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The Scottish Government is working constructively and collaboratively with the Law Society of Scotland, the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association and representatives of several bar associations to co-design and deliver a wide range of measures in recognition of the important role in the Justice system of vital legal aid services in Scotland as we emerge and recover from the pandemic.

As well as delivering the first stage of an uplift to legal aid fees of more than 10% over the next two years, the Scottish Government is providing up to £1 million over the next 2 years to support 40 legal aid traineeship posts. The Legal Aid Traineeship fund will increase the capacity and capability of the legal aid profession in Scotland by providing employment and training opportunities. The funding also aims to increase diversity and equality within the legal profession by the recruitment and retention of trainees from under-represented groups across the legal profession including people with a disability, from minority ethnic communities or from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Permission from the Scottish Government was not required by Abellio ScotRail to commission Professor Iain Docherty to produce the Scotland’s Railway after the pandemic report.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01865 on
‎ 18 August 2021. 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 has awarded grants totalling £2,235,789 from the Coronavirus Resilience and Recovery Fund for Legal Aid (CRRF). Applications from 84 firms and law centres have been approved and 1 grant is pending subject to a recalculation of award, which is now in the process of being concluded.

The total number of applicants who did not meet the criteria for funding is 195 and is broken down into the following categories:

1. The applicant’s legal aid income did not meet the criteria – 22 applications.

2. No shortfall in applicant’s income was calculated compared with casework prior to pandemic, against the criteria for funding – 124 applications.

3. Applicants demonstrated no shortfall in expected fee income, against the criteria for funding, and have been or will be paid other forms of government support in excess of this sum - 49 applications.

Scottish Ministers made a commitment to keep the CRRF under review and have worked in collaboration with the Law Society for Scotland, the Bar Associations and the Scottish Solicitors’ Bar Association on the co-design and eligibility criteria of a new fund.

An announcement by the Scottish Government was made on 4 August 2021 to launch a new £6.7 million Legal Aid Business Support and Recovery Fund, in support of the Government’s Renew, Recover and Transform Programme which aims to deliver a wide range of measures in recognition of the important role in the Justice system of vital legal aid services in Scotland as we emerge and recover from the pandemic.

(a) Scottish Government and (b) Transport Scotland officials have (i) & (ii) not held any discussions with Professor Iain Docherty in relation to his Scotland’s Railway after the pandemic report.

Transport Scotland, as part of the Rail Recovery Task Force, uses Transport Focus’s passenger pulse research to identify the changing priorities and requirements of rail passengers during and post Covid-19 which also provide a platform to assess the scale and pace of recovery from Covid 19 and, in particular, the potential to move towards our policy vision of an integrated public sector controlled railway.

Transport Scotland is pressing ahead to put in place arrangements to mobilise a wholly owned company of the Scottish Government to provide ScotRail services when the current franchise expires as expected on 31 March 2022.

From 2017 to the end of 2021 we have received a total of £194.8m in EU Exit preparation consequentials.

Spend, both in preparation and post-EU Exit, has been on staff supporting activities such as legislative preparations, and supporting stakeholders and partners, including businesses, cultural bodies, higher education institutes, local government and the third sector.

We have consistently targeted our spending responsibly and appropriately to mitigate against the negative impacts of exiting the EU and this last year we have allocated our spend to deal with the concurrent impacts of Covid and EU exit. An example of this is the £100m Winter Support package which was announced to support those on low incomes, children, and people at risk of homelessness or social isolation in coping with winter weather and the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and Brexit.

Transport Scotland does not hold the information requested, therefore, I would refer the member to the British Transport Police and/or Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Youth related anti-social behaviour data, which will not result in court proceedings can be sourced via the Scottish Children’s Reporter.

The clause in the Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd franchise that permits the operator, from 1 April 2022, to seek adjustments to the financial terms of the Franchise Agreement, or exit the contract, cannot be instigated by the Scottish Government. As per the Franchise Agreement, this must be requested by Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd.

Our Energy Strategy, published in 2017, reiterated the Scottish Government’s continued opposition to new nuclear stations based on current technologies, and our determination instead to continue developing Scotland’s huge renewable resource while also promoting storage and energy efficiency.

The Strategy made clear our awareness of new technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors, and our duty to assess them as required. In the meantime, however, this particular technology remains unproven, and there are no plans or propositions for its development in Scotland.