 Ben pokemonau a'r allu cwestiynau cyfarchiwn a cyfarchiwn cyfarchiwn cyfoarchiwn. Mae gynnyddio'r ysafodd cyhoesdiadau. A fyddai'r Ysgrifennid trwy'r odd y byddur cyfle iawn cyfarchiwn cyfarchiwn cyfarchiwn cyflor a ddarparu bufysgfaith a'r cyfle i'r rhaniad melodaid. Ysgrifennid trwy'r odd y byddur cwestiynau cyfearchiwn cyflorau cilydd. I would thank the minister for her reply, although I have to say that I am surprised. Her colleague Margaret Burgess MSP has confirmed that the government is going to cut £10 million. That will cost £10 million mostly to the small and medium-sized companies operating in the sector. Does the minister not think that it is a little hypocritical to be complaining so bitterly about the UK Government's decision to end the renewables obligation while simultaneously taking £10 million out of the sector? What sort of impact does she think that cutting £10 million will have on our ability to meet our carbon emission targets? That has been a difficult decision in a very difficult budget. The renewables industry in Scotland has benefited from relief since 2010, which was unique for the UK. We have had to target our stretched funds to those most in need, including community schemes, while balancing the needs of the renewables sector with other non-domestic rates payers. We do not expect renewable projects that will no longer be receiving the rate relief to stop generating as their main source of income generation will be via the feed-in tariff or the renewables obligation. We do not expect there to be any impact on existing projects and the role that they play in providing low-carbon and cost-effective energy as part of a balanced generation mix. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed camping management by-laws for the local and the TROCC's national park. The Scottish Government approved new camping management by-laws on 26 January, covering a small area of the national park as part of a package of measures aimed at improving visitor facilities and helping to manage camping in some of the most environmentally fragile areas that are suffering from damage caused by a combination of high-volume and anti-social camping. As Minister will recall, I wrote to her in November 2015, following a large number of representations received from my constituents who expressed concern about bylaw affecting camping in the national park. They believed that such proposals were an infringement on their rights and could potentially, to further restrictions, unfairly penalise the vast majority of those individuals who adhere to it and comply with the Scottish outdoor access code. Can the minister therefore give me an assurance that individual legal rights of access as established in the land reform act of 2003 are not being undermined and that no precedent has been set for introducing any further restrictions in our national parks? Those measures should not be confused with the intentions behind the land reform Scotland bill. Those bylaws deal with specific circumstances within a national park where steps must be taken to prevent environmental damage caused by a combination of overuse and irresponsible behaviour. Both the national park Scotland Act 2000 and the land reform Scotland Act 2003 make provision for bylaws in relation to responsible uses of land. Access rights must be exercised responsibly, but unfortunately certain areas of the national park are suffering from considerable environmental damage. Local communities are having to deal with the negative impacts of the worst excesses of irresponsible behaviour. The proposals to manage camping activity are designed to promote recreational access for all types of users, not just campers in the proposed management zones. The measures within the national park do not affect access rights in other parts of the country. There is no evidence that the Eastlach Glowman bylaws like to call for similar bylaws to be considered elsewhere in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to deal with antibiotic resistance in the food chain. The Scottish Government has signed up to the UK five-year antimicrobial strategy for 2014-2018, which is producing collaboration with public health and animal health authorities across the UK. The strategy combines actions in the human and animal health environments and a working group has been set up chaired by the chief medical officer for Scotland and is developing detailed plans to implement that. The Scottish Government also monitors scientific developments in antimicrobial resistance, lasies with other administrations and public bodies who have all got an interest in animal health, public health and food safety. Of course, we implement a veterinary surveillance programme that monitors the emergence of such resistance in animals. Given the possible variability in the implications for different sectors, can the cabinet secretary tell me if the Scottish Government has investigated the economic impact on the farming sector of a rise in antimicrobial resistance in different forms of livestock, for example poultry, cattle or sheep? Due to the fact that we very much view this issue through the prism of the impact on public health, there has been no such economic strategy on our livestock sectors in Scotland because it is not deemed to be an issue at the moment. However, I certainly think that it is something no doubt that ministers and the agencies and public bodies involved with this issue will want to reflect on as this debate moves forward. