Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scottish Government ministers and officials liaise with Police Scotland officers of various ranks on a regular basis. I and accompanying officials met the then Divisional Commander for Edinburgh in August 2023 as part of a short visit to the joint Police Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council operation overseeing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The operational deployment of officers is however a matter for the Chief Constable. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 is very clear on this point, and that Police Scotland is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference.

Responsibility for measuring Scotland’s annual inward investment performance rests with Scottish Development International (SDI) on behalf of the Enterprise Agencies. SDI reports for the financial year 2022-23, of the 8,533 jobs generated in Scotland, 2,629 were created or secured through supported inward investment projects with UK headquartered businesses across 23 supported inward investment projects.

SDI results form part of a suite of indicators used to measure Scotland’s inward investment performance. According to the latest EY Annual Attractiveness Survey (2023), Scotland’s strong track record of attracting inward investment continues, with Scotland maintaining its position as the top performing part of the UK outside of London for the eighth year.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Section 7 of the Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019 requires management of Crown Estate Scotland assets to be undertaken in a manner that is likely to contribute to the promotion or the improvement of social and environmental wellbeing in Scotland.

Section 9 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 describes the sustainable procurement duty requires the contracting authority to consider how it conducts the procurement process to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the authority's area.

In addition to this, for the ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds, CES required a statement of commitment which requires a company to abide by the law in Scotland and relevant domestic law, safeguarding against a company that has been convicted of unlawful conduct in relation to sustainability from being able to operate in Scotland.

We will continue to review the leasing requirements for future leasing rounds informed by best practice to deliver the best outcomes for Scotland and in line with our social, economic and environmental principles, including the need for any legislative changes to support the updated leasing conditions.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27757 on‎ 7 June 2024. 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 .

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Between 28 December 2023 and 7 March 2024, the Scottish Government, along with the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish governments, held a consultation on reforming the producer responsibility system for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This consultation sought views on a number of policy reforms, including the introduction of a producer financed household collection system for small and large items of WEEE, enhancing retailer obligations to provide a free collection on delivery service for large appliances, extending obligations to online marketplaces, creating a category for vapes to ensure that treatment and collection costs are borne by vapes producers, and establishing a new WEEE scheme administrator.

While we do not have Scotland-specific data on the scale of e-waste, it was calculated as part of our impact assessments that an estimated 155kt of WEEE is disposed of in household residual waste collections in the UK annually, which is then sent to landfill and energy from waste. This is equivalent to 5.3kg per household per year.