Seòmar agus comataidhean

The deployment or introduction of defibrillators on ferry services is not mandatory. Health and safety legislation requires organisations, including ferry operators, to undertake a risk assessment analysis that reflects the business arrangements for their premises and operating locations. Depending on the outcome of this, the organisation may decide to deploy a defibrillator but there is no legislative requirement to do so.

The Scottish Government is responsible for subsidising passenger ferry services currently provided by CalMac Ferries Ltd, NorthLink Ferries Ltd and Argyll Ferries Ltd, all subsidiaries of David MacBrayne Ltd (DML). The David MacBrayne group takes this issue very seriously.

The DML risk assessment process is based on: the number of heart-related incidents per year, per route and per passenger carried; length of sea crossing; statutory and legal requirements; the logistics of ensuring that suitable staff are trained; the logistics of providing ongoing medical treatment in the immediate aftermath of a heart-related incident, and the ongoing cost of training and equipment.

All DML companies have carried out such an assessment and on the basis of those assessments CalMac and Argyll Ferries have decided not to carry defibrillators on their vessels.

Payments made to innocent victims of violent crime are made under provisions of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. This scheme applies in Scotland, England and Wales and is founded on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995.

In his Explanatory Memorandum to the European Scrutiny Committee the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice Lord Bach stated that the UK is fully compliant with the EU directive relating to compensation for victims of crime.

The Scottish Government has had a number of discussions and communications with the European Commission on aspects of the wide ranging Stockholm Programme, which was agreed by heads of government at the European Council in December 2009. A written submission was sent to the commission during the development phase of the programme, in March 2009, which was copied at the time to the Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament. Most recently, Scottish Government officials met with the commission in May 2011 to discuss the Procedural Rights Roadmap and the Victims' Roadmap, which are included in the programme. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice met with the Vice President of the Commission, Viviane Reding, in Luxembourg in June 2011 during which aspects of the Stockholm Programme were discussed.

Cashback for Communities reinvests the proceeds of crime in community activities for young people and works through a series of partnerships with Scottish sporting, arts, business and youth associations.

Cashback for Communities is dependent on the availability of funding received from the proceeds of crime, rather than being provided as a Scottish Government budget allocation. However, over £43 million recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, has been invested or committed to a wide range of community projects throughout Scotland since it’s inception in 2007.

The following table shows a breakdown of the total amount of expenditure and commitments for the programme.  

The Cashback for Communities programme does not directly fund victims or witnesses organisations. However the Scottish Government continues to spend over £5 million per year directly on projects to support victims and witnesses.

Cashback for Communities reinvests the proceeds of crime in community activities for young people and works through a series of partnerships with Scottish sporting, arts, business and youth associations. To date, over £43 million has been invested or committed to a wide range of projects in communities affected by crime throughout Scotland, since the inception of Cashback for Communities in 2007.

Presently, all available funding has been committed to projects through to 2013-14 and consequently, there is no capacity to fund further projects at this time. However, the Scottish Government continues to spend over £5 million per year directly on projects to support victims and witnesses as it has done since 2007.

Responsibility for the establishment of designated cycle routes on B class roads lie with the local authority and Sustrans.

Sustrans and The Highland Council have already established National Cycle Route 1 on lightly trafficked roads between Nairn and Inverness. The signed route currently passes through Househill, Cawdor Wood, Balloch and Culloden.

During the development of new routes Transport Scotland will consider any interface with the trunk road in accordance with the Trunk Road Cycling Initiative (which now forms part of the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland) to assist in the development of the National Cycle Network.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

Transport Scotland will be carrying out a joint consultation exercise on route options with the Highland Council towards the end of the year. The detailed design, assessment and statutory process cannot commence until a preferred route is identified. A preferred route will not be identified until route options have been consulted upon and we can confirm that the solution works with proposed local road improvements. Accordingly, it is too early to identify a date when detailed design of the upgrading can commence.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02878 on 3 October 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.