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NFU Scotland and what matters were discussed. Representives of the Scottish Government met NFU Scotland in the humanist locations over the last few months to discuss a wide range of topics. The most recent meeting took place on 29 January in Perth to discuss cap payments. I also delivered a speech at the NFU Scotland General Assembly on 12 February, and I announced the £20 million hardship fund as well. I am not surprised that the subject was on cap payments because the shambles of the basic payment scheme continues, and with less than 1,000 payments a week being cleared, paying all claimants 70 per cent of their basic payments by the end of March, as promised, is looking increasingly unlikely, if not impossible. Farmers are now beginning to ask what impact this is all going to have on other schemes, specifically the less favoured area support scheme payment, which is normally paid in March. Can I ask the cabinet secretary a very simple question? When will this year's ELFAS payments be made? I should inform Alex Ferguson and the members that we are now approaching 50 per cent of all farmers and crofters in Scotland who have received their first instalment, which is equivalent to 80 per cent of their overall greening and basic payments. However, it is indeed the case that there will be an awful impact for other schemes. I have been very open and clear about that, given that this is the transition year between the former common agricultural policy and the new far more complex common agricultural policy, notwithstanding the fact that the IT system is not working as quickly as we had hoped, and a range of other factors as well. ELFAS is normally paid in March. I recognise the extreme importance of that payment to health farmers in particular in Scotland, and that is why I am paying a lot of attention to that as we speak. As I have said, all other schemes will have an awful impact in several weeks. I am paying particular attention to ELFAS to see how we can minimise the impact in that particular scheme. When will the cabinet secretary take decisive action? We have now got farmers with expensive bank loans that they are having to shoulder because this system has been a failure. Can you give us an update on exactly when all farmers will get all their payments? Will you recompense farmers who have had to take out expensive loans to get themselves through this system? That is impacting on rural communities across the whole country. I should make the obvious point that I cannot really be lectured by the Labour Party who, when in government at UK level, did their utmost to scrap direct payments to Scottish farmers and crofters. It is therefore a bit hypocritical to constantly criticise the Scottish Government on the time table for payments that they do not want to exist in the first place. However, it is a serious issue, and it is having a serious impact on cash flow situations across Scotland. We are working flat out to get as many of the first installments out by the end of March. As I have said, we are approaching 50 per cent as we speak, and we will continue to do our utmost to speed up the process. As you know, we cannot call down the money from Europe to pay farms and crofters until we have sorted out all the processing of the applications and addressed any errors or whatever may exist with each application form under what is a very complex system. Therefore, we simply cannot award the payments until that process has been carried out. Nevertheless, we are approaching 50 per cent at the moment. On the site of action, I have said that the £20 million that we announced at the NFU AGM will be available for genuine hardship cases. If any farmer or crofters are unable to get finance from their bank and take evidence of that to the Government, they will be able to access the £20 million fund. We have agreed that to stakeholders because that is the most sensible thing to do. The vast majority of farms and crofters, as we are aware, have a good relationship with their banks. The payment window for this overall scheme is from 1 December to the end of June this year. Clearly in previous years, we had a very good record of paying out in December, but it is the transition year and therefore we are further into that payment window than in previous years. I wish we were moving a lot more further than we are, but we are where we are and we are doing absolutely utmost to get payments out the door. The cabinet secretary is moving everything that he can. Will he undertake to either write to individual crofters and farmers who have yet to know either how much they are getting or when they will get it as quickly as he possibly can, particularly if this is going to slip into April, May or indeed, as he has just said, June? As with Alex Ferguson's question, can he not just tell Parliament today whether he will make ELFAS payments in March or just come keen with him and say, sorry, but it is going to be April? That would at least tell crofters and hill farmers how to plan financially for that eventuality. I accept the need for as much clarity as possible. Clearly we are unable to give a timetable to individual recipients for their own application because each and every day more recipients across Scotland get their payment. Therefore, any letter would be out of date as soon as it is sent to many farmers and crofters in Scotland. In terms of ELFAS, I have said that normally it is paid out in March but it is running a few weeks behind schedule. Currently, as we speak, I am actively trying to speed up that process to minimise the knock-on impact for ELFAS. I am meeting stakeholders again next week. I hope to be in a better position at that point in terms of the ELFAS payments, in particular to give more clarity on the timescale for that. