 The next item of business is topical questions. At question number one, I call Faisal Choudhury. To ask the Scottish Government after Scotland experience its coldest night of the year with temperature as low as minus 15 degrees centigrade. For action, it is taking to ensure that homeless individuals have access to safe, warm housing during this winter period. Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison. Scotland has some of the strongest homelessness legislation in the world, and local authorities have a legal duty to provide accommodation to anyone at risk of homelessness. It is particularly important that people can access accommodation immediately during cold weather, which is why we have provided over £907,000 of funding since 2020 to support the operation of rapid rehousing welcome centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh through the winter. These centres provide people at risk of rough sleeping with 24-7 immediate access to accommodation alongside wraparand support to move on to settled accommodation. Faisal Choudhury. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The national record of Scotland recently released statistics showing that 250 homeless individuals died in Scotland last year. I heard of the Scottish budget on Thursday. What assessment has the Scottish Government made of the impact of on-going cuts to council budget on council's ability to provide services that aim to alleviate those tragedies? Cabinet secretary. I say to Faisal Choudhury that any death of any homeless people is a tragedy and that is something that we want to avoid. We understand some of the complexities about people with quite complex needs and we need to look at addressing those needs in the round, which is why, of course, our approach through housing first is about getting people into accommodation but not just accommodation. It is about the wraparand support to help to address things like addiction issues, things like mental health and, of course, we are providing funding through local authorities in order to do that. That is something that we are going to continue to provide because we recognise the importance of doing so. Faisal Choudhury. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. The Scottish Government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic included accommodating people's sleeping rough using hotels or other single-room accommodations. Will the Scottish Government include similar provision for whether crisis such as cold spells in its ending homelessness together action plan and prioritise a transition after such a crisis to settled accommodation? Cabinet secretary. Well, nobody should have to sleep rough in Scotland and we do not want anyone to sleep rough and that is why we are working with local authorities, including the City of Edinburgh Council, to identify further solutions building on and expanding the rapid rehousing welcome centre provision in the short term because we recognise winter is really challenging and we are confident that by doing so we can protect those at risk of rough sleeping in the city and support them into more settled accommodation. Although levels of rough sleeping remain low, we do not want anyone to be rough sleeping. We want to make sure that the capacity is there to make sure that everyone can have a bed for the night not to be sleeping rough. Emma Harper. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can the cabinet secretary outline how recently introduced legislation which removes the local connection test will help to ensure that people can find a settled home and access to support as quickly as possible in an area that they choose? Cabinet secretary. The rules on the local connection were recognised as a barrier to accessing homelessness services which is why we have chosen to remove them. A move that was welcomed by people with lived experience of homelessness. Most people who are homeless want to live in a community where they are already settled but this legislation allows people experiencing homelessness to move somewhere new if they want to. That puts the rights of our homeless households on a par with those for people who own or rent their homes and ensure that they have access to consistent services wherever they are in Scotland. Jeremy Balfour. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Presiding Officer, it is not just homeless people who are called but it is people in housing as well. It was discussed at the Social Justice and Social Security Committee last week that a winter heating assistance payment will not be made until February next year. That means that many families will be left without support to struggle through the worst of the winter. How does the cabinet secretary expect those families to pay for heating during December and January? Does she consider the delay to be showing dignity, fairness and respect to those who need our help? Of course, what Jeremy Balfour did not say was that the winter heating assistance payment will reach more people and it will reach more people on a regular basis rather than having to be triggered. The weather does not always happen and when it does happen, it does not happen consistently everywhere. That is to provide a payment to more people that they can expect to get rather than being triggered by cold weather specifically. In addition to that, Jeremy Balfour will be aware that that is not the only support that we are providing to people. The fuel insecurity fund has been doubled to £20 million and I urge anyone who is struggling with their heating bills who may be eligible to get access to that fuel insecurity fund to do so. Of course, we can find out more information about that on the Scottish Government website pages. