 Am fedri yw'r unrhyw ymdilych g preachingr y cyfrifloedd. Felly mae'n cwmwyslu a'r cyfrifloedd byddai'n greu i deall bod y byddai'n virth i gael i'r hunain ar y prif. Felly mae'n mynedd i'r hwyl fath. A wnaod ddod i'r Gwngorffod ddigon i'r cyfrifloedd erbyn o'r cyfrifloedd o'r mynedd i'r cyfrifloedd yng nghymwys a'r cyfrifloedd o engagementr o gyrfaeth yw'r cyfrifloedd, o'r cyfrifloedd o'r cyfrifloedd hefyd. The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of our Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland's progress report on HMP shots, which is a follow-up to the full inspection report that was published in June 2013. The chief inspector, David Strang, commented on publication that good progress had been made towards achievement of the 51 recommendations that were made in 2013, noting that 31 had been fully achieved in seven. Meaningful progress was in evidence and 12 recommendations are to be addressed. I'm satisfied that the report overall is balanced and records that whilst there is a need to make sure that further progress is made, progress has been made in a number of important areas and overall the prison runs well, is safe and there is evidence of positive relationships between staff and prisoners. Alex Ferguson. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for that response but, as I'm sure he's aware, one of the more serious aspects that was identified is that there's a lack of meaningful and productive work for prisoners. Can I ask him, therefore, if he accepts that the provision of meaningful and productive work is essential to the wellbeing and rehabilitation of prisoners? If he does, can he tell me what steps the Government and the Scottish prison service are taking to improve the aspect of rehabilitation at HNP shots and, indeed, elsewhere? The member may raise a good point, because that was one of the key areas that was identified by the chief inspector of prisons that requires further action. There is progress being made with regard to the work that is undergoing and the work that has been taken for within shots at the present time in order to make sure that there is greater provision of purposeful activity. However, overall, the Scottish prison service has carried out a national review of purposeful activity within the prison system. That was commissioned following the results of a piece of work that was undertaken by the Parliament's Justice Committee back in 2013. We expect the findings of that to be taken forward by the SPS. There were some formal review, there were some 131 recommendations in order to improve purposeful activity within the prison estate in Scotland, and the Scottish prison service is now developing an implementation plan to make sure that it takes forward those recommendations to improve purposeful activity within our prison estate. Many thanks. Question 2, in the name of Mary Phee, has not been lodged. An explanation has been provided, which appears to be at less than satisfactory. Question 3, Adam Ingram. To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals in the human trafficking and exploitation bill will help to deter trafficking through airports. Bill aims to clarify and strengthen the criminal law by introducing a new single human trafficking offence and by increasing the maximum penalty to life imprisonment. The bill will give Scotland's law enforcement agencies greater tools in their armory to bring those responsible for the misery of human trafficking to justice, as well as guaranteeing support for victims. The bill includes provision for courts to impose new preventative orders, restrict the activity of people convicted or suspected of human trafficking offences, including control on foreign travel. There are specific proposals in the bill that will allow for the detention of property, including aircraft, owned or possessed by persons who are arrested on suspicion of a trafficking offence. The Lord Advocate's recent summit on human trafficking acknowledged the need for co-operation between law enforcement agencies across the United Kingdom in response to the crime. Alongside our bill, we will continue to engage with the UK Government, UK Border Force and other relevant UK bodies to share intelligence and to disrupt and deter traffickers who seek to cross our borders. Adam Ingram. Thank the minister for the extensive answer. The bill is very welcome indeed and will help to give my constituents the reassurance that we will not tolerate the use of our airports for this heinous crime. The bill will require the creation of a Scottish anti-human trafficking strategy, so how does the Government intend to work with the airports and drafting this strategy to ensure that they are doing all that they can to prevent human trafficking? The member raises an important point. Alongside improvements to the criminal law and strengthening the rights of victims, the bill will provide a commitment for Scottish Government ministers to engage with relevant stakeholders in order to bring forward our trafficking and exploitation strategy for Scotland. What I can assure the member of is the Government's intention to make sure that in developing that strategy we will engage with organisations, including front-line staff, including those at our airports and ports to make sure that they have an opportunity to have an input into the development of the strategy, but also to make sure that the strategy is inflamed in such a way that it helps to support them as front-line staff to make sure that they have the skills and the knowledge that are necessary in order to make sure that they can identify the signs of potential trafficking and to stop traffickers from being able to bring people across our borders. Question 4, Gil Paterson. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how the length of custodial sentences for handling of offensive weapons has changed during the last 10 years. The average length of custodial sentences for carrying an offensive weapon has increased for 10 years in a row and is now over three times higher than a decade ago. Figures show that the average length of custodial sentences has increased from 111 days in 2004-05 to 374 days in 2013-14. Gil Paterson. