioner. This is also consistent with the Vulnerable Witness (Scotland) Act 2004 which presumes that a child witness is of sufficient age and maturity to form a view on special measures if aged 12 or older.

It should be noted that the proposed changes to the age of criminal responsibility will harmonise this.