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that a suspect involved in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has been detained in custody by US authorities. Lord Advocate. The bombing of Pan Am 103 remains the deadliest terrorist attack in the UK and 270 people tragically lost their lives. I would like to begin by expressing my sincere condolences to all those who have suffered so much as a result of this dreadful act. Scottish prosecutors and Police Scotland welcome the significant steps taken by the US justice authorities. This was and remains a shared endeavour seeking to bring all those involved in this act of state-sponsored terrorism to justice. This suspect is an individual who featured on the original Scottish indictment and investigations into his involvement have continued over the years. Scottish prosecutors and law enforcement stand ready to afford all possible co-operation to our US partners in accordance with the rule of law and will continue to pursue the investigation into the involvement of all of those who are part of this terrorist attack. Jamie Greed. I thank the Lord Advocate for that response and welcome her to her place. As we approach the 34th anniversary of the Lockerbie air disaster in just over a week's time, all of our thoughts are with the victims and their families. Despite three decades passing, they have all shown tremendous courage, hope and conviction that justice will finally fully be served, which is why this development is of such profound importance to them. I understand that the Lord Advocate may be travelling to the United States next week to meet with US authorities but also attend remembrance events of the anniversary of the tragedy. In that light, what discussions took place between US authorities and the Crown in advance or around the arrest of Mr Abu Masood, what the Crown hopes to achieve from any discussions that it has in the US with authorities there and, more importantly, what discussions the Crown has had or is having with families of those affected by this tragedy to ensure that they are kept fully informed of any important developments? Lord Advocate. I have met the US Deputy Attorney General on three occasions this year and Scottish prosecutors and police officers have worked on the investigation with the US colleagues since the conclusion of the trial against McGrachie and FEMA in 2001. For more than 20 years, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has maintained a case team working on this investigation, which brought together a range of prosecutorial expertise in counter-terrorism, major crime investigations, forensic analysis, international cooperation and mutual legal assistance. I would like to thank them today for their unfailing dedication to bringing suspects in this case to justice. In meeting again with the US Deputy Attorney General next week, I shall begin to discuss further how we can assist the US in the work that they are now doing in relation to this particular suspect. The families involved in this terrible case have been kept up to date all along the way by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and by the US justice authorities. I should say that they have worked very closely together throughout the years and they have consistently provided joint endeavoured support to all of the families and have kept them up to date on all of the recent developments in this case. There has been confirmed by the US authorities confirmation that Mr Masoud was transferred to US custody on a lawful basis. It followed upon the US authorities making a formal extradition request for him from Libya to stand trial in the US in March 2021. I simply repeat that the Scottish prosecutors and law enforcement stand ready to afford all possible co-operation to our US partners in accordance with the rule of law. I thank the Lord Advocate for that further update. The eyes of the world are on us now as the situation develops and what might happen next, but the big question on the lips of many will be where and how Mr Masoud may face trial. The trial, historically of Abdel Basset al-Migrahe, convened at the Scottish High Court of Judiciary at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands in the year 2000. He was tried under Scots law after extensive negotiations at the time. I ask the Lord Advocate what the Crown's position or preferred position is on where any trial of Mr Masoud should or could take place and whether it believes any future trial should also be governed under Scots law. If so, what preparations has the Crown Office made for any potential trial wherever and however it occurs? This is a joint investigation with American and Scottish prosecutors and law enforcement working together as they have done for the last 34 years. There are no current criminal proceedings in Scotland against Mr Masoud. I acknowledge that there are mixed views amongst the families about this development. The US and Scotland share criminal jurisdiction for the terrorist attack, but it was clearly an attack against the United States. The bomb was targeted against a US plane enroute to New York with 190 US citizens on board. Until the events of September 11, this was the deadliest terrorist attack on the United States. Colin Smyth. The run-up to the 21st of December is already an incredibly difficult time for families who lost loved ones in the bombing of Pan Am 103 but also the community of Lockerbie itself. Everyone wants to see justice and there are many unanswered questions but there will be some trepidation at the time of this development and what this will mean for the focus on a community trying to go about its business at what is already a very difficult time. Can I ask that in any discussions that the Lord Advocate has with American authorities that they are urged to be absolutely conscious at all times about the impact developments have on the community in Lockerbie? Does the Lord Advocate agree that at this time of year more than ever our thoughts aren't about those who perpetrated this appalling crime but are with those who lost loved ones but also the communities in Lockerbie and around the world who have given so much support to everyone affected by the bombing over 30 years? Lord Advocate. I completely agree with that and what I think should be borne in mind is that it was in March of 2021 that the US authorities made a formal extradition request for the suspect from Libya to stand trial in the US and it was only in the last few days that they have confirmed publicly that his transfer to the US custody was indeed lawful. Scottish prosecutors and law enforcement stand ready to afford all possible co-operation to our US partners in accordance with the rule of law and will always be mindful of the deep tragedy that these events have inflicted on the people of Lockerbie. That concludes topical questions. I'll allow a moment or two for members to organise themselves for the next item of business.