Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to my answer to question S6W-12732 on 14 December 2022. 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/questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government is a key partner in Save a Life for Scotland (SALFS), a partnership including the emergency services, third sector organisations and academic researchers. SALFS is responsible for the delivery of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Strategy 2021 to 2026 . Data on progress of the strategy is available at; Scotland’s Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Report 2019 – 2022 .

SALFS approach to increasing the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrive from 8% to 20%, is to ensure that defibrillators are publicly accessible, registered and there is a data driven approach to their placement.

Work underway includes the SCOT-PAD project, to develop a tool to support organisations and communities with more evidence on the optimal location to place their defibrillator. Progress is also being made in registration of defibrillators with the number of defibrillators in communities across Scotland that are registered with the Circuit doubling since 2019 to almost 5,000.

As at the end of the day 31 March 2023, there were 36,131 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in South Lanarkshire.

This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

The Scottish Police Authority has launched a recruitment campaign on Friday 31 March 2023, looking for a new Chief Constable to lead the second largest police service in the UK, after Sir Iain Livingstone QPM announced his intention to retire in the summer of 2023 at a meeting of the Authority on 23 February.

The deadline for applications is Friday 28 April. The Authority expects to announce a successful candidate in June 2023. This will be a fixed term appointment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.

The appointment process has been reviewed and approved by the Scottish Police Authority’s People Committee. A Selection Panel has been convened which will be chaired by Martyn Evans, Chair of the Authority and will include Fiona McQueen CBE - Member, SPA, Joe Griffin - Director-General, Scottish Government, Angela Scott - Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council, Independent Member, and Martin Hewitt QPM, Former Chair, National Police Chiefs Council – UK Policing Professional. Craig Naylor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland and Lynn Brown OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority will be advisors to the panel and observe its discussions with candidates.

The appointment is subject to the approval of the Scottish Ministers.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans met with the Chair of the SPA and the Chief Constable on 22 March and they discussed the arrangements for the recruitment campaign, transition plans and timing.

Whilst there are currently no supertrawlers in the Scottish fishing fleet, a number of other fleets operate within Scottish waters, including a small number of EU supertrawlers. As well as vessels from the rest of the UK, the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows EU vessels full access to fish shared stocks within UK waters.

It is important to note that all vessels authorised to operate in Scottish waters do so under the appropriate licenses, and are obliged to follow Scottish domestic management rules, including mesh size restrictions and closed areas. These vessels also operate within agreed quotas. The majority of commercial stocks fished are managed by the use of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits. TAC levels are informed by the best available independent scientific advice, and are used with an aim to ensure sustainable fishing levels in the long term. Vessels, regardless of size or gear, are only permitted to fish the quotas that they have been allocated, in line with TACs set for each stock.

Sustainability, support for biodiversity, and consideration of the wider ecosystem is at the heart of how we manage Scotland’s fisheries and protect our marine environment. This is reflected in the 12 point action plan contained within Scotland Fisheries Management Strategy, and in the Blue Economy Vision for Scotland, which sets out our ambition for the sustainable management and shared stewardship of Scotland’s sea and coasts.

Data from cull returns for the last three years is not yet complete, and in particular most of the data for the 2022-23 season is still outstanding. The following table is a snapshot of the latest position.

Just like similar schemes around the world, Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is being delivered and funded by industry. It is for them to determine the appropriate manner in which to meet their obligations under the Regulations, including whether or not to establish a private company to act as a scheme administrator.

Given that it is already standard that private companies are not covered by Freedom of Information legislation, and producers themselves formed and administer Circularity Scotland, the Scottish Government does not consider an assessment of any potential impact on relations between the DRS administrator and producers where Circularity Scotland is not subject to Freedom of Information legislation to be necessary.

Following discussions with the operator, Serco NorthLink Ferries, it was clear that the associated works required in order to change the date mid-contract would have a cost and impact to all customers.

We will however seek to revert to the previous date that would open the bookings from October, noting that the previous delays were to allow funding to be found to freeze the fares due to the cost of living crisis.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on the 20 April 2023.

The overarching policy objective of the Bill, which builds on the existing regulatory framework, will, if passed, provide a modern, forward-looking regulatory framework for Scotland that will best promote competition, innovation, and the public and consumer interest in an efficient, effective, and efficient legal sector.

Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is completely unacceptable.

The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, which was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament, gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those responsible for trafficking as well as strengthening protections for survivors.

In the current financial year, Migrant Help and the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance will share over £2.1m to support adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation. We are also providing funding to Justice and Care to support two Victim Navigators who work alongside Police Scotland's National Human Trafficking Unit; funding to JustRight Scotland to support the work of their Scottish Anti-Trafficking Centre, including the provision of early legal advice to potential victims. Furthermore, we are funding Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland to deliver a long-term support pilot to those recovering and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to provide a national psychological trauma support service to adult trafficking victims.

We will continue to work with partners across Scotland and beyond to provide support to victims and combat those who seek to profit from the exploitation of others.