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The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 places a responsibility on any person who has control of any premises to ensure that those occupying the premises are safe from harm caused by fire. The legislation places a duty on those responsible for fire safety within relevant premises to carry out a fire risk assessment.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is the authority responsible for enforcing this legislation. The Service may visit certain premises to ascertain whether the fire precautions are being maintained to a satisfactory standard and that the requirements of the legislation are being met.

As for SEPA's role, it ensures waste management operators operate their sites in a manner that does not pollute the environment or harm human health. In the event of a serious fire, SEPA typically works with the SFRS, the local authority and the public health authorities.

SEPA will continue to work with the SFRS to address fire risk in the waste industry, taking account of any lessons from the recent fire at the Suez Recycling and Recovery plant, and in particular, will continue to support the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum which is a partnership between the HSE, the waste industry, the fire and rescue services and the UK environmental regulators. The WISH forum has produced guidance on fire prevention for the industry and this can be found at the following link: https://www.wishforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WASTE-28.pdf .

We publish a six-monthly update on the progress of infrastructure projects with a capital value of £5 million or more which are at the Outline Business Case (or equivalent) approved stage or beyond and the most recent update can be found via the following web link: IIP - Major Capital Projects Progress Update - March 2022 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/infrastructure-investment-plan-2021-22-2025-26-major-capital-projects-progress-update-march-2022/documents/ )

The update mainly comprises those projects included within Annex D of our Infrastructure Investment Plan which was published in February 2021. The update provides details on the progress of projects as a whole and does not provide information on outturn against budgets or align directly to a single financial year.

Financial information on expenditure against budget by portfolio was provided to Parliament in the Provisional Outturn statement on 23 June 2022. A copy of this information has been replicated in the table below, while a more detailed breakdown providing further analysis is included in Annex A.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09864 on 15 August 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 .

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table indicates the number of incidents in each month where an individual was identified as being Unlawfully at Large in that month from January 2020 until July 2022:

The Scottish Government does not hold this data.

The recruitment and employment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory duty for education expenditure and to deliver education.

Councils have the responsibility for providing a complement of teachers and other education staff which best meets the needs of their schools and pupils within the resources available. This includes providing a complement of teachers and headteachers which meets the needs of their schools and pupils in light of their local needs and circumstances.

With regard to teacher numbers, whilst the Scottish Government does not hold data on teacher employment, you may wish to note that the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group (TWPAG) undertakes an annual exercise to forecast the likely requirement for new teachers which sets the target intakes for initial teacher education programmes in both primary and secondary by subject. COSLA are represented on the TWPAG which is jointly chaired by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Council of Deans of Education. The modelling outputs from the TWPAG use projections on pupil rolls and teacher census information. Whilst we now have more teachers than at any time since 2008, we are aware some LAs continue to find recruitment challenging in some subjects and in some geographical areas.

During the pandemic the Scottish Government provided £240 million of additional investment to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional education staff to support education recovery. We are also providing additional permanent funding of £145.5 million per year to support the recruitment of these extra teachers.

The Lord Advocate is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters which occur in Scotland. Where a matter requires investigation, this is undertaken by COPFS on behalf of the Lord Advocate. The Crown provides advice, support and direction to investigators from Police Service of Scotland, throughout the course of the investigation.

The criminal investigation by the Police Service of Scotland is ongoing. This is a complex and challenging investigation. Evidence has had to be sought and obtained from a number of different countries outwith the United Kingdom with a view to considering whether there is evidence of any potential offences over which the Scottish courts have jurisdiction.

As Lord Advocate, I am responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters which occur in Scotland. Where a matter requires investigation, this is undertaken by COPFS on behalf of the Lord Advocate. The Crown provides advice, support and direction to investigators from Police Service of Scotland, throughout the course of the investigation.

The investigation is ongoing. The Crown does not provide information about the evidential position in ongoing investigations, with a view to maintaining confidence in the integrity and confidentiality of the Crown’s functions, including confidence on the part of those who provide, or may provide, information to the Crown.

The M/S Victoria I passenger ship in Edinburgh is currently being used as temporary accommodation for people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine. We are clear that we do not want to see people spending more time in temporary accommodation than is absolutely necessary, including the ship.

The ship has been chartered for 6 months, from July 2022 to January 2023. It has a total capacity of 739 cabins, which could accommodate up to 2,200 people. There is a range of cabins onboard ranging from 8m2 to 29.8m2.

Rigorous risk assessment and due diligence have been undertaken in relation to the ship and its use for temporary accommodation. Additionally, we have taken forward comprehensive joint assurance with the City of Edinburgh Council and its partners covering issues like safeguarding, public health and security.

There are a variety of services on-board for guests. This includes restaurants, child play facilities with toys and books, shops, laundry, cleaning, Wi-Fi access and communal spaces. Guests also have access to benefits support and healthcare services, including a GP service onshore with outreach on-board the ship. An activity programme for guests is also in preparation.

The Scottish Government has made available £11.2 million in funding to help local authorities increase their teams to help people with temporary resettlement into communities across Scotland, and also to invest in making improvements to housing stock so that there are more homes available for Ukrainians to move into.

The Scottish Government has also published guidance for local authorities which includes what safeguarding measures, such as disclosure checks, should be in place for people arriving. This guidance can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/super-sponsor-scheme-and-homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-local-authorities/pages/person-checks/ .

When displaced people from Ukraine arrive at Scotland’s Ukraine Welcome Hubs, they are given an immediate warm welcome to Scotland and immediate support in a safe and secure space. Welcome Hub staff will talk to those who have arrived about their immediate needs, including language support.

Public services in Scotland – including healthcare, welfare, schools, councils and housing services – must provide individuals with a qualified interpreter if they need one. Some councils are also offering translated information on a variety of subject matters, and guests from Ukraine can discuss the availability of these with their assigned local authority caseworker.

The Scottish Refugee Council are working with the Scottish Government to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme, which includes translation and interpreting services. The Scottish Refugee Council have received funding from the Scottish Government to recruit additional advisors for their Refugee Integration Service, including Ukrainian speakers, as part of their work to deliver the Warm Scottish Welcome scheme.

We recognise that translation and interpreting services for people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine are extremely important and the Scottish Refugee Council have asked that anyone wishing to offer assistance in this area contact them to discuss what support they can offer.