 Rydw i'n gweithio sgwpeth y maen nhw er fyddai mwy o'u pwynt hon arbennwyd. Bywch chi'n cynhiddu i hynny i'r lluniau mwy o'r hyn, dwi'n gallu gwneud bryhau i'ch munawr o'u pwyntau a chysylltu i wneud bryhau. Y cwysylltu nr 1 yn Kenneth Gibson. Diolch i'r dwyll Refne am y cwestiynau oes Unedig Gwydiannol, ysgrifffryd ei wneud muwr i'r wilflygiad i wneud hynny i grinig desgwysreithio. Hwnnw, Arly, Eileen MacLeod. As long as it is well managed, the use of sewage sludge allows us to recycle valuable materials in a way that is safe and environmentally beneficial. It should cause no nuisance or inconvenience to the general public, but I am aware that, in spite of the existing regulatory arrangements, problems with unacceptable order relating to the storage and spreading of sewage sludge do still occur. That is why the cabinet secretary, Richard Lochhead, commissioned a review of the storage and spreading of sewage sludge on land in Scotland. Following the recent conclusion of the review, the cabinet secretary is considering a wide range of recommendations that he intends to announce shortly. It is likely that some of the recommendations will require changes to legislation and we will undertake a public consultation on any draft legislative proposals. Those actions will address the issues raised by communities and MSPs in relation to the spreading of sewage sludge and lessen the impact on communities, particularly in respect of offensive orders. She will be aware from the recent member's debate that the vile practice of spreading human waste has caused a sickening smell to provide not just the Garnag Valley in my constituency but many other communities across Scotland. Is it not time to end this revolting practice? I am aware of the order problems in the Garnag Valley area. It is those types of issues that I expect the review's outcome to tackle. Spreading to land as a fertiliser is a long-established route for sewage sludge, recognised as the best practical environmental option due to its ability to improve soil quality, organic content and water holding capacity, as well as to provide nutrients for crops. The important thing is ensuring that that is all done properly to avoid risks to public health and the wider environment. That is exactly what I expect the review to achieve. Claudia Beamish I welcome the minister's remarks. I am very keen, as I am supporting communities in the Glentaggar ex-mining area in my region, to hear the results of the review. There have been inconsistencies in the level of treatment of sewage sludge before spreading on land when there have been outages. Will the new risk categorisation facilitate more rigorous checks by SEPA and is there enough treatment capacity to ensure that all sewage sludge is not just dried but heat treated to kill pathogens and protect human health if, indeed, we continue with this practice? As the member will be aware, this was a Scottish Government-led review, which involved SEPA and Scottish Water officials. Over the past few months, over the group has held discussions with communities, sewage sludge industry, local authorities and other stakeholders. As a member may appreciate, there has been a complex task, particularly in relation to existing legislation guidance and practice. It took a little longer than expected, but the fact that the members of the sludge review group wanted to ensure that an effective market of measures would emerge from the process in order that some of the issues that led to the commission in this review can be fully addressed. One of the key recommendations is that SEPA should have the power to have an exempt activity. Such a storage of sewage sludge stopped immediately and the sludge removed. Can the minister be more specific about when the review findings will be published given the word due in August? Does she agree that a holistic approach is required to address this issue and that there should be a lead organisation to properly monitor and coordinate activities relating to sewage sludge? I can say to the member that, at the moment, the review has been concluded and it is sitting with the cabinet secretary at the moment. Advice has been provided to the cabinet secretary around that. I cannot give any more details about when that consultation will be formally announced, but I am more than happy if the member wishes to write to the cabinet secretary to get some clarity around the publication date. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the impact on the environment of fracking. The impacts of unconventional oil and gas in our environment, communities and economy needs to be fully understood. The Scottish Government's moratorium will allow time for careful examination of the issues and proper engagement with the public in considering them. The comprehensive programme of research that we announced on 8 October will include projects to investigate the possible climate change impacts, as well as the effects of additional traffic movements, site decommissioning and aftercare. A freedom of information response that I have received shows that Government ministers and officials met 13 times with Ineos prior to the moratorium in fracking, and Nicola Sturgeon met with him on the very day that the moratorium was announced. Since then, John Swinney has met him twice. Given the construction of the large holding tank that is being built, is it not clear that, as soon as the election is over, the moratorium will be over and that fracking will begin in Scotland, or have any of us just blown a big pile of cash on licences that we will never use? As I said, ministers have held meetings with representatives