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in introducing a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses. The Scottish Government takes the welfare of animals, including circus animals, very seriously. There are no travelling circuses with wild animals presently based in Scotland. However, some do visit Scotland on occasion and we are aware that many people have concerns about the welfare of animals. The results of the Scottish Government's consultation showed overwhelming support for a ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses on ethical grounds. As this would require legislation, I am considering the best way forward at the moment and the Scottish Government will set out our plans in due course and, certainly, before the dissolution of parliaments. I think that the cabinet secretary for his answer. One of the things that I am afraid of is that the cabinet secretary may be waiting for legislation to be put into practice in England, and we deal with this in an LCM. I do not think that that is going to happen soon. I am glad that the cabinet secretary has said that he is going to lay out a timetable. Can he give us an indication of when that is going to be before dissolution? Is that likely much before dissolution, or are we going to hear that sooner? It is certainly a case that, back in November 2012, DEFRA wrote to the Scottish Government and, indeed, other devolved administrations, signalling their intention to develop a bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses and offering to extend the territorial scope of the bill, including Scotland, clearly in that case. However, we will do what is best for Scottish circumstances, and I will make clear before dissolution of parliaments our own timetable for legislating in this country once we work out what the best way forward is indeed in terms of how to frame any legislation that we wish to support. I will not be influenced by the timetables elsewhere in the UK. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle air pollution in Fife. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Fife Council, SIPA, Transport Scotland and other partners to improve air quality in Fife. Fife Council has produced an air quality action plan for the Cooper air quality management area, which is regularly cited as an example of best practice. The plan contains a comprehensive range of measures, including an effective public awareness raising campaign. The plan has contributed to reducing pilotant levels to the extent that no exceedencies of the objectives for nitrogen dioxide or particulate matter were recorded during 2014. An action plan for Fife's other air quality management area at Apen Crescent and Firmland is also in place, which aims to mirror the success in Cooper, which has had no exceedencies recorded during 2014. Given the evidence that air pollution causes at least 2,000 early deaths in Scotland each year, in many areas it still continues to have dangerous levels of air pollution, such as Apen Crescent and Firmland constituency, what extra funding will the Scottish Government be making available to make active travel a more realistic option, in particular to improve safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists to public transport links? Given that the Scottish Government is planning to spend 200 times as much on building new roads as on tackling air pollution in the budget today, how likely is it that we will meet European air quality limits by 2020, as has been promised? On tackling local air pollution, it is also a matter for the local authorities with support and guidance provided by the Scottish Government and other partners. The Scottish Government provides practical support to local authorities through our policy and technical guidance and financial support through a series of annual funding schemes. Since 2005, the council has received around £530,000 in total to support air quality monitoring and associated work, plus around £520,000 since 2010, to help to implement the action plans in Cooper and Firmland. Many actions are being implemented at a national level, which are having a positive impact locally across Scotland, such as the green bus fund and the plug-in vehicles road map. On budget, I am sure that we have our stage 3 budget this afternoon, which I am sure that the Deputy First Minister will say more about that, but compared to 2013-14, we have increased investment in active travel by more than 80 per cent from £21.35 million for 2013-14 to £39.2 million in 2015-16. That is at a time when our overall capital budget has decreased by 26 per cent. The Scottish Government invests more than £1 billion per year in our public and sustainable transport to encourage people on to public transport and active travel modes. We have also invested £11 million in the development of the Charge Place Scotland network of electric vehicle charging points, which now comprises more than 400 units with many more being commissioned over the coming months. To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects its proposals on land reform to have in west Scotland region. The land reform bill, currently before Parliament, will result in real improvements in how land is owned, used and managed across Scotland. Land ownership by communities has gone from strength to strength, and there are impressive examples of community buy-outs throughout the country. In the west of Scotland, for example, in 2006, the Neilston community trust registered an interest and purchased a former bank building that continues to be used as a