 The first item of business that I should be sitting before I say that too quick, the first item of business is portfolio questions, and is usually in order to get as many people in as possible. Tennw i surdogcyniw, cortitechers, sylwch iawn hwnnw, I live in hope. Mark McDonald please. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider traffic management options for the A90A944 junction. Cymru? Mae tynnu wirfanau yn euускwm o'r nôl. Derbyn i ddig有一chwys i ddodolwg. Mae cysylltion i ddiogelu'r cyd-fórthrein, gyda digonteriaeth y ddigonteriaeth i ddigonirau cyfnodolwg. A ffaint程no, rwy'n dod i ddweud eich teimlo i ddych chi gael i ddych yn sylwg ffordd pan fydd eich ddych chi'n gweithio i ddych chi'n greu.uno ddych chi'n gweithio i ddych chi'n ddych chi'n gweithio i ddych chi'n gweithio i ddych'n byddai'r accident o'r A90 last night. As police investigations are on-going, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time. As part of standard policy, I have asked my officials to meet with Police Scotland and the operating company to obtain more information. Mark McDonald. I echo the remarks that the cabinet secretary makes in relation to the tragedy yesterday evening. The A90, A944, Kingswell South Junction at the AWPR has caused some concern for my constituents, while the AWPR itself has been a great boost to the area and has reduced journey time significantly. At peak times, there are issues regarding queuing of traffic and the difficulty of negotiating the roundabout at the A944. Given that temporary traffic lights that operate at peak times exist further along the A944 at Kingswells, is that an option that the cabinet secretary is open to considering for this junction to ensure smooth flow of traffic? What kind of time sale will be looking at? As the member would appreciate with a major in-piece of infrastructure such as the AWPR, there can be a period of bedding down on how that then and how the local traffic plans start to develop in the use of the new road and how that impacts on secondary roads coming off the AWPR. That work is presently being evaluated and considered to see how travel patterns are being established, including at the very junction that the member has referred to. Given that the technical assessments are being undertaken at his present time, he will then evaluate whether there are further measures that need to be taken forward, including the suggestion that has been made by the member and the technical advisers with their import back to Transport Scotland, who will then engage with the local authority to explore what further measures may be necessary at the particular junction that the member has referred to. The cabinet secretary has mentioned those assessments, and I am sure that he will recognise that the impact of the AWPR's very welcome impact extends beyond the immediate vicinity of the new road and affects the wider road network. Will he agree that future judgments on road network development across the region should be based on traffic assessments undertaken to account the impact of the AWPR? The AWPR has a significant positive effect on the north-east of Scotland. Of course, there will be implications that it can have for other road developments in the area in the years ahead, including with the A96 proposals and how that may link into the AWPR and how traffic flows change. That is why it is important that, during this bedding down period, as people start to establish the use of that particular route, we make sure that any information that is used to take forward proposals for other road developments in the area reflects those changing patterns and the changing road use in the area. That is why decisions around any other major trunk road investments in that area will be based on up-to-date data that informs those decisions. I echo the cabinet secretary's comments on the tragic events that we heard about. The cabinet secretary will be aware that years of real-term cuts to funding from the SNP mean that Aberdeenshire Council is now the worst in Scotland for the standards of its bridges, especially arising from road developments. Many of them cannot meet the demands of modern traffic. What support will the Scottish Government provide to Aberdeenshire Council to repair or replace its deteriorating bridge infrastructure before it is too late? It is a bit wide of the mark about the A944 Johnson that is up to you, cabinet secretary. What is a bit rich is listening to a Conservatives talking about cutting budgets from anyone in this particular chamber, given their own track record at a UK level. As the member is aware, the bridge is on a local road, which is the responsibility of the local authority. It will be for them to decide on what action they take in relation to the matter. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Levenmouse sustainable transport study. Further to the member's debate in Parliament, Transport Scotland is leading the transport appraisal work for the Levenmouse sustainable transport study in collaboration with Fife Council. Since I last spoke on the study in Parliament, the preliminary options appraisal has been completed and the six options emerging from this stage have been published. Transport Scotland and Fife Council have nearly completed the technical review of the preliminary options appraisal report. The work on the final detailed options appraisal is under way. That reflects the most recent update that was sent to the member and other stakeholders on 28 February, published on Transport Scotland's website. Jenny Gilruth I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Can the cabinet secretary tell my constituents when he expects the final detailed options appraisal will be published and how this information will be shared with elected members and with the community of Levenmouse? Cabinet Secretary for Transport Scotland officials and their consultants gave a