Seòmar agus comataidhean

A licence to disturb European protected species (“EPS”) can only be granted if three licensing tests are met, including that there is no satisfactory alternative to the proposed action.

Marine Scotland has published a document that provides guidance and advice for any aquaculture production business that wishes to apply for a licence to disturb EPS as a result of ADD use –

faq_adds_and_eps_including_annex_1_and_annex_2_-_version_5_-october_2021_-_final.pdf (marine.gov.scot) . Applicants are required to provide an analysis of alternative methods of predator control tried or considered and if they have been discounted provide reasons for this. All EPS licence applications are considered on a cases by case basis and it would not be appropriate to pre-determine the outcome of the satisfactory alternative test without consideration of any justification provided by the applicant.

Marine Scotland bases its decisions on the best available scientific evidence at any particular time including any relevant peer reviewed literature. Any such literature is subject to a critical review to determine its applicability. Marine Scotland’s decisions will reflect the outcome of this process as well as consideration of information provided by the applicant and any expert advice received.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13105 on 23 December 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

The introduction of body-worn cameras is an operational decision for Police Scotland, acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

As outlined in the answer to S6W-12605 on 12 December 2022, the SPA Resources Committee approved Police Scotland’s Initial Business Case for the Introduction of National Body Worn Video on 10 November 2022, ahead of consideration by the SPA Board. Police Scotland are expected to undertake a full procurement exercise in 2023 which will provide costs for 2023-24 and future years.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government will invest £1.45 billion in policing. This includes a 6.3% increase to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) resource budget.

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

The Scottish Prison Service publish information regarding all deaths in SPS custody on a quarterly basis, which includes the ‘medical certificate of cause of death’ (MCCD). However, data is not held by either the Scottish Government or the Scottish Prison Service on the number of instances of deaths in prison custody determined to be suicides involved non-prescription or illegal drugs found or suspected to be present in the deceased.

Steps are being taken through the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody to improve availability of data relating to deaths in prison custody.

In response to your query, my officials have provided the data below as requested.

The following table shows the number of accidents where a defective or poor road surface was a contributory factor.

Superfast broadband coverage in Glasgow currently stands at 98.7% - in large part, thanks to commercial coverage, which also serves as a key strand of our Reaching 100% programme, particularly in extending coverage in Scotland’s urban areas.

However, our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme remains available for those who are not expected to receive superfast broadband through either the R100 contracts or commercial build, offering a voucher worth up to £5,000 per property to secure a connection.

The Scottish Government has not recovered and has no plans to recover any COVID-19 related funding from councils. Individual councils continue to have complete autonomy to allocate their reserves based on local needs and priorities.

The Scottish Ministers provided £145 million in Covid support grants to local government between 2019-20 and 2021-22 (TBC).

This included £95m for Hospitality and Leisure, £9.5 million for Public House Table Service, £4.7 million for Nightclub Closure, £1.2 million for Scottish Brewers, £29.4 million for Taxi and Private Hire and £5.5 million for Business Ventilation.

Local authorities have confirmed that £32 million has not been spent. Consideration of amounts to be recovered from local authorities is ongoing and therefore I cannot provide figures at this time. However, I would be happy to provide those figures once they are available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12989 on 22 December 2022, it is the responsibility of the wind farm operator to properly maintain their wind turbines, in accordance with their planning permission and any conditions imposed. The Scottish Government is not responsible for taking action in this area.

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 .

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. As independent organisations, individual Rape Crisis Centres manage and monitor their own waiting lists and will hold up-to-date information of waiting times.