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and welcome those figures. Whilst there has been significant progress in this regard, how will the national roll-out of the No Knives Better Lives programme ensure that we continue to reduce the number of people who carry offensive weapons? There are two key aspects to the approach that the Scottish Government has taken in helping to reduce the number of offences that are involved in carrying an offensive weapon. The first part is education and diversion to educate young people around the risks of carrying a weapon and to encourage them into diversion programmes in order to move them away from any activity that is involved in carrying offensive weapons. The second part of our approach to that has also been about taking forward robust measures within our criminal justice system and making sure that we use the law effectively to take robust criminal action against anyone who is found to be carrying an offensive weapon. Alongside that, we have also been funding the No Knives Better Lives programme, which over the past five years we have provided some £2.5 million to. That is now available across all local authorities in Scotland as of April last year. It is a programme that is based at YouthLink Scotland. It is based on a system that targets young people in order to ensure that those who live in communities where there is a greatest effect often experience knife crime are offered the opportunity to participate in the programme. It is a programme that is also based on being invited in by local authorities in Scotland to allow YouthLink Scotland to roll out the programme within their local area. I would want to encourage all local authorities in Scotland to look at the work that YouthLink is undertaking in this particular field and to involve them in their local crime prevention strategies because the No Knives Better Lives programme is a very worthwhile one and one that demonstrates that it can make a real difference in communities. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to provide an appropriate legal process for resolving domestic abuse cases in South Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the scourge of domestic violence, which includes consideration of a new specific domestic abuse offence. Although overall levels of recorded crime have fallen in recent years, the reporting and prosecution of certain categories of crime, including domestic abuse, have increased. That may be due to victims feeling more confident in reporting those crimes, knowing that our law enforcement agencies will robustly investigate reports and prosecute where sufficient evidence exists. This is good news as it means that more victims are able to access justice. In November, the Scottish Government provided new funding of £1.47 million to help justice agencies to deal with the efficient progressing of summary court cases, including the increasing number of domestic abuse cases being heard in court. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and I welcome the possibility of the domestic abuse offence later in this Parliament. In view of the unpalpable history of domestic abuse cases in South Scotland and given specifically the extent of court closures and centralisation, what is the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government doing to ensure that early intervention from the courts, with a view to protecting victims, is happening still and what plans and funding are being put in place to deal with their needs? In relation to domestic abuse cases, it is very clear that, from our Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, cases of domestic abuse are seen as a priority, and they have procedures in place for dealing with that. There has also been a range of training programmes put in place for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal staff, including cases being considered by senior members of staff in making any decisions about whether they are preceded and taken to court or not once they have completed an extensive training programme around domestic abuse. We also have in place a range of measures that are about helping to make sure that vulnerable witnesses also get the right type of support when they are appearing in court as well. One of the benefits that will be gained from some of the court changes that are also taking place is that, for example, in Edinburgh, where more of those cases will be heard, there are dedicated victim and witnesses facilities, particularly for those who are vulnerable, which we do not have in some of our smaller court places. We have a range of measures that will be put in place in relation to our Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, but also in our court setting to make sure that the right supports are there for victims and that they get the right support in their assistance when they may be appearing in court as well. The member will also be aware that one of the other aspects that the Scottish Court Service has taken forward is the opportunity for video links to be established in those other remote courts to be used as a way of giving evidence, rather than a witness having to travel into a central point for giving evidence, which again can benefit those who may be vulnerable in situations where domestic violence happens to be part of the case. Many thanks. Question 6, in the name of Claire Adamson, has been withdrawn and a satisfactory explanation provided. Question 7, Paul Martin, does not appear to be in the chamber, and the Presiding Officers would be grateful of an early explanation as to why not. Question 8, Sarah Boyack. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding the reorganisation of control room facilities. The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service where it receives updates on a range of issues, including control rooms. This was one of the issues that was discussed at my initial meeting with the service before Christmas and we are meeting again tomorrow. Thank you very much minister, that is excellent timing. I recently met with FBU representatives and they are seeking reassurance that there will be sufficient staff in place to ensure that the migration to a single control room in the east can be achieved safely and at minimal disruption to the provision of services and to the staff involved. I also ask the minister if he will ask questions about that process. There has already been a change in Dumfries but that is comparatively a small change compared with the change in the east and can he also ask questions about the support being given to staff other than CV writing and interview skills, particularly for those staff who are going to be required to change jobs. Many are concerned about losing their uniform status so I'd be grateful if the minister could either answer today or pick up those issues with the FBU, with the Fire and Rescue Services when he meets them tomorrow. I'm very happy to take forward those issues and discuss them with SFRS tomorrow and certainly note the member's long-standing interest in the issue in regard to Edinburgh so I'm happy to take forward those issues and keep in touch with the member on them. Excellent. Question 9, Christina McKelvie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address human trafficking. First, I would like to recognise Christina McKelvie's long-standing interest in this issue in pursuing matters as one of the co-conveners of the cross-party group on human trafficking within the Scottish Parliament. On 11 December 2014, we introduced to Parliament our human trafficking and exploitation bill. If approved by Parliament, the bill will clarify and strengthen the law to prosecute and disrupt traffickers. The bill will also strengthen the right of victims, including giving adult victims of trafficking equivalent rights to access immediate support and assistance, as child victims already have. The proposal in the bill builds on the actions being taken following the human trafficking summit, which was hosted by the Scottish Government in October 2012. The Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland and the Solicitor General, Leslie Thomson, hosted a further human trafficking summit at the Scottish Parliament on 17 October 2014, attended by the heads of prosecution services from across the UK and Ireland. It was agreed that prosecutors would work together to share information to help to ensure robust and effective prosecutions of those who are engaged in the heinous crime. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. At that day, I attended the prosecutor's event, and it was very heartening to see like-minded people in the room. One measure of the bill is the victim support measures. As the cabinet secretary has already mentioned, giving adult victims the same assistance that children already have is very important. Within the bill, and I hope that that will be pressed by the Government, I duty to secure that support and assistance, and that assistance should be given as soon as possible. That assistance should include accommodation, because we find trafficking victims left destitute, day-to-day living, medical advice and treatment, language translation, which should become ever more difficult if people have to go and give evidence to the home office and interpretation, counselling, repatriation and legal advice. I would also like to draw the cabinet secretary's attention to a campaign by the refugee women's group, who are looking at how they have to give evidence on some of the horrible things that have happened to them, sometimes in front of their children. I want to know how the cabinet secretary intends to implement that assistance and to give adults and children of human trafficking the best support that they possibly could have. Cysiomicalby has raised an extremely important point. The nature of human trafficking and exploitation is such that very often it is hidden. Those individuals who have been trafficked or exploited are often reluctant, in any shape or form, to come forward and get assistance and support. That is why it is a key measure within the legislation to ensure that there is provision around victim support for those who have been trafficked or exploited. The number of areas that the member has highlighted are all the key areas that I can see as being extremely important. For example, the issue of accommodation. If the person was being trafficked or exploited, it may be that their accommodation was previously completely dependent on the person who was controlling their situation, and once they are no longer in that situation, they become much more vulnerable and may not have accommodation. Those are all factors that will need to be considered around the type of support that will be required for those particular victims, given the complexity of the type of crime and the controlling nature of the type of crime and its impact on the individuals concerned. A key part of the work that we will take forward is part of the national strategy, which the legislation will place a requirement on ministers to take forward, and to regularly review what will be to ensure that we have the right provisions in place to support those victims in an effective way when they come forward. The member has raised a number of important points of which I am more than happy to consider as we take forward the legislation and as we start to take forward the development of the national strategy in this area. To ask the Scottish Government when stage 2 of the criminal justice Scotland bill will commence. Lord Bonomy is expected to complete his post-corroboration safeguard review by April this year. The timing of stage 2 of the criminal justice Scotland bill is a matter for the Parliament, but the Scottish Government would not anticipate stage 2 