of environmental non-governmental organisations, community groups, industry bodies and local government, and those meetings have helped us to prepare for the research and public consultation processes. As a result, we have planned a robust and thorough research process, and a wide-ranging and participative consultation process. To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there was a £13 million underspend by the Rural Affairs Food and Environment portfolio in 2014-15. The Scottish Government consolidated accounts for the year ending 31 March 2015 contain an explanation of major resource variances greater than £3 million for each programme within portfolios. For the Rural Affairs Food and Environment portfolio, the statement highlights that £7 million of the £13 million resource underspend was planned underspend on uncommitted budgets such as research. £3 million was, as a result of demand-led budgets such as private water funding, and of the minor variances totalling £3 million, £2 million was a non-cash underspend representing differences in accounting estimates in areas such as depreciation of assets. In total, the underspend represented less than 3 per cent of the resource del budgets available to the portfolio and was used to help to meet capital pressures. Obviously, the climate change budget sits within that portfolio. Why was there a £2 million or 12.5 per cent that underspend on the climate change budget? Given the importance of climate change, why have we had an underspend in the climate change budget for four years in a row? The figures in the council demonstrate the firm grip that the Government has on Scotland's public finances. Our approach means that we are managing our budgets across more than one year. We carry forward some spending into the next year when we need it, so such underspends do not reflect a missed opportunity to spend more on our public services. As I said, the underspend of £13 million includes £2 million non-cash that simply cannot be spent on services, and it represents differences in accounting estimates in areas such as depreciation of assets. The Government's approach represents sensible budgeting, reflecting fluctuations in costs and demand across the spending review period and ensures that there is no loss of spending power in Scotland. As part of the budget, can the minister tell Parliament when the cap payments due next month will be paid? Can she also clarify whether the reclassification of land affecting hundreds of crofters in Scotland will be affected by those budget changes? I do not have that detail in front of me at the moment. I know that officials are working extremely hard to make sure that we can get the cap payments as soon as possible. I am happy for the member if he wishes to write to the cabinet secretary for further clarification. Just to follow on that point, when will we know whether all the cap payments will be made in December or not? Is there a time that the Scottish Government is committed to with farmers who are already going to banks just to make sure that they do not have problems? As I have said, the Scottish Government officials are working extremely hard to make sure that we can get the payments made as soon as possible. We are more than happy if the member wishes to raise that matter with the cabinet secretary. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in promoting the Scottish dairy brand to international markets. Richard Lochhead officially launched the Scottish dairy brand at the Inuga Food and Drink trade show in Cologne, Germany, on 12 October. The brand and its mark, which were unveiled by the First Minister at the Royal Highland show earlier this year, has been developed by the industry to raise the profile of Scottish dairy produce, to add value to milk and to take advantage of the increasing international demand for products with a strong Scottish provenance. In addition, he is currently engaged in an official visit to North America, where he will be meeting with key buyers to help to promote Scottish products, including First Milk's award-winning mullagantire cheddar. I thank the minister for her reply. Could she please tell me how many producers from across Scotland have now signed up to use the Scottish dairy brand and how many brands and products that this includes? Can she also tell me how best customers can be informed about how to buy Scottish dairy produce and how MSPs might best help to contribute to establishing the brand logo in the eye of the consumer? I am very pleased to confirm that, to date, the Scottish dairy brand has 11 processors signed up with 18 brands, supplying 40 different products over three ranges—heritage, artisan and organic—all of which are made using 100 per cent Scottish milk. Considerable interest was shown from buyers at Inuga with around 20 positive leads. It is expected that some of those will result in firm orders being placed. At the moment, the industry focus is very much on the international market, seeking to tap into Scotland's annual reputation for quality produce and building on our growing reputation as a land of food and drink. However, I am sure that in the future the industry will also wish to raise the profile of the brand, market and domestic markets and would welcome the support of those in this Parliament and elsewhere to promote our wonderful cheeses and butters. The Scottish dairy brand is indeed a laudable effort by the Scottish Government to try to help the dairy sector, but in terms of further help for that sector, I understand that the cabinet secretary has decided to spread the relatively small amount of EU funding