commitment to elected members and other stakeholders at the most recent workshop held in Leven in November that they would continue to keep stakeholders up-to-date on the study, including inviting elected members and other stakeholders to a further session in Leven to update them on the outcomes of the final study report. It is not possible to provide a date for publication of the final study report at the moment, while work on the final stage of the study is on going. Although I will ask my officials to update the programme on the project website as soon as possible and to highlight those two stakeholders in their newsletter. I would also like to reassure the member and her constituents that I am committed to completing the Levenmouth sustainable study transport study. I understand the frustration around the time that it is taken, but it is important that the study is carried out robustly in line with the Scottish transport appraisal guidance, as any transport investment decision has to be based on robust evidence. The minister is right that there is quite a lot of impatience in Fife now, because it has taken an age just to get to this stage. I welcome the support of the minister, but I urge him to try to accelerate the process from now on. Once the option appraisal process is published, he should try to accelerate the next stage of it, because people in Fife are running out of patience on the issue. I recognise the concerns that the member has raised. It is an issue that the local member, Jenny Gilruth, has raised with me previously. I can assure her that as much work can be done, it has been undertaken. However, he will also appreciate that there is a collaboration between Transport, Scotland and Fife Council, and that requires sufficient time in order to allow that work to be undertaken appropriately. However, everything that can be done in order to make progress with those reports has been undertaken, and I hope to have them published in due course. To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the one-year review into the operation of the Queensferry crossing. Transport, Scotland is undertaking an evaluation of the fourth replacement crossing project in line with guidance to compare conditions one year after motorway regulations came into force in February 2018, with forecasts made during project design and development. I expect that the one-year after evaluation report will be completed in the autumn. Further evaluations will be undertaken at three and five years after motorway opening. The new crossing has increased resilience for the over 70,000 vehicles that use it each day. Since it opened to traffic, there have been at least 22 occasions, possibly 23 after the storm last night, when it remained open, where the fourth road bridge would have been closed or restricted to the HGVs. Since the Queensferry crossing has opened, it has fundamentally altered traffic volume and flow in the Royal Borough of South Queensferry in my constituency. Let me pre-empt the review by telling the cabinet secretary that we need a box junction on the bridge access roundabout, better traffic management on the motorway slip roads, local access to the southbound M90 from south scotland and a pedestrian crossing on the bonus road, which has seen a huge spike in traffic outside the Echelon primary school. On publication of the review, can he ensure that transport Scotland commit the necessary resources for the structural changes? I hear the list of issues that the member wants to see addressed. However, I will not pre-empt the study and will allow the study to be undertaken and then for the findings of that to be considered. Of course, transport Scotland will then consider what further measures might be necessary as a result of the findings. The final completion date for outstanding snagging works has been pushed back three times. Can the cabinet secretary explain to the chamber why and if all works will be completed by the end of 2019 or not? The contracts are intended to complete the remaining snagging work this year. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to alleviate peak hour delays and cancellations on the ScotRail, Glasgow Queen Street and Maryhill, Annie's land service. PPM for the Annie's land route has been consistently above 90 per cent over the past 12 periods, which is better than ScotRail service as a whole. In the most recent railway period PPM, it was 93.4 per cent as opposed to 89.8 per cent for ScotRail. However, the level of cancellations on peak services experienced by passengers across the country, including the member's constituency, has been too high. ScotRail's remedial plan is currently being reviewed by Transport Scotland. I think that those statistics belie the reality of peak hour cancellations on my line, quite frankly, cabinet secretary. I have previously called for an improvement plan specific to the Maryhill line to address those issues. I have also met with Alex Hine's MD of ScotRail. I have had sympathetic words from ScotRail but no discernible action or improvement. Will the cabinet secretary commit to arranging a meeting with ScotRail and myself so that, once and for all, we can establish an improvement plan so that my constituents get the service that they deserve? I must understand the concerns that have been raised by the member. In the period 12, there were 240 planned peak services that ran between Annie's land and Glasgow Queen Street. Out of the 240, 11 of those services were cancelled. That is 4.8 per cent. As I stated in the chamber, I expect ScotRail to continue to improve services across the country through its remedial plan. I do appreciate, of course, the concerns that have been raised by the member concerning busy peak services and will make arrangements for Mr Doris to meet myself and with the senior management of ScotRail to discuss those matters further. Transport Scotland will have received the first of two remedial plans from ScotRail. Will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Government's response will require ScotRail to hit the targets that are paid £960 million of tax-hares money a year to deliver, including the punctuality target of 92.5 per cent? When will that target be reached? The member will have an opportunity to look at the details of the remedial plan when it is published and the Scottish Government's response to it at that time. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on meeting the target set out in the Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership regional transport strategy 2015 to 2036 refresh. It is the duty of each regional transport partnership to draw up a strategy for transport within its region, having regard to the current national transport strategy. The monitoring of performance against regional transport strategies is a matter for the relevant transport partnership. Bill Bowman, I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Section 5.2.4 of the strategy refers to health and transport and aims to improve equality of access to healthcare and provide healthcare that is readily accessible. At Ninewell hospital in Dundee, there is inadequate access and parking affecting both the hospital and surrounding residential areas, causing difficulties and stress for staff, patients and local residents. Dundee Council and NHS Tayside seem unable or unwilling to act to remedy that. What will the cabinet secretary do to get a remedy to that? The issue that the member raises is a matter for the local transport strategy and local transport partners. That includes the local authority and the health board. In the actions that they are going to take to address these matters, he would better direct to them. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there are no barriers to businesses accessing broadband. The DSSB programme has extended fibre broadband access to businesses across Scotland, with more than 920,000 homes and businesses connected to date, and roll-out continues throughout 2019. The R100 programme will build on the success of ensuring that every business in Scotland has access to superfast broadband. We are also providing a range of support services to businesses, including the digital boost programme via business gateway, which offers one-to-one support and advice for companies as well as seminars and workshops throughout Scotland. The digital development loan is also available for registered Scottish SMEs, looking to invest in their digital capabilities and skills. Evidence to the economy committee nor a senior chair of the strategic board highlighted that only 9 per cent of businesses in Scotland embed digital in their business operation. That compares to 43 per cent in other countries. What steps is the Scottish Government taking to address the low level of digital update by businesses in Scotland? Does the cabinet secretary agree with our calls to create a dedicated institute of e-commerce to improve digital support to businesses in Scotland? As a member will be aware, we are taking forward a range of different actions in order to help to support businesses in their digital uptake. A key part of that is through the DSSB programme, in order to make sure that they have access to fibre broadband in their premises, in order to make sure that they can capitalise on digital capabilities. That is why we are extending that programme through the R100 programme. The member will recognise that connectivity through being able to access fibre broadband is key to many businesses and being able to capitalise on the digital capability. For example, in his own regional area, places like Clackmannanshire, he saw a fibre coverage increase from January 2014, at 55.9 per cent to 99.8 per cent to support businesses and personal users. Connectivity through having access to digital fibre broadband is key to helping to support businesses to be able to access the digital markets that they want to utilise. That is why the DSSB programme has only achieved its target and succeeded it, and the R100 programme will build on that. Bruce Crawford The cabinet secretary confirmed that, since September last year, 95 per cent of properties in the Stirling area were able to connect to faster infrastructure thanks to Scottish Government spending, but 16,000 more connected, for example, than it had been left to the UK Government, and Dean Lockhart needed to get real. The member will recognise that digital connectivity is a matter that is wholly reserved to the UK Government, but, given its failure to take that forward effectively, we, as a Government, have had to step in and take forward action in addressing that. The member makes a very good point about Stirling as a local authority. In January 2014, fibre coverage was at 58.6 per cent. As a result of the Scottish Government's DSSB programme, it is now at 95.8 per cent. Had we left that to the UK Government, we would have been nowhere near that particular target. The member will also be reassured that, given that there is still a gap of almost 4 per cent within his constituency, the R100 programme has a particular emphasis on rural areas. That will look to cover the areas in our rural communities that presently do not have access to fibre broadband. That is a £600 million programme that the Scottish Government is investing in. However, only £21 million is being contributed by the UK Government, despite the fact that that is an area of its responsibility. 8. Margaret Mitchell, please. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made following the one-year-after strike evaluation of the M73M74 improvement project. My officials at Transport Scotland are undertaking an evaluation of the M73M74 improvement project in line with Scottish Trunk Road infrastructure project evaluation guidance. Evaluations are carried out to assess the impact of the scheme by comparing conditions after one year with forecasts made during scheme design and development. Subsequently, three years after opening, a further evaluation will be undertaken. Given the scale of this particular investment, a third evaluation of this project will be undertaken five years after opening. The one-year after opening evaluation report, the first of the three evaluation reports, will be completed in the autumn of this year. Is the cabinet secretary aware that there are numerous post-completion project problems, including the replacement of the Bodd Mill mini roundabout with traffic lights causing congestion and having race days, tailbacks on approach loads where none previously existed? Will he take the necessary measures that are supported by Southlandshire Council, businesses and commuters to have the roundabout reinstated? The member will be aware that the Bodd Mill road signalling junction was constructed in a way that was to make sure that it complied with the guidance for linking into the M74M73 improvement project. There has been work undertaken in order to introduce the vehicle actualisation system in order to make sure that it is working properly. That is now being commissioned and on-going operations are being maintained and the signals are now under the control of Southlandshire Council. Any changes to them would then be for a matter for Southlandshire Council to look at taking forward. That concludes questions on transport, infrastructure and connectivity. We move on to questions on justice and law officers in just a few moments. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent knife crime. I would first like to take this opportunity to wish the young boy who was injured in Glasgow this week due to a knife incident at a full and speedy recovery. My thoughts are very much with him and his family. Alongside tough enforcement, our approach is very firmly focused on prevention and early intervention. We have invested more than £17 million in violence prevention through the work of the Scottish VRU, the Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence and many other partners. We have seen police-recorded crimes of handling an offensive weapon fall by 65 per cent. However, further reducing incidents of knife crime is clearly a key priority for this Government. I am meeting with Niven Rennie and Christine Goodall on Friday to discuss that. Alongside that work, we will continue to invest in violence prevention initiatives such as No Knives, Better Lives and Youth Engagement programme, which specifically aims to reduce the incidents of violence and knife carrying among young people. Brian Whittle I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. In East Ayrshire, the number of weapon crimes recorded between April and December 2018 has increased compared to the same period last year. Newstop and search guidelines for police were introduced in 2017, which restricted Constable's power. Recognising that a balance has to be struck here, cabinet secretary, can he tell me what research the Scottish Government has undertaken to ensure the new guidelines do not unduly hamper officers' ability to detect and prevent such violent crimes? I thank Brian Whittle for the question. I know that he asked the question absolutely in good faith, and he has a genuine interest in that. What I would caution him—I do this as I say very sincerely and genuinely—is that taking quarterly statistics or snapshot of one-year statistics, for example, can be quite dangerous. We have to look at the long-term trend, and the long-term trend in Scotland has been a positive one, as I say, a reduction of handling an offensive weapon by 65 per cent in a decade. Emergency admissions to hospitals due to assault by a sharp object have fallen by 59 per cent and so on and so forth. On the substance of his question, he will be reassured by the fact that I have regular engagement with the Scottish Police Federation, as he would know and expect with the chief constable. Of course, when those matters are raised, I will take them and look at them very seriously, but our focus has to be absolutely on the prevention, and that is what this Government is investing in. The cabinet secretary rightly highlights the role of the VRU and the importance of preventative steps, but the Scottish Police Federation is very clear about the pressures that there are on local policing in terms of response officers and other local division officers. We can argue about what the meaning of reductions in local divisions means, but surely any reduction in capacity to carry out those proactive preventative measures by local division officers is a concern if we want to reduce knife crime on our streets. The number of police officers has increased by about 940 since we inherited power in 2007. We have seen knife crime fall quite drastically in the figures that I have just mentioned, the correlation or the comparison that would be with South of the border, where we have seen certain crime types rise, and that has been, I think, contributable undoubtedly in part to the severe reduction in police officers. We will continue to invest in the police by protecting the resource budget. As we have done to increase the number since we inherited them in 2007, I will continue to listen to the Scottish Police Federation and, indeed, the chief constable and others on what further we can do to tackle the scourge of knife crime in our societies. The minister will be aware that knife crime in North Ayrshire has fallen by a remarkable 77 per cent under the Scottish National Party Government. Welsa, can we know room for complacency? What lessons can be shared with institutions South of the border, which are currently grappling with a surge in knife crime, particularly in London? Scottish Government officials have had a very good engagement with the administration in London and also