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As required under Rule 9.3.2 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders, the Financial Memorandum was published to accompany the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill, introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 13 August 2020. This outlines the projected and anticipated costs of the scheme.

Although there is an appropriate level of scrutiny on administration costs of the scheme, managed through the Redress, Relations and Response Division of Scottish Government, it is important to note that, as outlined in the Statement of Principles , there is no fixed budget or limit to the number or amount of redress payments which will be paid by the Scottish Government. We are committed to giving financial redress to survivors, regardless of the financial contributions received, because it is the right thing to do.

Redress Scotland is an independent body, which is not part of Scottish Government and is monitored by the Redress Scotland Sponsorship Team, within the Children’s Rights, Protection and Justice Division.

Priority is given to applicants who are aged 68 or over and to those who have a terminal illness.

Many applicants to Scotland’s Redress Scheme, for a variety of reasons, require additional support in relation to practical support to complete an application, sourcing of evidence and supporting information, and also in relation to the emotional impact going through the process can have. Support is available to applicants at all stages of the process.

When additional support is required, case workers refer applicants to the Redress Support Service provided by the In-Care Survivors Alliance. The In-Care Survivors Alliance draws on its existing network of over 70 delivery partners to provide support.

The Redress Support Service can help applicants access the emotional, practical or access to records support they require. They currently have contracts with two delivery partners; Birthlink and Wellbeing Scotland, who provide additional support for applicants in accessing records.

We understand that applying for redress may bring up difficult emotions. Applicants, and potential applicants, can call the Redress Emotional Support Helpline which can be contacted on 0800 211 8403. This service provides listening ear support to those who need it while applying, or thinking about applying for redress. Applicants do not need to go through a case worker to access the helpline which is in addition to other emotional support available.

Through the Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund, the Scottish Government fund 29 organisations across Scotland. These organisations support people who have suffered child abuse. They are very experienced at offering confidential support tailored to the needs of the individual. Information on the organisations and their services can be found here Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund: 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Scotland’s Redress Scheme is being delivered in accordance with the Digital Scotland Service Standard . Criteria 8 relates to the creation of a service which protects users’ privacy. All of our systems are designed in line with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance and have been penetration tested by NCSC-approved CHECK suppliers.

Given the sensitivity of the information which is being sent, it is important that survivors have a choice on how they apply. Although email has so far been the most common application channel, survivors can also apply via post. There is also a Document Upload portal which can be used by applicants to submit supporting documents.

The Privacy Notice for Survivor Applicants and the Privacy Notice for Next of Kin Applicants provide details on how the information collected by Scottish Government, as administrators of Scotland’s Redress Scheme, is managed and how it is used. In addition, Redress Scotland, who are the independent body responsible for decisions on applications and the amount of financial redress to award, also have a privacy notice in place.

£10 million of funding has been directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2022-23. Significant funds are going towards up-skilling nurses and investing in diagnostic tests to support extended working days/weekend working to increase capacity.

Meanwhile, work is underway to develop Scotland’s new cancer strategy, expected to publish Spring 2023. A recent public consultation received over 250 responses, including from blood cancer charities. A series of workshops are planned throughout September to help gain further insight and hear directly from those with lived experience to inform the focus of this strategy.

The Programme for Government sets out our response to the cost crisis, as well as our ambition to create a better future in the longer term. This includes working with the business community to identify further measures that can assist in addressing increased costs and economic disruption. The Government has committed to an emergency budget review to assess all opportunities to target additional resources.

Energy policy is reserved to the UK Government and we have been calling for it to introduce a business energy cap for some time. While the support announced today will be welcome relief for businesses, substantial reform to the energy market is still required or there is a real risk that this temporary measure will prove to be inadequate.

We will continue to do everything within our resources and powers to help those most affected.

Yes, the statistics you refer to are accurate. The analysis can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/analysis-consultation-responses-consultation-review-children-scotland-act-1995/pages/9/ . There were 254 responses to the consultation, which asked a number of questions. As noted in the table at section 9.3.1 of the analysis, 124 consultees answered yes to question 31 on amending the Child Abduction Act 1984, with 13 answering no and 117 not answering the question. 124 of 254 is 49%, which is the figure referred to in section 9.3.2 of the analysis.

The Scottish Government is investing record levels of funding for active travel, in particular around schools and places of education. The £150m active travel budget for 2022-23 includes £12.3m of funding for behavioural change initiatives which local authorities can access through our active delivery partners dedicated programmes for schools and communities. The budget also includes a record £35m for the Cycling and Walking Safer Routes fund, which goes directly to local authorities on a pro-rata basis, enabling them to make the changes to the public realm that they see as having most impact for supporting safer daily journeys by walking and cycling.

In Scotland, we invest £300 million annually to provide free bus travel for over 2 million people, including all children and young people under 22, disabled people and everyone over 60. We haven’t raised the age at which older people qualify for free bus travel, and we are the only part of the UK now operating a national scheme giving children and young people under 22 free bus travel.

Additionally, in many areas, single fares are already below £2.00. For example in Edinburgh you can travel anywhere in the city for a flat fare of £1.80.

We will look carefully at how this new £2 flat fare scheme will work in England to see what more we can do here in Scotland to support and sustain affordable bus travel for more people during the cost of living crisis. One of the key issues is the cost of operating for many bus companies which face huge cost increases in energy and fuel – the UK Government must do more to support businesses, especially small operators, to cope. Additionally, Brexit impacts have compounded staffing shortages in the bus sector – one way the new Prime Minister can help alleviate this situation would be to include bus drivers on the shortage occupation list.

The Family Justice Modernisation Strategy (available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/family-justice-modernisation-strategy/pages/1/ ), published in September 2019, is a result of the 2018 consultation on potential changes to Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and related matters. We remain committed to the continued implementation of the Strategy’s actions.

As I stated in my foreword, the Strategy sets out work that was ongoing at the time of publication, work to be implemented through secondary legislation and improved guidance, areas that were subsequently covered by the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, and policy areas that require longer-term development. The Scottish Government is preparing an update to the Strategy, which will outline the actions that have been completed, the actions that have been superseded, and the actions which remain to be taken forward. We will publish this update in due course.

The following table details the number of recorded crimes of theft of a pedal cycle for the March year end data for reporting years 2016-17 to 2021-22.

Table: Number of theft of a pedal cycle crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, 2016-17 to 2021-22