support available across all milk producers rather than just those who do not have direct contracts and they are the ones who are in most need. Is the ministry able to tell me why that decision was taken? I am very happy for the member who wishes to write to the cabinet secretary to ask for an explanation. I would like to ask the Scottish Government when and how it will report to Parliament the effectiveness of the dairy action plan. The dairy action plan was launched by Mr Lockhead in March this year. It aims to improve the resilience of the sector and to provide the right platform to ensure that the entire industry can thrive in the context of volatile market prices. The action plan themes include market developing, promoting best practice in dairy farming, but those themes cover short and longer-term actions and a comprehensive update on all the recommendations contained in the plan that was provided by Richard Lockhead to the rule of fares, climate change and environment committee on 28 October and published on the committee's website. To ask the Scottish Government what contact it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of the disruption at Calais on Scottish food exports. Scottish ministers have written to the UK Government four times about the issue, and the cabinet secretary for food, Mr Lockhead, has also spoken directly to the UK Minister for Transport. In addition, Scottish Government officials have been in regular dialogue with its counterparts within the UK Government, relaying our concerns about the impact of migrant ingress into the channel tunnel on the Scottish fish processing sector. Thank you very much for the answer, minister. The last update that I received from the haulage industry is that Scottish food exports as a channel are facing increasing insurance costs because of delays and spoiled goods. Drivers have been receiving some food parcels as a channel a few weeks ago, and no-office hauliers are telling me that the fence that is elected at Calais is just a gimmick. We show the clear escalation of the crisis at Calais. Can the minister gather his evidence and highlight to the UK and French Government the implications that the crisis in Calais and beyond is having on the Scottish food industry? I sympathise with the drivers who are facing increased costs and insurance premiums. However, insurance cover is a commercial matter for the industry. Our primary focus remains to continue to urge the UK to play its part in a co-ordinated and comprehensive EU plan of action to deal with the humanitarian crisis. The UK Government has commissioned work to quantify the direct and indirect costs of the cross-channel disruption and to provide an initial identification of the implications for supply chains. The Scottish Government has also asked Scottish Food and Drink to work with its industry partners to explore the potential for alternative transport routes from Scotland. That could have the potential to reduce costs and create a range of mid- and long-term options for our businesses looking to export their products. To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on its climate targets are of the UK Government's energy policies. The Scottish Government remains committed to addressing climate change. As we look towards the negotiations in Paris later this month, we are committed to working with the UK, the EU, the UN and France to secure an ambitious, robust and durable climate treaty. However, the UK Government's changes to energy policies since June will make the achievement of Scotland's climate targets more difficult. Since June, we have seen a raft of announcements many of which have created uncertainty across the energy sector and have been resisted strongly by the Scottish Government. Those changes by the UK Government are, to say the least, not helpful as we look towards 2020. That view has been echoed by others, not least Lord Daven, the chair of the Committee on Climate Change, who has specifically written to Amber Rudd, stating that the uncertainty created by changes to existing policies and a lack of replacement policies up to and after 2020 could well lead to stop-start investment, higher costs and a risk that targets to reduce emissions will be missed. Can the minister outline what discussions ministers have had with UK counterparts ahead of the Paris conference of parties towards negotiating a new international treaty aimed at limiting global warming? Well, ahead of my attendance at the UN conference of the parties, I met the Secretary of State Amber Rudd at the Environment Councils in June and September to discuss our shared ambitions. The Scottish Government and other devolved administrations have been consulted on the UK negotiating position. The First Minister and the Prime Minister have also corresponded on our shared objective of an ambitious climate agreement and committed to continue working together on this vital issue. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in considering a tail docking exemption for working dogs. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment wrote to the Rural Affairs Climate Change and Environment Committee on 26 October to explain the Scottish Government position on tail docking. A case has been made to us for possibly introducing a very tightly defined exemption regime to allow vets in Scotland to exercise their professional judgment and dock spaniel and hunt point retriever pups only if they believe that they are likely to be used for working in future and that the pain of docking is outweid by the possible avoidance of more serious injuries later in life. The committee has applied to say that it would support a full public consultation on this specific proposal. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment will therefore reply to the committee in the near future about plans for such a consultation. I very much welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to consulting what would rightly be a tightly defined exemption regime for working dogs only. Can I seek from the minister an understanding of when such a consultation might be launched and how long it would run for? We thank the Rural Affairs Climate Change and Environment Committee for the letter on 4 November to support a possible consultation on a tightly defined exemption to the tail docking ban in Scotland. We will reply to the committee by 11 December as requested, and that reply will help us to determine whether to proceed with the consultation on the issue. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the SRUC on the deployment of veterinary disease surveillance centres. Well, earlier this year, the SRUC consulted on the future of its disease surveillance laboratory network in response to a large number of concerns expressed through the consultation on specific aspects of the proposals. SRUC is now considering alternative proposals and they intend to bring those forward for discussion this Friday at the strategic management board for veterinary surveillance. The Scottish Government has been in close contact with the SRUC. Throughout this process, we will continue to do so to ensure that the provision of veterinary surveillance services continues to meet the standards specified by the strategic management board. I thank the minister for that reply. She will be aware that Auckland crew in my constituency hosts one of the busiest disease surveillance centres in a livestock intensive area. Can she give me any assurances that the centre will be retained within the national network of centres? As I understand, the SRUC has indicated to the Scottish Government that it no longer proposes to move the air disease surveillance centre to Glasgow. The Inverness surveillance centre has been under threat. It would be useful to know if the cabinet secretary is going to listen to the evidence from the SRUC and give it some time before he makes up his mind about what to do. I am sure that the cabinet secretary will do so, although the SRUC has also indicated to the Scottish Government that it is now proposing to open a post-mortem facility in the Inverness area to replace the Drummond hill site. Many thanks. We now turn to questions of justice and law officers. 1. Hugh Henry To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to determine whether Police Scotland or its predecessor forces have monitored the activities of political activists, trade unionists and environmental campaigners. Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson In response to Mr Henry's question on 6 October, I made it clear that the authorisation of police surveillance is a matter for Police Scotland. Scottish ministers have no role in that authorisation process. Surveillance activity is overseen by the independent, judicially led office of surveillance commissioners. The OSC carries out regular inspections of the relevant public authorities and makes annual reports that are laid in both this Parliament and Westminster. Any person who has aggrieved about any conduct authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Scotland act is entitled to make a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Information about the tribunal, including details of how to make a complaint, are included on its website. 1. Hugh Henry Typical double standards. When there were allegations that the communications of MSPs were potentially under surveillance, SNP ministers had plenty to say. Indeed, the First Minister called on the Prime Minister to act over MSP GHCQ snooping. She called on him to declare whether MSP communications have been intercepted. When it comes to political activists, trade unions and environmental campaigners, surely they deserve the same level of care and concern from the Scottish Government? They cannot be bothered to ask. I would ask the cabinet secretary to reverse the shocking complacency and at least ask the question. Cabinet Secretary. I am afraid that the member is confusing a number of different issues here in terms of surveillance and interception of communications. The issue that the member was referring to in relation to elected members is interception of communications. As a former Justice Minister, I would have thought that he would have been aware of that difference and how that differs significantly from surveillance, which he has dealt with under different legislation. In fact, legislation that was taken through and the safeguards that were put in place by his own administration when he was a minister within it. As I have said, if there is a regulatory regime in place for the authorisation mechanism and any complaints that individuals have in relation to surveillance matters, that is also the case for anything to do with the interception of communications. If the member is aware of individuals who have grievance, I am surprised that he has not directed them to the regulatory framework that his Government has put in place in order to deal with anyone who has got concerns about those matters. Patrick Harvie. Individuals can hardly make a complaint about an activity if they do not know that it is happening. Surely we can all acknowledge some information that is in the public domain that Strathclyde police, for example, were caught on tape admitting the infiltration