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The Scottish Government has acknowledged that there are concerns about the operation of the FAI system. In January of this year, following publication of the determination of the FAI into the deaths of Katie Allen and William Brown at Polmont Young Offenders Institute, the Scottish Government announced a focussed, independent review of the FAI system. This review is to look at the efficiency, effectiveness and trauma-informed nature of investigations into deaths in prison custody.

Scotland’s international network continues to deliver tangible benefits to our people, businesses and institutions.

We welcomed the recommendation made in 2022 by the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee for the Scottish Government to publish an annual report, setting out the contribution made by the international network. The first annual report was published in December 2023. This was followed by the 2023-24 annual report in November 2024, which can be found at the following link: International network: annual report 2023-2024 - gov.scot.

The 2024-25 annual report will be published later in the year, and will include additional reporting on the delivery of the International Strategy.

The Scottish Government recently announced a review into how fatal accident inquiries operate. That review follows the publication of Sheriff Collins' determination of the fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of Katie Allen and William Brown in Polmont YOI in 2018. There are however no specific plans for the monitoring of recommendations made following FAIs generally. Each policy area will monitor recommendations of relevance to them.

FAIs cover a number of areas of policy interest. It would be for each Scottish Government policy area to consider if a particular determination or response gave rise to further consideration or action. We would expect any public body to take cognisance of any such recommendations.

The statutory framework for FAIs is the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc (Scotland) Act 2016. The legislation introduced a requirement for the Sheriff conducting the FAI to make a determination setting out their conclusions and recommendations as soon as possible. Recommendations from a Sheriff must be responded to by the body to whom they are directed. The 2016 Act sets out that the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service is required to publish the determination and subsequent response from the party to whom the recommendations are directed. The response will normally detail what action has been taken or is proposed to be taken in light of the recommendations. These are published on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website and are therefore publicly available.

Training of the judiciary, including the training provided to sheriffs who hear fatal accident inquiries, is not a matter for the Scottish Government but rather for the Lord President.

2021’s A Strategy for Space in Scotland is not a government-owned document but one jointly developed and owned by industry, academia, and government. The Scottish Government, for its part, remains committed to the ambitions set out within.

2021’s A Strategy for Space in Scotland is a document jointly owned between industry, government and academia, and sets out the goal of achieving a £4 billion market share of the global space market and creating over 20,000 jobs in the sector by 2030.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34946 on 20 February 2025, budget allocation for Atlantic Rainforest restoration at the project/programme level is still to be finalised. Further details will be released in due course. 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 is fully committed to the principle of transparency and adopts the default position to publish material where possible.