with the UK Government. He will remember, not too long ago, that it can mention that they would have a London VRU very much based on the Glasgow model, the Scotland model of a violence reduction unit, and that was informed by his officials coming up to Scotland to have a very positive engagement. I know it also in London. Just today, the spring statement announced the £100 million for tackling knife crime, specifically a portion of that money, to be into a UK VRU, which, again, has been informed by the experiences that we have had up here in Scotland. Yes, we are not complacent. Kenny Gibson is right to make that point, where we can share expertise and where we have had successes with other parts of United Kingdom or, indeed, wider than that. Of course, we will share those expertise. To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provides to organisations that aim to reduce and prevent sectarianism in society. The Scottish Government has invested £13.5 million to support anti-sectarian education in schools, prisons, workplaces and communities over the past seven years, which has supported over 100 projects, to deliver anti-sectarian education and activity across Scotland. That includes £515,000 for nine projects, including now by mouth and sense over sectarianism, in 2018-19. We intend to build on that work in 2019-20 by ensuring that there is a real-terms increase to the funding for this area of work. I will shortly make an announcement about the specific work that will be funded in 2020. James Dornan I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. It is clear from his answer that there is a lot of work being undertaken by third sector organisations to eradicate sectarianism in Scotland. For example, through the work by the aforementioned now by mouth, the West of Scotland regional equality council and North Kelvin sports, all of whom are members of my cross-party group in combating sectarianism in Scottish society. However, would the cabinet secretary agree with me that, while sectarianism is undoubtedly a societal issue, football is a huge part of Scottish society, and therefore they too must play their part in the eradication of this terrible problem, which so often rears its ugly head in their stadia? Cabinet Secretary I thank James Dornan for raising that issue. He has raised it many times in this chamber, and he should be giving credit for that. I know that he suffered a lot of abuse for the fact that he has raised his head above the parapet to talk and to mention this issue in this chamber and very publicly. I thank him for that. He is absolutely right that sectarianism is a wider societal issue. Therefore, the work that is being done in communities is very important, but it would be silly. It would be ignorant that we would be burning our heads in the sand to ignore the very obvious point about recent unacceptable conduct in this regard and around football. Therefore, I have said many a time, and I will repeat and re-emphasise that the clubs have to take a real responsibility in this regard, and if they don't, the Government reserves the right to act. Liam Kerr, please. Liam Kerr, please. The cabinet secretary talks about where the funding is going, but a written answer that was provided to me by the Scottish Government in October revealed that, out of nine organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government to tackle sectarianism, only one, Nill-by-Mouth that James Dornan mentioned, takes its messages to workplaces. Of course, education in schools is vital. What steps has the Scottish Government taken to improve the number of initiatives aimed at working-age adults? Cabinet secretary. I think that that is a very good point. As I said, I will be making an announcement shortly about the specific work that will be funded in 1920. We have to work in schools, workplaces and communities prisons. I will have a look again at the organisations that we are funding. If we can build on that, if we think that there is more that we can do in specific sectors and areas of society, then we should do that. It is a societal-wide issue from young, I am afraid, right the way to old. Therefore, we should make sure that we are covering as much of that as possible. I will reflect on what the member says. I have an announcement, as I said, to make shortly on that, but I am happy to keep the conversation going with Liam Kerr and anybody else who has an interest in tackling that scourge. To ask the Scottish Government how many of the prison population are veterans. 6 March 2019, 255 people of SPS's care disclosed that they were veterans. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer and ask whether he could confirm what steps are in place to identify veterans on entering the prison population and what supports are in place to ensure that their often distinct needs and circumstances are addressed. I thank Keith Brown for the question and again to put on record his obviously interest in all issues veteran that he has championed for many years. When individuals enter custody, they are asked if they are military veterans and the SPS is committed to providing care and support to those veterans that are sentenced to custody. Each prison has a veteran custody support officer. They provide information, co-ordinate activities and services. They also meet as well nationally, and they involve organisations such as Poppy Scotland, the Royal British Legion Scotland and Apex to attend their national meetings. The services that they provide differ from prison to prison just to give them a flavour, for example, in Barlinnie. They have managed to successfully arrange residential places on release for veterans with specific support issues such as mental health and addictions. In other prisons such as HNP Edinburgh, they hold coffee mornings every month for veterans in custody, usually attended by 40-plus individuals. In other prisons, there