commencing until there has been an opportunity to consider Lord Bonomy's recommendations. I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply. Given the controversial nature of the discussions around the abolition of the requirement for corroboration, whether the Government has any proposals for further public consultation arising from the results of Lord Bonomy's review before stage 2 takes place? It is important that we await to receive the report from Lord Bonomy and his consideration to look at the issues that Lord Bonomy and his group have brought forward. Depending on what is contained in that report, it will then be reflected in the response that the Government makes about the need for any further consultation. At this stage, it is important that we allow Lord Bonomy and his group to complete their work and await the outcome of the report. At that point, we will consider that in detail, and we will respond in due course as to what we see as being the most appropriate way forward, dependent upon the recommendations that are contained within the report. Many thanks. That concludes portfolio questions to the justice and law officers. We now move to portfolio questions for rural affairs, food and the environment. I will give the minister a moment to take her seat. Mr Henry, if you would like to start with question 1, please. To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to prevent waste recycling plants being located next to residential areas or town centres. That is a matter for planning authorities. Local development plans should identify appropriate locations for new infrastructure and decisions on planning applications should protect residential immunity. It is a slightly disappointing answer. Two years ago this month, there was a major fire at the waste recycling plant in Johnston in my constituency. It resulted in the turnout of one of the highest number of fire service personnel that had been seen in the west of Scotland for many years. Thankfully, because of the prevailing wind, it did little damage to adjacent houses or to Johnston town centre, but it did result in the main railway line to Ayrshire being closed for a number of hours. I realise that there is little that can be done in terms of retrospective legislation. Frankly, I do not think that it is acceptable to say that it is a matter for local authorities to use their existing powers. I am asking the minister to ask what the Scottish Government will do using its powers to legislate and to set regulations to change the regulations and to change the rules to prevent in future such plants not being located next to either town centres or residential areas. Obviously, as a member, I will also appreciate that I am not the minister for planning. However, when it comes to Scottish planning policy on the location of waste facilities, I can say that local development plans should safeguard existing waste management installations and ensure that the new development does not optimise those established waste handling operations, which may operate 24 hours a day and partly outside buildings. In terms of SEPA, SEPA regulates the waste facilities through either a licence under the Waste Management Scotland Licensing Regulations 2011 or a permit that is issued under the Polition Prevention and Control Scotland Regulations 2012 and under section 362 of the 1990 act. SEPA cannot issue a waste management licence for land, which does not have planning permission for that use. Obviously, the licence and PPC permit conditions relate to the management and control systems for the activities that are carried out and the precautions to be taken, for example, the type of waste that is accepted, the storage and the treatment processes. Those conditions must be complied with or SEPA will have to take the appropriate enforcement action. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve air quality in the central Scotland region. Local authorities have the lead responsibility in assessing and promoting air quality. The Scottish Government has supported a number of councils across central Scotland in providing practical and financial assistance in implementing their action plans, continuing to operate a comprehensive network of around 90 air quality monitoring stations and utilising the data to develop and inform policy initiatives. I thank the minister for her reply. Most of the councils in my region published the data regarding air quality on a regular basis and, in fact, have issued that on their website. Will the minister encourage all councils to publish all air quality information, standardise the data, supply to members of the public in a format that conveys the information in a more understandable manner and can be easily accessed on individual council websites? I agree that the clear information needs to be available to the public to inform them as to local air quality. For that reason, in 2007, we established the Scottish air quality website and database. That website also allows members of the public to obtain alerts when high pollution episodes are forecast. Through the forthcoming low-emission strategy consultation, we will seek views on potential improvements that can be made to the consistency and clarity of communications regarding air quality and reflecting the potential number of pollutants that might be involved. It has been over a year since Friends of the Earth Scotland revealed that 14 of the country's top 20 pollution hotspots for nitrogen dioxide were breaking EU safety limits, including the rate interchange in central Scotland. Will the Scottish Government agree that, to achieve sustainable improvements in air quality, it not only has to complete the redevelopment of the rate interchange to avoid bottlenecks, but it also has to improve public transport in the region overall with electrification of Lanarkshire railways and where necessary better regulation of local bus services? We are committed, as a Government, to improving air quality across the country. We have seen