Wednesday 14 March 2018 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Crown Office Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) collects any data regarding the length of time that bodies are retained between death and burial/cremation due to an ongoing criminal investigation. (S5W-15065) James Wolffe QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is responsible for the investigation of deaths where there is an ongoing criminal investigation. COPFS does not collect data regarding the length of time that bodies are retained between the death and burial/cremation. Since September 2016 COPFS has recorded the date when the body is released to the nearest relative in deaths where there is an ongoing criminal investigation. Economy Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03736 by Keith Brown on 31 October 2016, whether it will provide the information for 2016-17, and what information it can provide regarding which companies received funding, how much they received and the purpose of the award. (S5W-11258) Keith Brown: Neither Highlands and Islands Enterprise or Scottish Enterprise provide assistance directly to the arms trade. As part of the broad range of support provided some firms in receipt of that support may be engaged in activities such as research and development/ components or products which may be applicable to defence related use. I am unable to provide details of the individual amounts or purposes of the awards received by companies due to commercial sensitivity. Financial support provided by SE and HIE to businesses where the activities may be applicable to defence related use in 2016-17 is shown in the following table: Year SE (£) HIE (£)Total (£) 2016-17457,35661,238 518,594 Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13901 by Keith Brown on 31 January 2018, what work ministers are planning to increase the number of suppliers that have signed the Business Pledge. (S5W-14640) Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has written to each Scottish Government supplier, who is not already signed up to the Scottish Business Pledge, encouraging them to consider it further. Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13901 by Keith Brown on 31 January 2018, what consideration it gives to whether a company has signed the Business Pledge when awarding contracts to suppliers, and whether it has considered making this a mandatory requirement. (S5W-14641) Keith Brown: The Scottish Government highlights the values promoted by the Scottish Business Pledge by including a standard question in the invitation to tender, requesting that potential suppliers confirm whether they have made a commitment to the Pledge. By signing up to the pledge and making such a commitment to deliver elements through current actions and future plans, a supplier can also demonstrate a positive and progressive approach to meet Fair Work criteria. Emma Harper (South Scotland) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many animals were exported from Scotland for (a) slaughter, (b) breeding and (c) production purposes in 2017. (S5W-14961) Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14474 on 13 March 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how it defines "inclusive growth", and how it ensures that all its agencies use the same definition. (S5W-15066) Keith Brown: Inclusive Growth is growth that combines increased prosperity with greater equity; that creates opportunities for all and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity fairly. Promoting a shared inclusive growth agenda across Scotland is a key objective of this Government – evidenced, for example, by the inclusive growth conference we hosted in Glasgow last year and by the announcement of the Centre for Regional Inclusive Growth – which will work to drive improvements in inclusive growth outcomes across Scotland’s communities. It is vitally important that all our agencies are aligned in terms of promoting inclusive growth – indeed this is why the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board aims to ensure the whole Enterprise and Skills system delivers Scotland’s Economic Strategy, of which inclusive growth is a central priority, and is looking specifically at creating the conditions that are conducive to delivering inclusive and sustainable growth. Education, Communities and Justice Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the IT that will be used by the British Transport Police (BTP) D Division following the merger between BTP and Police Scotland; when this will be integrated fully with Police Scotland IT systems, and what the costs are of engaging consultants/project managers to deliver this. (S5W-14859) Humza Yousaf: Under the auspices of the Joint Programme Board (JPB), Police Scotland and BTPA have established a joint project to deliver the operational aspects of the programme. On 20 February, the JPB was advised that further time is needed to deliver integration most effectively and safely for railway passengers, staff and officers. Their assessment is that the current scheduled integration date of ‎ 1 April 2019 will not be achieved. Ministers have accepted this advice and a detailed re-planning exercise will now take place over the coming months to ensure robust delivery plans are in place for all of the key elements of the programme, including ICT, and to establish a new delivery date. Resourcing will also feature as part of the re-planning exercise. Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of consultants involved in the British Transport Police merger with Police Scotland and what (a) their remit is and (b) fees they are being paid, and from which budget those fees will be drawn. (S5W-14860) Humza Yousaf: Further to the meeting of the Joint Programme Board on 20 February a detailed re-planning exercise is now underway to ensure robust delivery plans are in place for all of the key elements of the programme and to establish a new delivery date. Resourcing will also feature as part of the re- planning exercise. Transitional costs for the Authority and Police Scotland are being funded from the police reform budget and will not be an additional burden on the operational policing budget or rail operators. Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) allow parliamentary scrutiny of its new financial estimates in relation to the merger between British Transport Police and Police Scotland and (b) review the costs that it provided in the Financial Memorandum that accompanied the Railway Policing (Scotland) Bill. (S5W-14861) Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to providing regular reports to Parliament on the status of the programme. The approach to scrutiny of those reports is a matter for the Parliament. Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01779 by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2018, whether it will set out the outcome of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice's discussion with the Lord President regarding transparency in sentencing. (S5W-14955) Michael Matheson: In exchanges in Parliament on 8 February, I agreed to ensure that the issues raised were highlighted to the Lord President to see whether any further progress could be made on improving how transparency in the system of sentencing could be made. I can confirm I have brought the official report of those Parliamentary exchanges to the attention of the Lord President and will raise the matter when I meet with him next. As I indicated in Parliament in answer to S5O-01779, sentencing in any given case, including whether to publish a sentencing statement, is a matter for the court. Separate to that, the independent Scottish Sentencing Council has as one of its objectives the promotion of greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice. Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what data it collects on the number of victims of crimes who have registered with the Victim Notification Scheme and what this represents as a percentage of those eligible. (S5W-14995) Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government do not hold the data requested. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) have advised that as of 5 March 2018, 2418 victims have joined the Victim Notification Scheme. The SPS estimate that this represents around 20 – 30% of the total number of victims who were eligible to join the Scheme. Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Victim Notification Scheme only provides details of an offenders release date, date of death within prison, transfer outwith Scotland, eligibility for temporary release, escape and return to prison, where the sentence is for 18 months or more, and what legislation prescribes this. (S5W-14996) Michael Matheson: The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 prescribed the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS), which provided victims of certain prescribed offences with the rights to receive information about an offenders’ progression within prison and eventual release. At this time, the VNS applied to offenders who were sentenced to 4 years or more. The Victim Notification Scheme (Scotland) Order 2008, then extended these rights to victims of offenders who had been sentenced to 18 months or more and the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014, removed the list of prescribed offences so that victims of all offences were potentially eligible.