community hub and resource, as well as office space. More recently, in 2014, the Arran community land initiative saw the acquisition of 79 acres to develop a community woodland on the island. Building on successes like that, the Community Empowerment Scotland Act 2015 provides for the extension and streamlining of the community right-to-buy process. For the first time, urban communities will be able to use the statutory community right-to-buy. Through the legislation and the Government's 1 million-acre strategy, we anticipate that many more communities, the length and breadth of Scotland, including in the west of Scotland region, will be able to realise the many benefits from acquiring land. The revised community right-to-buy legislation is coming into force on 15 April this year. I thank the minister for that answer. Will the minister give her clear support and indicate a timescale for introducing compulsory sale orders so that local authorities can take the lead in bringing vacant and derelict land back into use, particularly for town centres and rural communities? I have already indicated during our stage 1 debate that we are supportive of the issue of compulsory sale orders, and we are considering the issue around them. We are supportive of them, because we can see that vacant and derelict land and or buildings being brought back into use. In terms of bringing on to bringing forward an effective compulsory sales order, that will take time and careful consideration to ensure that it is effective and within competence. If re-elected, the Government would actively explore bringing forward proposals for a compulsory sale order forward in the next term of government as part of the Government's wider land reform programme. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact that leaving the EU could have on Scotland's fishing and farming communities. The UK Government has not consulted the Scottish Government the impact that the UK exit from the EU would have on Scotland's fishing and farming communities. Nor, I believe, has it directly consulted those communities that would be directly affected. EU membership provides a range of benefits that include direct access to financial assistance, free access to a common food export market of over 500 million consumers, and the protection of opportunities offered by being part of a major global trading bloc. Some of the benefits EU membership brings to Scotland's farming and fishing communities. Clearly, in support for agriculture, we have billions of euros making its way to Scottish farmers and crofters and weather rural communities between now and 2020, which would not otherwise be there given its UK policy to scrap direct payments, and we are only protected by EU membership. That is one direct benefit for the agricultural sector in terms of seafood. Clearly, many of our seafood exporters rely on the European markets. I have to say that it is fascinating to note that the UK farming minister, George Eustice, has just declared for the leave campaign, having said just a couple of weeks ago or so that it was up to the leave campaign to explain what would happen to cap payments in the event of the UK leaving Europe. Therefore, I laid down the challenge to him today. Can he please explain to Scotland's farmers and crofters what will happen to the billions of euros that make their way to Scotland if the UK leaves Europe? That concludes portfolio questions on rural affairs food and the environment, and we now move to portfolio questions on justice and law. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure equal access to justice in environmental matters. The Scottish Government has undertaken a significant programme of reform to the justice system, with the aim of making the court system more efficient and accessible. The Courts Reform Act 2014 codifies recent changes to standing, i.e. entitlement, to bring a case. The result is a clear, broader entitlement to take a case to court, which we expect will benefit those with an interest in public interest litigation, including cases that are concerned with environmental matters. However, seeking redress to the courts may involve considerable cost, and that is mitigated by the ability to access legal aid, if eligible, and to apply to the court for a protective expenses order, or PEO, in certain cases, including certain environmental cases. A PEO protects the litigant from any expense beyond the limit set out in the PEO. We are also progressing plans to publish a consultation paper on options covering areas such as the potential role of an environmental court or tribunal. I thank the minister for his response, because this is a vital issue. The R House Convention exists because the environment cannot go to court itself. People must protect it, sometimes with legal action, but, as you will be aware, this can be prohibitively expensive by anyone's reckoning. I agree that a specialist environmental court could and would help. The Justice Committee support one, the SNP manifesto, promised an options paper, and the Scottish Government has repeatedly told Parliament that one is coming, but still we have no paper and no timeline. Will the Parliament see one before PIRDA? I certainly agree with a lot of what Alison Johnson said about the purpose of justice and protecting the environment. It does not have a voice of its own, and I recognise that. Certainly on the point about the manifesto commitment, it is our intention to publish a consultation paper prior to the dissolution of Parliament. The minister has largely answered my question, but can I welcome the commitment to the publication of an options paper? I look forward to seeing that before the dissolution of Parliament. Certainly, I would happily confirm that. I appreciate Mr Campbell's interest in this issue and, indeed, that of other members of the chamber, and we will fulfil our commitment. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the prison estate. I recently announced plans for the redevelopment of the women's custodial estate. In addition, the Scottish Prison Service will progress its estate development plan, described within the Scottish Government's infrastructure investment plan to deliver a fit for purpose prison estate. I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply. The cabinet secretary will be aware that we have had discussions in the past regarding the replacement for HMP Greenock, with substantial investment already made in the initial site and with the current HMP Greenock having a limited lifespan. It would be grateful if the cabinet secretary can provide any assurances to the people in the west of Scotland in terms of the replacement for HMP Greenock, which is certainly firmly in the Scottish Government's plans for the future. The site in Verklyde remains available to the Scottish Prison Service for the replacement of HMP Greenock, which is one of the prisons that it has identified that requires to be replaced. For the replacement of that particular facility, obviously a detailed plan will be brought forward and for the SPSN to secure capital funding for that particular course of action. However, that site in Verklyde remains in the ownership of the SPS, and it would be available to the SPS should choose to use that site for a replacement of HMP Greenock in the future. The cabinet secretary will be aware that issues were raised about the unacceptable conditions of the toilet for remand prisoners at Contenvale by members of the former prison visiting committees. Given complaints about the prison estate and other issues that are now covered by the new independent prison monitoring service, can he comment on the reported problems with the new service, which include poor implementation of reforms and inadequate communication? Can he provide assurances that the Government will address those issues with immediate effect? I am presuming that the member is making reference to the inspectorate's recent report of HMP Contenvale, which highlighted a number of areas in which it should recognise that significant improvement has been made in Contenvale. We should put on record the fact that significant improvement has been made as a result of the actions of the staff at Contenvale. Equally, it also highlighted areas in which further improvements need to be made, and the issue around night sanitation was highlighted. The member will be aware that the Scottish Prison Service has proposed that, while it starts the decommission process at Contenvale, just over half of the women from Contenvale will be relocated to the young offenders institution in Poment. I have approved that proposal, which will be implemented over the coming months and should be taken forward by this summer. That will allow, in particular those women who have issues around night sanitation facilities at Contenvale, to be relocated to Poment, while the Scottish Prison Service then starts the decommissioning of the Contenvale facility with a view to creating and building the new national facility for 80 women in the next couple of years. The cabinet secretary has set out in general his plans for improving the estate. Can he give us any indication in light of the Government's continued commitment to reduce the prison population, although it stayed stubbornly at the same level over the last five years? What impact reducing the population will have on his plans and what timescales does he know in relation to that reduction? The first thing is that the member is actually wrong, is that the prison population over the last couple of years has actually declined. It has stabilised, but it has been a decline over recent years. First of all, it was incorrect on that matter. The member will also be aware of the programme that we have set out for the rebuilding of the new female custodial estate, which will reduce our capacity within the female estate considerably. A key part of that is because we are placing greater focus on community alternative disposals, which we know are much more effective in tackling offending behaviour as a means in which we can seek to reduce our prison population overall. That will be a key part of the approach that we take forward with the redesign of the custodial estate alongside a greater focus on using more effective, robust community disposals, which will help to reduce re-offending rates in Scotland, which are incidentally at a 16-year low as a result of the progress that we have made over recent years. What I want to do is to build on that and to accelerate that yet further. Part of that will assist us in helping to reduce the female prison estate and the male population overall in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what impact the cashback for communities programme is having in the north-east of Scotland. We are rightly proud of our unique cashback for communities programme and have published information by local authority area on the cashback website. That demonstrates that, up to the end of March 2015, young people from the north-east of Scotland, including local authority areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City and parts of Murray, have directly benefited from nearly £5.5 million of cashback investment, delivering more than 250,000 activities and