significant reductions in pollution emissions over recent decades through tighter industrial regulation, improved fuel quality, cleaner vehicles and an increased focus on sustainable transport. We are meeting domestic and European air quality targets across most of Scotland, although there are still localised hotspots of poorer air quality in a number of urban areas. However, Scotland's national transport strategy includes among its three strategic outcomes a commitment to improving air quality, so initiatives such as the green bus fund and the plug-in vehicles road map are making a major contribution to improving air quality. To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of charges for single-use carrier bags has had in the number of carrier bags becoming litter or landfill waste. As expected, early reports from some major retailers indicate reductions in bag use of up to 90 per cent since the introduction of the charge. It is encouraging to see that so many shoppers are now in the habit of reusing bags, and we expect that the positive early indications will lead to a visible reduction in bag litter on our streets and beaches. I have received a lot of positive feedback from my constituents about the impact to the carrier bag charge and how it has helped to make them more aware of the different simple actions that can make to the environment. Will the minister tell me if the introduction of the charge has been as widely welcomed among shoppers and other parts of Scotland? A poll following the introduction of the charge showed that 85 per cent agreeing that it is a positive step and that only 9 per cent disagreeing. That is backed up by comments in the media and online, indicating that most people have welcomed this important litter reduction measure and adapted well to it. To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the final version of Scotland's national marine plan. The national marine plan was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 11 December 2014. The plan will be adopted and published following parliamentary scrutiny in accordance with schedule 1 of the Marine Scotland Act 2010. As the minister may know, the popular fishery sands in Musselborough are in my constituency. Can the minister confirm what plans there are to enhance beach usage in a recreational context and what will be done to ensure clean beaches and acceptable water quality? The national marine plan sets out objectives and policies to support sustainable growth of marine recreation and tourism in Scotland, which includes recreational beach activities. Those policies also ensure consideration of development impacts on the sector, and it sets out the requirements to support growth. That includes the protection and improvement of access infrastructure and facilities, in addition to protection and enhancement of the unique natural resources that the sector relies on. The general policies of the plan also ensure that measures to address marine litter must be taken that support Scotland's marine litter strategy, and activity must not result in the deterioration of the water quality that the water framework directive and other related directives apply. Claudia Beamish Can the minister ask how will data be collected, collated and coordinated for the national marine plan interactive in an on-going way from the range of sectors? How will it be shared importantly with the regional marine planners? I appreciate that the cabinet secretary is not here today, so, if the minister wants to respond later, I would respect that. Thank you for that. Given the level of detail that the member has asked for and given that this is also in the portfolio of the cabinet secretary and I'm sure the member will appreciate if I say to her if she was possible to be able to write to the cabinet secretary and we will be able to give you a more detailed response to your question. Alex Ferguson Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I just ask the minister if she's able to confirm, I appreciate that the plan was laid before Parliament in December, but can I ask her to confirm that it is still open to alteration given the fact that the cabinet secretary is becoming for the rural affairs committee next week and that the rural affairs committee still has to report its findings to the national marine plan? Can she confirm that the plan is still open to alteration and reconsideration, if necessary? I can also say to the member that we were very happy to come back to you on when we have further information. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the outcomes on the recent climate change conference, which was held in Lima. The Lima call for climate action has kept international negotiations moving forward, although with very important issues principally the overall level of global ambition yet to be resolved. Scotland's messages about the need for high ambition and for climate justice will continue to be highly relevant in the crucial year ahead if the new climate treaty in Paris in 2015 is to stand a good chance of limiting global temperature rise to no more than two degrees Celsius, as the international community has already agreed to do. I thank the minister for that answer. I can also welcome the minister, which I think is to her first portfolio of questions in the chamber. Scotland leads the way in the international community in its ambitious climate change. Can the minister give us some assurance that the Government remains committed to achieving its targets and will be an example to the rest of the world? The Government remains extremely committed. As set out in our programme for government in November, the Scottish Government will continue to lead work to support the delivery and achievement of our world-leading Scottish climate change targets. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Climate Change, which has been established, will ensure that climate change policy is given the highest priority across all government objectives. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Climate Change will meet again tomorrow. Can I ask what new initiatives she will be launching over the next 12 months, given that, although we are very proud of our targets in Scotland, we have failed to meet them in the first three targets year on year. It is important that we do not just talk the talk, but that we walk the walk. Can you tell us what new initiatives you will be bringing forward and whether any of those will require cross-party support? Just before Christmas, the First Minister said that the opposition parties were not supportive enough. If we know what the policies are that you are bringing forward, let us talk about them. As I said in my previous answer, the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Climate Change is meeting tomorrow to discuss a whole range of issues around climate change within the Government. We are taking a number of steps to ensure that Scotland remains on track to meet its climate change ambitions. It is our intention that the report on proposals and policies, the RPP2, will be delivered in full, and where policies and proposals are not being delivered, we will look to bring forward new policies with the same, if not greater, level of emissions abatements. The priority work has already commenced on the production of the next RPP, which is due for publication in 2016, and we aim to lay the next RPP as soon as reasonably practical. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy has also agreed to fund a new macroeconomic model to help in the preparation of the RPP3. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards implementing the Clyde 2020 proposals. Following the Clyde 2020 summit in April last year, Marine Scotland, with the support from the Firth of Clyde Forum, has been continuing to engage with those stakeholders who have an interest in the Clyde. The outputs of those discussions will form the basis of the Clyde 2020 action plan and the governance arrangements that are currently being developed. The action plan will help to better co-ordinate existing work, and it will underpin action to contribute to a better and healthier Clyde, and we are working towards the publication of the action plan earlier this year. I thank the minister for that answer, and I welcome both the Clyde 2020 process and the Southarn MPAs in my constituency. Last April, when Parliament debated Scotland's inshore fisheries, members from across the chamber sought a regulating order for the Clyde as proposed by the sustainable inshore fisheries trust to boost the Clyde's environment and economy and help to meet Clyde 2020 targets. At that time, the cabinet secretary said that he was looking forward to receiving an application for this regulating order, which I understand will be lodged this quarter. Can the minister say where the Government supports use of such regulating orders to deliver local control of our fisheries in general or only in specific circumstances? The Scottish Government is aware that the sustainable inshore fisheries trust is currently consulting locally on plans for our regulating order in the Clyde. We are not aware of their detailed plans and we have not yet received an application. When and if we have received, Marine Scotland will undertake a consultation and assessment of the application before any decision is made on whether to support the application. Regulating orders are also subject to parliamentary approval and they are but one mechanism available to manage our inshore fisheries in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the flooding infrastructure in Perth and Cynros. In 2007, all the existing flood defences in Scotland were assessed as part of the establishment of the Scottish Government's flood defence asset database. Since then, a new national flood risk assessment has been undertaken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the outputs from which were approved by ministers on 22 December 2011. The national flood risk assessment pulls together all the latest information relating to the sources and impacts of flooding. For the first time ever, we have a national picture of flood risk across Scotland. That is a major step forward in our understanding of flood risk and is a key milestone towards Scotland being able to target efforts to plan and invest in reducing impacts in areas that are most vulnerable to flooding. Ultimately, that will help Scotland to become more resilient to the impacts of flooding. The minister will be very aware that in 2012, the water of Rucall in Cymru flooded badly, causing thousands of pounds of damage and people to be homeless for that period. She will also be aware of the audit report that said that Perth and Cynros would check flood situations on a monthly basis, but for the three years previous, it was found that it was only on a yearly situation. That is simply not good enough. Could I ask what information the Scottish Government has got from local authorities about ensuring that flood-prone areas are checked on a regular basis? I thank the member for her question. In terms of flood protection schemes, they are primarily a matter for local authorities. I understand the residents' frustrations about the time that it is taken to implement measures to protect comry from future flooding. However, it is also important to ensure that the right measures are put in place and that this can take time. I know that Perth and Cynros Council received funding for a scheme at Almondbank during the last round of funding applications, but they were not in a position to apply for funding for comry, as they did not have an approved scheme with all the appropriate statutory consents in place. The council is investigating the options for a flood protection scheme for comry, but I understand that this is in very early stages and the implementation of any scheme may be a number of years away. That concludes portfolio questions. We now move on to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion 1198.