of climate change campaign groups and attempts to disrupt their activity. Do we all have a responsibility, all of us as politicians, to set a clear sphere to set expectations about the appropriate use of police powers, whether it is surveillance or other attempts to undermine and disrupt legitimate peaceful campaigning? As I mentioned to the member, there is a regulatory framework already in place that sets out the thresholds that are the necessity and the proportionality of any type of surveillance that the police choose to undertake. For example, if it is a matter to do with direct surveillance, that is an issue that has to be authorised by a superintendent and above. If it is an issue that has to do with intrusive surveillance, that is an issue that has to go to someone in Police Scotland who is of the rank of assistant chief constable and above, and it also has to be signed off by a surveillance commissioner independent of the police before that can actually be deployed and taken forward. If there are any issues about how they are conducting this, that is reviewed by the judicially led office of the surveillance commissioner. They deal with it and look at the process to make sure that that process has been appropriately adhered to by law enforcement organisations. If they find that there are any actions that are not appropriate, they can investigate that issue further and then go to an investigatory powers tribunal to consider the whole issue in much greater detail. There is a regulatory framework in place at the present moment to deal with it. As a member will be aware, the UK Government intends to change that regulatory framework with the revising of the Regulation of Investigatory Pills act, which will also have an impact on the Regulation of Investigatory Pills Scotland act, given that the office of surveillance commissioner covers Scotland as well. A very brief supplementary answer, Neil Findlay, please. The Home Secretary Theresa May has established the Pitchford inquiry and undercover policing in England and Wales. What correspondence has there been between the UK Government and the Scottish Government to give Scottish people an input into Pitchford, or will there be a similar inquiry in Scotland? There is not, to my knowledge, any reason why someone could not make representations to that particular investigation that has been taken for. Of course, if the member has specific allegations that he wishes to raise with me, he should feel free to do so, and I can ensure that they are passed on to the appropriate body in order to consider those matters. However, I should say to the member that, to date, having said a lot about that matter, he has not contacted me with specific allegations that he wishes to have investigated. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage and expand the use of CCTV video links for prisoner appearances at court. Modernisation of our justice system remains one of the Government's main priorities. The digital justice for Scotland launched last year, seeks to promote and encourage use of live video links between organisations in the justice system. Scottish Government officials continue to work closely with justice organisations as they develop the use of video links between prisons and courts. Justice organisations are also working with the legal profession to encourage a greater use of the equipment that has been installed in prisons and courts for the benefit of vulnerable witnesses and victims of crimes as well where appropriate for prisoners. In addition to appearances from prison, the criminal justice Scotland bill seeks to change the law and allow more hearings to be conducted via video link. Currently, only a limited number are allowed to be conducted via video, and the legislative provisions brought forward by this Government will allow more hearings to be conducted by video link in future, where it is appropriate and in the interests of justice to do so. I thank the minister for that answer. Given the fact that increased use of CCTV video links for prisoner appearances could save millions of pounds every year, does the minister share my disappointment that the figures for the last few years do not show any significant pick-up in the use of this technology? For example, figures released under freedom of information requests show that, in 2012, CCTV links were used 259 times, and last year it was 260 times. So far this year, they have been used just 228 times. So what more is he going to do to speed up this process? Well, the first thing, of course, to say that the figures to date only cover the first seven months of the year, so the financial year, so we do have a position that is hopefully seeing an improvement in the take-up rates. I take the point seriously that Caryl Hilton makes. We would like to see greater use of video links where that is possible, both to help engagement between solicitors and people who are in prison or are waiting trial, and also to help victims and witnesses, as I say, vulnerable victims. We are seeing a pilot project on solicitors or prison or video links, which is on a limited basis at the moment and it only involves a certain number of criminal defence lawyers at the stage in the region of 177 agents have volunteered, but only 40 agents are currently using it, but we do anticipate now that it's moving out to a national roll-out. We should see a substantial increase in take-up of the use of video link technology, and that will hopefully see the efficiency improvements that the member seeks to achieve. To ask the Scottish Government what the Cabinet Secretary for Justice responses to reported concerns that some retail thefts are directly attributed to hunger. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson. National crime statistics only report on instances of short lifting. We are unable to centrally validate whether retail thefts are directly attributed to hunger. However, it is clear that major welfare changes and benefit cuts imposed by the UK Government are driving more people to food banks. In 2014-15, the Trussell Trust food banks provided emergency food parcels to more than 117,000 beneficiaries in Scotland. We are doing everything that we can with the resources and powers that we have available to tackle inequalities and food poverty. That includes £1 million of emergency food action plan, which helps 26 emergency food projects to provide food aid and funds fair share, a redistribution that redistributes food from retailers to community organisations. Our total investment in broader welfare mitigation members since April 2013 is £296 million. There is growing anecdotal evidence and, obviously, newspaper reporting. In 2014, Durham's Police and Crime Commissioner, Ron Hogg, said that crimes have been committed nationwide by people who are simply trying to live. Is there any possibility of co-operation between the police and charities to identify those who are stealing due to welfare reform and hunger and any help that can be offered to them? I have no doubt that Police Scotland has been more than happy to work with charities to try to identify some individuals who may find themselves at risk of stealing because of the situation that they find themselves in as a result of welfare reforms and hunger. No-one should ever find themselves in that situation. I have said that there is no statistical information around the prevalence in this particular area. I am very much of the view that this is an area where prevention is much better than finding its way into our criminal justice system. The member has a suggestion with regard to Police Scotland engaging with specific charities to try to address some of those issues. I have been more than happy to make sure that Police Scotland looks into those matters. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Scottish Police Federation and what was discussed. I meet representatives of the Scottish Police Federation on a regular basis. I was delighted to attend the first Scottish Police Federation bravery awards last week, where officers who had gone above and beyond the call of duty were recognised for their bravery. Every day, our officers are presented with difficult, dangerous and challenging situations, and it is so important that we pay tribute to every member of our police service who day in, day out, show continued professionalism and dedication in keeping people safe. The cabinet secretary is aware that, over the past few years, I have been dealing with a particular constituency case in relation to a serving police officer who was accused by his employer of breach of the data protection act in fraud. He was formally acquitted earlier this year, the sheriff stating that he was not sure why it was ever felt necessary to bring criminal charges in this case. Will the cabinet secretary, at his next meeting with the SPF, raise the matter of other serving police officers who have fallen foul of data protection legislation? Whether the SPF views that the whole approach is just wrong is being addressed by the Scottish Police Authority? Of course, I have been more than happy to raise that issue with the Scottish Police Federation the next time I meet them. This is an issue that was raised by the member back in March of this year, in which I set out that I was prepared to ensure that there was further work taken in this area. I can now inform the member that there has been progress made in this particular issue about the information that officers are provided with. Police Scotland now, in conjunction with and in consultation with the Crown, have introduced a new redesigned training package as of July of this year for all officers and staff. The training must be completed by all officers and staff and will reinforce the obligations that the service has under the Data Protection Act 1998. It also sets out when officers and staff can access data and highlights the risks associated with data access. The enhanced package has been introduced to raise officers and staff awareness and to prevent data access that is not in line with the law. I am also aware that Police Scotland's counter-corruption unit is also running a series of divisional workshops looking at the main areas of risk within the service. The workshops will reinforce the new DPA training with the aim to prevent breaches of the act in the first place. To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the reported £10 million that is lost in the share of court system by cases repeating stages unnecessarily. Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Government welcomes the Auditor General's report on efficiency of prosecuting criminal cases through the share of court. The report acknowledges that, despite overall reductions in crime increases in the prosecution of more cases involving domestic abuse and sexual offences, have caused additional pressures on courts and the wider justice system. By their very nature, those are complex cases that sometimes require more than one hearing. In response to the cross agency justice board in 2014-15, we committed £1.47 million in additional funding to the Crown and Courts for extra-fiscals, judiciary and administrative staff to address delays and speed up access to justice for victims and witnesses. During the current financial year, we have provided a further £2.4 million to ensure the efficient progress of cases involving domestic abuse and sexual offences. The funding will continue in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that criminal cases are managed as efficiently as possible. We will continue to work with justice organisations to speed up access to justice within the share of courts. We are also committed to implementing measures in the Courts Reform Scotland Act 2014, including the new criminal share of appeal court, which opened on 22 September this year and is part of the package of reforms to ensure a more efficient and effective court system. Given that the number of summary cases completed within a timeframe of 26 weeks is the only performance indicator of share of court efficiency, will the minister commit to introducing more detailed performance indicators in order to allow the public a more comprehensive picture of how well our share of courts are actually working? I will certainly agree with the member that performance indicators are important. We are obviously not wishing to be complacent. We know that there is a lot of room for improvement, but SCTS has confirmed that, currently, in over 95 per cent of our share of courts, summary criminal trials are being set within the 16-week target. I know that the member's point was about completion of cases as well. I will certainly keep that under review. The point being that operational matters are obviously a matter for the chief executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal of Service. I will raise this myself with Eric McQueen, but the member may wish to also write to the chief executive to raise those points. Minister, Aberdeen, Dundee and Hamilton managed to reduce the cost of term last year. How can other share of courts follow suit? Minister. Improved performance is secured through collaboration with justice partners and local criminal justice boards are key to ensuring that this is achieved. The remit of local justice boards has been recently revised, and all boards now support the chief principal in ensuring optimum performance is achieved across all courts by challenging inefficiency and ensuring that best practice is shared. I hope that answers the member's question. To ask the Scottish Government what support is available through the justice system for the protection of children in families experiencing domestic abuse? The Scottish Government is committed to taking action to tackle the unacceptable level of domestic abuse in our society. That includes enhancing support for all victims of abuse, including children. There are a range of specific measures available that can protect children. For example, there are both criminal and civil non-harassment orders and civil domestic abuse interdicts, with the power of arrest that can be imposed by courts to protect those affected by domestic abuse, including where children are involved. Breaches of such orders by domestic abusers can lead to penalties of up to five years imprisonment. When children are required to give evidence in court, a range of measures are available to help to reduce the trauma of the experience. The Scottish Government has supported a number of initiatives that tackle domestic abuse, such as the Police Scotland decision to roll out across Scotland a national disclosure scheme for domestic abuse, which was announced in the last few weeks. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. He will be aware of the effect that domestic abuse has on children on their security, resilience and self-esteem. He will also be aware that access to children is often used to continue to perpetrate abuse when our relationship has ended. Does he agree with me that access should not be granted under those circumstances, and can he tell me what steps he will take to protect families in those circumstances? I am very aware of the issue that the member raises and some of the challenges around those particular issues. I am also aware that some of the third sector organisations have raised concerns about information sharing with sheriff courts when they are considering issues of custody. As I am sure that the member will appreciate, those are matters that have to be put before the court. It is important that, as it stands for the court, the welfare of the child is at the centre of that decision making, ensuring that their welfare is appropriately protected. That will continue to be the case in the future. It is also important that we make sure that those who find themselves, where they have been subject to domestic abuse, that they receive and that they are involved in whether they are civil or criminal matters within our court system, that they get the right support and assistance at that particular point and the right advice at that particular point. That is why we have provided further funding to the assist project and programme of work, which specifically provides support and assistance to individuals in those circumstances, where they have experienced domestic abuse so that they can provide advice and information to individuals. That is why we have provided further funding to them in order to continue that important work. My apologies to those members who indicated in advance and during their time in the chamber that they would wish to ask supplementaries. I am afraid that today the questions and the answers were not succinct and that I was unable to call a number of people. We now have to move on to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 14768, in the name of Paul Wheelhouse, on the succession Scotland bill.