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The criminal investigation by Police Scotland, supported by other agencies, into this attack is still going on. As such there is a limited amount that I can share at this moment in time. As the investigation progresses the Scottish Government and partners will undertake a lessons identified exercise and share its findings with public bodies so they are able to take preventative steps to defend against similar attacks.

The Scottish Government continue to meet with COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to discuss the issues affecting local government. Moreover, we have increased funding to local government by £574.6 million - or 4.3% - in 2024-25.

However, health and safety regulations are not devolved to the Scottish Government, and the Health and Safety Executive has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

To date, the Young Islanders Network has held online sessions on:

10-03-2022

31-03-2022

28-04-2022

12-05-2022

26-05-2022

09-06-2022

23-06-2022

11-08-2022

29-09-2022

17-11-2022

08-12-2022

18-01-2023

09-02-2023

02-03-2023

23-03-2023

20-04-2023

08-06-2023

28-06-2023

20-07-2023

07-09-2023

19-10-2023

09-11-2023

30-11-2023

18-12-2023

25-01-2024

29-02-2024

21-03-2024

22-04-2024

25-04-2024

Further on-line activities involving Young Islander Network members took place on:

01-11-2022

08-11-2022

15-11-2022

02-02-2023

08-02-2023

15-03-2023

23-11-2023

09-01-2024

Residential in-person events took place on:

30-07-2022 - 02-08-2022

26-01-2023 - 30-01-2023

Further in-person activities involving Young Islander Network members took place on:

13-06-2022 - 17-06-2022

26-08-2022 - 29-08-2022

30-08-2022 - 01-09-2022

06-02-2023

10-03-2023 - 12-03-2023

20-03-2023 - 21-03-2023

07-05-2023

05-07-2023

12-07-2023 - 15-07-2023

12-08-2023 - 14-08-2023

24-08-2023 - 29-08-2023

31-08-2023 - 02-09-2023

18-09-2023

20-09-2023

03-10-2023

01-11-2023 - 03-11-2023

18-01-2024

22-02-2024 - 23-02-2024

26-02-2024

02-04-2024 - 08-04-2024

17-04-2024

The Young Islanders Network’s extensive membership covers all six island local authorities: Shetland Islands Council, Orkney Islands Council, Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Highland Council, Argyll and Bute Council, and North Ayrshire Council.

The National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board will submit their first draft work programme to Scottish Ministers for approval by 28 May 2024, outlining the advice they intend to issue over three years. This collaborative advice will inform the future of smart ticketing in Scotland including how to improve its consistency, accessibility and interoperability.

The latest update to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report shows that full fibre coverage across Scotland now currently stands at 58%, which represents an increase of 5 percentage points – around 138,000 premises – over the previous three months. This means that over 1.57 million homes and businesses in Scotland can now access a full fibre broadband service.

While most of this full fibre deployment has been delivered commercially, the over-£600 million that the Scottish Government is investing in the Reaching 100% (R100) programme is ensuring that homes and businesses in some of Scotland’s harder-to-reach communities are also benefitting from future-proofed full fibre digital connectivity.

Where it is not possible for an operator to reach agreement with landlords, they can seek to have one imposed by the courts. The UK Government has recently reformed the Electronic Communications Code to make this process easier and we are working with operators to understand any issues, so that we can press the UK Government if further reform is needed.

While the Scottish Government is funding build through the R100 contracts, it is doing so through a gap funding model, whereby it is subsidising our delivery partner, Openreach, to extend its own commercial network across Scotland. As you will know, all regulation and legislative competence in the area of telecommunications is wholly reserved to UK Ministers and the UK Parliament under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. As such, the Scottish Government has no mechanism for intervening on any commercial decisions a telecoms operator chooses to make, such as how much they charge for installation, services etc. Responsibility for commercial matters of this nature ultimately rests solely with Ofcom in its capacity as the UK’s telecoms regulator.

Firstly, I would reiterate that violence against women is a fundamental violation of human rights and is totally unacceptable.

It is also important to highlight that the Lanarkshire division within Police Scotland play an important local role in preventing domestic abuse and safeguarding women and girls. This is reflected within the Local Policing Plan which has a particular focus on Gender Based Abuse.

I would also advise that the Lanarkshire Division are currently collaborating on a pilot project with partners from Women’s Aid and Lanarkshire Rape Crisis to establish a crisis centre supporting women and children fleeing domestic abuse. I would hope we might be able to say more about that at an appropriate point.

Finally, I would add that over £1.4m of the Scottish Government’s Delivering Equally Safe Fund has been allocated in grant funding this financial year in Lanarkshire. This includes funding to a range of organisations such as Motherwell & District Women’s Aid and Liber8 who support women affected by gender-based violence.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Government does publish annual Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics, which include domestic and international aviation, but it is not possible to break these down by scheduled or non-scheduled flight, or by the type of engine powering each aircraft. Therefore, it is not possible to determine emissions from private jets.

As of Tuesday 30 April 2024, there had been a total of 137,014,833 journeys made under the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.

Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has confirmed that each prison cell must be of an adequate size, fitted with a means of communication with an officer and have a standard of cleanliness.

Further, each cell used to accommodate an individual must be adequately:

(a) lit by natural or artificial light;

(b) heated and ventilated; and

(c) furnished as is necessary and appropriate for the type of accommodation or area of the prison.

The management of the police custody suites is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government supports His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland ( HMICS ) and Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) to undertake joint inspections across Police Scotland’s network of custody suites to ensure the safety of these facilities.

Where recommendations have been made, Police Scotland, working with health partners as appropriate, work to address these quickly and effectively.