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Responsibility for the management of the police estate sits with the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable.

However, Police Scotland has confirmed that 15 police stations have been closed since 2013 across Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde with the majority of them been moved to a new modern co-located accommodation within the same towns or officers were moved to new police stations nearby.

The Police Scotland Estate Strategy, approved by the SPA in May 2019, provides a framework for planning the future of the police estate to support the long term vision of policing which includes enhanced partnership working, and seeks to respond to the changing needs of communities while maintaining public visibility and confidence.

The number of resident places by funding category (i.e. self-funded/publicly funded) is not available. However, Public Health Scotland have published the estimated number of long stay residents in care homes for older people by funding category and by local authority since 2009.

a) i) This information is not held centrally and is not published by Public Health Scotland.

a) ii) These figures are available in two parts:

The latest Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults publication contains figures from 2012 - 2022. The figures can be found in the “Funding and Charges” section of the dashboard.

The Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults 2020 publication contains figures from 2009 – 2011. The figures can be found in Table 13C of the accompanying Care Home Census Data Tables.

b) i) This information is not held centrally and is not published by Public Health Scotland.

b) ii) These figures are available in two parts:

The latest Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults publication contains figures from 2012 - 2022. The figures can be found in the “Funding and Charges” section of the dashboard.

The Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults 2020 publication contains figures from 2009 – 2011. The figures can be found in Table 13C of the accompanying Care Home Census Data Tables.

The Scottish Government provides annual funding to Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). It is a matter for the Chief Constable and the Chief Fire Officer to determine the most appropriate allocation of resources and operational approach to preparing for, and responding to incidents during, bonfire night.

Since 2018 Operation Moonbeam has been the national multi-agency response to the bonfire night period. The well-established operation is running again this year, with the planning and preparation involving Police Scotland, SFRS, local authorities, COSLA, Scottish Community Safety Network, Scottish Ambulance Service, British Fireworks Association and Trading Standards. The Scottish Government has engaged with senior officers from Police Scotland and SFRS who have advised that robust multi-agency systems are in place again this year.

In terms of legislative change, on 10 October two key measures of the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 came into force – a proxy purchase and supply offence criminalising people who purchase fireworks for, or make fireworks available to, under 18s; and a statutory aggravation for attacks against emergency workers involving fireworks and pyrotechnic articles. The statutory aggravation requires courts to take this into account when determining the most appropriate sentence. This provides an important reassurance to emergency workers that the Scottish Government is committed to such behaviour being firmly addressed.

The Scottish Government is aware that those experiencing poor mental health are more likely to smoke, and to smoke more, than those with good mental health. Reducing the inequalities caused by higher rates of tobacco use among this group is an important area of consideration and one is being looked as part of our revised Tobacco Action Plan due to be published in Autumn 2023.

Our vision is to have a Tobacco-Free Scotland through lowering smoking rates in our communities to below 5% by 2034 and to create a generation of young people who do not want to smoke, with all the health and economic benefits that follow. We are developing an expert group that will be reporting on smoking cessation services early next year. We are also committed to working with our NHS cessation coordinators and pharmacy colleagues across Scotland to refocus and remobilise these services to ensure we are reaching those in our communities who are in most need of support to quit.

Work is also ongoing to develop a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We have received a broad range of evidence and views through our engagement to date, including through our public consultation, which closed on 9 September and received around 500 responses. These will be carefully considered over the coming months as we continue our work with stakeholders to shape the Strategy and Delivery Plan.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any monitoring that takes place with regards to the release of rehabilitated seals from rescue centres. However, advice from the Special Committee on Seals ( 2019 Report ) is that rehabilitated seals typically behave like wild seals shortly following release. Rehabilitated seals are released back into the wild close to the sites at which they were found. No non-native seals are released in Scotland.

There are no plans to send Ministers or officials to Qatar during the 2022 World Cup.

The Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database is not a live system and the latest available information is for the financial year 2020-21. Statistics are presented on the number of people dealt with by the Scottish Criminal Justice System where proceedings have concluded.

Our records show one person was prosecuted in Scottish courts in 2018-19, where the main charge was under the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011. They were found not guilty.

Making the Future contains two substantive references to the Land Reform Bill.

One (under “Strategic Priorities) welcomed the publication of the consultation on the Bill https://www.gov.scot/publications/land-reform-net-zero-nation-consultation-paper/ published 4 July 2022).

The second was a recommendation: that “An ambitious Land Reform Bill should tackle concentrations in ownership and enshrine transparency, equality and public good into the future of Scotland’s land use.”

The measures put forward in the consultation for inclusion in the Bill aim to achieve these objectives. They will do so within the context of Article A1P1 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and the devolved settlement.

The consultation closed on 30 October 2022. Responses to the consultation, and the views of the Just Transition Commission, will be carefully considered as the proposals set out are developed.

SEPA continues to monitor ongoing environmental risks at the site and completed its latest survey in August 2022. This found no significant increasing trends associated with the migration of landfill gas or impact to groundwater from leachate.

SEPA publishes monitoring updates and the latest update (August 2022) will be available shortly here: Tarbolton Moss Landfill | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

The Scottish Government has made funding available to support public partners to implement the first phase of works at Tarbolton. In July, SEPA commissioned work, which was successfully completed, to remove Giant Hogweed from the site. We are working with public partners to begin work to implement leachate management as soon as possible. In order to move forward with this work, we are seeking to address complex legal issues associated with the ownerless status of the site.