are more one-to-one peer-to-peer mentoring support. However, I can give more information and writing to the member. There is a lot of support there, but I do not doubt that there is more that can be done to support veterans in custody. Maurice Corry briefly, please. Amongst the veterans who are serving currently, prison services are sentences in Scotland's prisons. Can the cabinet secretary confirm how many veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD? I do not have the figure to hand, but it is a very important issue that Maurice Corry raises. I will go back and see whether we have the figure to hand. Clearly, a number of people in our care and in custody in Scotland present with mental health issues. A big part of the work that veterans in custody support offers us to do is working on mental health issues. I will go back and see whether we can extract that information. I will provide it to Maurice Corry, but I think that it is an important issue that he raises. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the impacts of reductions to Scottish legal aid board funding on child poverty. The main legal aid fund is demand-led and unlike the position in England and Wales, the wide scope of legal aid in Scotland has been maintained, including for civil and family cases. In addition to the main legal aid fund, the Scottish legal aid board has managed over recent years on behalf of the Scottish Government a variety of specific, time-limited projects and funds to deliver access to justice and advice services, including for families. Decisions on the criteria and allocation of specific grant funding are taken within the context of our policy priorities, including our absolute commitment to reduce child poverty as well as ensuring the most efficient use of resources and transitional arrangements to any new funding schemes. Neil Findlay That commitment does sound a bit hollow because 230,000 Scottish children live in poverty and the number is rising yet the Government is cutting the funding to the Scottish legal aid board, which provides that funding to the Citizens Advice Bureau to deliver their making advice work programme, replacing it with a much smaller grant that the Bureau will have to compete for. Why is the Government doing this at a time when child poverty is rising? The Lord Finness is a question about the legal aid board, but you should answer if you wish on CABs. The tackling child poverty delivery plan was published in March 2018 and sets out a cross-government action to contribute towards reductions in child poverty levels. The plan, covering the period of 2018-22, is backed by a multi-million-pound package of investment, including a new £15 million tackling child poverty fund. In relation to the other part of the member's question, the Scottish Government will continue to provide slab with £2.7 million next year to fund 27 projects that are focused on helping vulnerable people with debt and legal issues. The Scottish Legal Aid Board was always clear that those projects were, for specific purposes, subject to annual review and not to be relied on as core funding. I also note that Labour's only budget proposal this year from Alec Rowley would have resulted in further reductions to the justice budget. Under Labour, it is very clear that the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Citizens Advice Bureau and, by extension, the vulnerable families that he has spoken of today would be worse off. To ask the Scottish Government how it supports people in Ireland and remote areas in accessing legal assistance. An independent strategic review of legal aid was announced to Parliament on 2 February 2017. The chair of the review, Martin Evans, reported back to Scottish ministers in February 2018. Within his report, the chair commented on the availability of legal assistance in rural areas and recommended that a new payment model, which takes into account geographical difficulties, be set up. I am pleased to say that the first meeting of this panel will be on 15 March 2019. It will be vital that key stakeholders work together to make this panel a success. With that in mind, we are implementing a 3 per cent increase in legal aid fees that will come into effect on 26 April 2019. The work of the review panel will be longer term and some changes will require primary legislation, but in the shorter term, we will continue to ensure that individuals who are entitled to it will continue to receive access to justice. In the event that private criminal solicitors are unavailable, public defence solicitors, directly employed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, are able to assist. In some rural areas, including the Highlands and Islands, civil legal aid officers are able to assist in some types of civil cases. We also continue to allow private solicitors to access payments for travelling time to remote or rural areas of the country if that is required. I thank the minister for her response. I have to say that one constituent has been unable either to find a local agent in the islands or to find a solicitor on the mainland who is prepared to travel to her location and, as a result, repeatedly found herself where the solicitor cited her location as the factor for that, leaving her to represent herself on a matter of family law. What can be done to ensure that people's prospects of representation are not determined by where they live? Minister, briefly please. I will. Without the details of the case, I am sure that the member would understand that it is not appropriate for me to comment on the specific circumstances, but I recognise that there can be a range of factors that can impact on someone's ability to secure legal assistance. I thank the member for raising the constituency case with me. If he can forward me details, I will raise it directly with the Scottish Legal Aid Board. Liam McArthur has said that