Seòmar agus comataidhean

Mental health is an absolute priority for this Government and ensuring provision of care and support for individuals with mental illness will be considered as part of the ongoing budget process. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance has confirmed that the Scottish Government will publish the 2026-27 Scottish Budget on Tuesday 13 January 2026. The UK Government’s decision to publish its Autumn Budget on 26 November has significantly compressed the Scottish Budget timetable.

The Scottish Government is aware of the Community Syringe Redemption Program pilot schemes currently delivered in New York City and the City of Boston in the United States. However, while this specific scheme has not been assessed, we will continue to monitor it, and other international developments, and are open to reviewing any robust evaluation of such initiatives.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Royal College of Psychiatry’s report on meeting the needs of autistic people and people with ADHD in Scotland.

The Scottish Government agrees with the College, that the demand for neurodevelopmental assessment and support now exceeds what Scotland’s current mental health infrastructure can deliver and that a different response is needed, which recognises the complex nature of this issue.

We are grateful to the College for their work in preparing this report and will now take time to consider it fully.

Information about activity undertaken to support and develop restorative justice (RJ) services can be found in quarterly and annual reports published by Community Justice Scotland.

Examples of the outcomes and actions achieved to date include:

Outcome 1 - Restorative Justice is available across Scotland

• Baseline survey carried out in 2018 to establish current provision of services
• Hub and Spoke model developed (2020)
• Training and model tested for delivery of RJ in sensitive cases (2021-2023)
• Options Appraisal produced by Community Justice Scotland (CJS) (learning from testing of Hub and Spoke model) (2024)
• RJ test cases identified, funded and, where feasible, taken forward, with report on findings due to be published soon (ongoing)
• Engagement activity undertaken with individual local authorities, victim support organisations and other services such as Scottish Prison Service (2024-25)
• Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice survey carried out and shared with stakeholders - Capturing the Organisation and Delivery of Restorative Justice across Scotland, designed toidentify strengths and gaps in RJ service provision for under 18s and identify test cases (2025)
• Policy and Practice Framework developed with partners and stakeholders to build on existing published guidance and provide more detailed information for facilitators (Ongoing – due to be published 2025)
• RJ Stakeholder Group established (2020); membership and remit refreshed (2024); last met in June 2025.
• RJ development forum established in 2025 bringing local leaders together to learn from others and develop RJ in their own area

Outcome 2 - High quality restorative justice services are delivered by trained facilitators

• National RJ Training Needs Analysis commissioned and completed (2022)
• Research into risk mitigation measures commissioned and completed (2022)
• Training material developed and tested for facilitating sensitive cases (2023)
• Training module produced by CJS (2024)

Outcome 3 – There is strong public awareness and understanding of Restorative Justice in Scotland

• Ipsos Mori telephone survey carried out (2020)
• RJ animation developed and produced (2020)
• Free to use Flickr photo album created showing RJ practices (updated 2024)
• Communications brief developed and agreed with RJ Stakeholder Group (2021)
• Work in schools including:
• “The views of school pupils on the use of Restorative Justice in Scotland” (2022) where school children were asked about their awareness, understanding, and attitudes toward restorative justice
• “Key Messages from Children and Young People about Restorative Justice,” (2023) groups from Drumchapel High School and youth groups contributed their views on how RJ should be carried out.
• Mapping of existing practices with under-18s across Scotland (2025) to identify strengths and gaps
• Two workshops at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh (2023 and due 2025) delivered as part of a Crime and Justice Conference for Advanced Higher Modern Studies students from schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
• Funding provided to SACRO for development of RJ Forum website (2021)
• Restorative Voices – Seen and Heard exhibition developed and delivered as part of Scottish Mental Health Festival (2024)
• RJ Stakeholder Group chaired by Scottish Government meets three times a year

We continue to fund and work in partnership with teams in Community Justice Scotland and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice to develop and promote restorative justice (RJ) services across Scotland.

We also seek input on a regular basis from a wide range of organisations through the Restorative Justice Stakeholder Group – which meets three times a year - to identify priorities and actions.

Activity has included:

• Carrying out a National Training Needs Analysis
• Production of an online training module by Community Justice Scotland
• Initial model for delivery proposed and tested
• Options Appraisal carried out by Community Justice Scotland, building on learning from the testing of the proposed model (involving consultation with stakeholders)
• Policy and Practice Framework developed to support RJ facilitators
• Creation of a RJ protocol with the Scottish Prison Service to use restorative practices in prison establishments where appropriate to do so
• Outreach work in local authority areas to raise awareness of RJ and supporting partners to develop local RJ services
• Building networks with national and international RJ academics and practitioners to develop good practice in Scotland
• Conducting research to help develop a model for Scotland
• Feasibility study to develop an online directory of RJ services

Additionally, over the last 18 months, support has been provided to identify and run test cases. The report setting out the learning from these will help inform next steps and priorities.

Information about Scottish Government engagement with relevant stakeholders on activity undertaken to support and develop restorative justice services - can be found in quarterly and annual reports published by Community Justice Scotland.

I would also refer the member to the answers given to S6W-40887 and S6W-40888 on 17 October 2025.

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.

Growing our economy is one of this Government’s top priorities. Scotland’s regional economies, and Regional Economic Partnerships (REPs), are key to delivering this, and we are committed to enabling effective regional decision-making.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) was created via the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and is the primary governance body for policing in Scotland, holding the Chief Constable to account and to promote, support and oversee improvement in policing.

There are no plans to replace the SPA with another means to scrutinise policing in Scotland. In a report published last year, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Policing Scotland (HMICS) acknowledged considerable improvements in the governance of SPA and highlighted its effectiveness.

The 2012 Act has also improved local governance, ensuring each local authority can put in place a system which best meets their needs, requiring Police Scotland to involve individual local authorities in setting of priorities and objectives for the policing of its area, and take into account feedback received.

I fully acknowledge the work of the Scottish Retail Consortium in supporting its members when such businesses and their staff are victims of retail crime. The Scottish Government recognises the distress this kind of crime can cause and has made an additional £3 million available this year to help tackle it, as part of a record £1.64 billion investment in policing.

The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on achieving the actions and outcomes set out in the 2019 Restorative Justice Action Plan. Many of the people involved – including stakeholders, support organisations (e.g. Victim Support Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid, etc), partners within local government, and officials had to pivot and focus on emerging and critical issues. The same people were also involved in supporting the justice system to recover once restrictions started to relax.

However, with the hard work and support of stakeholders and partners involved, progress was made on developing and testing restorative justice services, despite the restrictions and challenges. Details on this are provided in the answer to S6W-40887 on 17 October 2025.

More information is available in the quarterly and annual report published by Community Justice Scotland and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice.

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 Government’s Ready.scot website provides information on how the public can prepare their home, their family and their businesses for emergencies. It includes established advice on how to build a small emergency kit and keep it in a safe place. These proactive measures help support readiness for a broad range of emergency scenarios, and elected members of the Scottish Parliament can play an important role in raising the profile of this advice. The Scottish Government also works closely with UK Government colleagues and other devolved administrations to support the provision of relevant public information and advice on reserved matters in Scotland.