there is very limited restricted legal aid provision in the islands and most people seeking representation now have to look south. Despite what the minister said, slab reluctance to fund travel means that clients often only meet their lawyers on the day of the court hearing. I ask the minister to look again to work with a panel to ensure that the provision of legal aid can be island proof to ensure that my constituents have access to the legal assistance that they need. I thank the member for raising that issue. It is something that we are taking on board in the process of the review and with the process of the panel going forward. We want to ensure that we have a legal aid system that is fixed for the future and represents fair and equitable access to justice for people who live right across Scotland. However, I will take note of what the member has raised. Question 7, Mary Fee. To ask the Scottish Government whether we will provide an update on the progress being made by the Health and Social Care in Prisons programme board. Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and Prisons is the responsibility of the NHS. My colleague the Minister for Health, Sport and Wellbeing wrote to the Health and Sport Committee on 22 February 2019 to update on the progress of the health and social care in prisons programme. Developments include better integrated health and social care provision, improved clinical IT and an innovation fund to improve joint working between NHS and SPS. Further information letter is available on the Health and Sport Committee's page on the Parliament website. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Last year it was revealed that more than 3,800 people who left prison between 2016 and 2018 identified to local authorities as homeless. Without a home, people with convictions struggle to register with GPs and continue with the vital health and social care progress that was started whilst in prison. Can the cabinet secretary detail the measures that the Scottish Government will take to ensure that people with convictions have a house to return to and can access vital GP services after release? I thank Mary Fee for that question. It is a hugely important issue that she raises. I know that she has had a long-standing issue in those issues. I have met the housing minister on a regular occasion to talk about the shore standards, which I will be familiar with. It is the importance of through care that is so important to ensure that pre-liberation and post-liberation, somebody coming out of prison, has access not just to housing and health, as she rightly says, but to addiction services and so on, bearing in mind the need for brevity. I will write to Mary Fee with more detail on some of what we are doing, but I will be happy to meet her to discuss it in more detail. Jenny Gilruth must be brief, please, to supplement. Does the cabinet secretary agree that a sensible way to reduce Scotland's prison population is by extending the presumption against short periods of imprisonment, putting greater emphasis on community sentences, something that was backed by 85 per cent of respondents to the Government's consultation? Cabinet secretary, yes or no will do? Yes, and I hope to get parliamentary support for that. I will be bringing forward the order in Eastern, and hopefully we will have that in place by summer. Question 8, Joan McAlpine. To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts Service record incidents according to the alleged perpetrator's birth sex or by self-declaration. With regard to victims, witnesses and suspects, Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service record incidents according to a person's self-identified agenda. Police Scotland require no evidence or certification as proof of gender identity other than a person's self-declaration. It is important to emphasise that, unless it is pertinent to any criminal investigation with which they are linked, and it is evidentially critical that Police Scotland legally require that proof. Joan McAlpine. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but I think that many people will be shocked to hear it. The minister will be aware that offending rates vary significantly according to biological sex, with males accounting for 84 per cent of violent crime and more than 95 per cent of sexual crime. Longitudinal studies elsewhere suggest that male pattern offending remains the same even if men declare themselves to be women. Does the cabinet secretary agree with criminologists that it would be misleading? It is misleading if data shows a rise in female sex offending, for example, including rape, when those crimes are committed by men. Let me try to give some reassurance to the member if I can. I will be happy to look at the longitudinal studies that she mentioned. I have to say that I meet with criminologists on a regular occasion and none of them have raised this issue with me, but I am happy to look at studies if they exist. I should say that if we should have an unexpected result such as a rise in the number of women recorded as committing sexual offences, we would, of course, investigate those statistics further. I would say that that statistic that she quotes, on the 96 per cent as I have it, of men who account for sexual crime is evidence that there is certainly not a pattern of behaviour that we can see of those who are born biologically male, self-identifying as women to either commit sexual offences or manipulate statistics. In fact, the stats that bear some of that out, but if she would like to provide me with details of the studies, if she would like to have conversations with criminologists—indeed, I do that—on a regular occasion, I am happy to explore that issue in further detail. I thank members on the front bench because we managed to get through all questions and supplementaries. We are now moving on to the next item of business.