opportunities for young people in the north-east of Scotland. May I very much welcome the £5.5 million that has been recycled from the pockets of criminals for the benefit of public good in the north-east of Scotland, as it does elsewhere across Scotland. Can the minister indicate what criteria he is likely to wish to see used for future selection of cashback projects? The approach that we have taken over the past three phases of allocating cashback money has been to work with partner organisations of which there are 14 who are responsible for running projects across the country. That ranges from sporting organisations right through to cultural organisations in youth groups, and they have a particular focus on areas that are deprived and where there are disadvantage young people. We are presently at the coming towards the end of phase 3 of that funding, which was up to March 2017, and I am presently considering the arrangements for phase 4 of that particular programme. I want to ensure that it is much more targeted on the private areas. It has a focus on assisting us in reducing inequalities within our communities and in doing so, maximising the benefit for the communities that can come from the cashback scheme. There is no doubt that this has been an extremely successful programme of taking money from criminals and putting it back into our communities, and we intend to make sure that we build on the important work that we have achieved over the past six years with the cashback programme. To ask the Scottish Government what support the justice system gives to people with autism. The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of people with autism. For those who are coming into contact with the criminal justice system, the support of an appropriate adult is available to individuals over 16 years of age. Their role includes facilitating understanding or communication for an accused person, suspect, victim or a witness with autistic spectrum disorder during police procedures. For those under 16, support would be offered by a responsible adult. To assist vulnerable individuals giving evidence in court, there is now greater access to special measures, including the use of screens or giving evidence via video link. Similar measures are also available for the purposes of giving evidence in civil proceedings. Tribunal hearings tend to be more informal and will be flexible in the arrangements to support vulnerable people giving evidence. I thank the minister for that answer, and he demonstrates very clearly that anyone who has an autism spectrum disorder faces particular barriers when accessing any system. Can he maybe give us an update on what training is available for front-line police officers, for ffiscals and ffiscals staff to ensure that if a person, victim or alleged perpetrator is given the correct support to ensure that justice is given? I will certainly write to Christine McKelvie with more detail on that. Training is clearly a vital issue when dealing with those with particular needs. I thank the member for raising this really important issue. I understand that representatives from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have recently been in touch with the National Autistic Society for Scotland, with a view to developing training and policy in relation to how to staff to interact with those with autism. As the training of ffiscals and other staff is a matter for the Crown Office, however, I would be more than happy to raise the member's concerns with Lord Advocate, who may wish to provide further information on that. In addition, I am aware that Scottish Police Force, prior to the creation of Police Scotland, did undertake training in 2010. Police Scotland remains engaged with the autism network Scotland and continues to identify and share good practice and localities. However, as I say, I will write with further detail to the member. To ask the Scottish Government what the police are doing to tackle noise news and domestic properties. Responsibility for dealing with the majority of complaints about domestic noise rests with the local authorities who have a duty to investigate such complaints under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, or, depending on the nature of the complaint, the noise provisions under part 5 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, etc. Scotland Act 2004. In some instances, the police can become involved. Legislation grants authorised officers and local authorities with various powers to deal with noise nuisance under the Anti-Social Behaviour legislation. An officer may issue a warning notice to the person responsible for excessive noise. If the warning notice is not complied with, other measures available include fixed penalty notices or the power to enter premises to seize noise-making equipment. Abatement notices are also available under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. George Adam. I thank the minister for his response. Is the minister aware that one of the most regular complaints that I receive is that of noise from useless neighbours and constituents are moved from police to local authority trying to find a solution? Unless the local authority actually catches a person in the act, then my constituents are told that nothing can be done for them and I have seen families torn apart and children sleeping at their grandparents' home just to get a decent night's sleep. Does the minister agree with me that local authorities should and could be doing far more to assist people when dealing with this issue? Certainly, I am very sorry to hear the experience of Mr Adam's constituents in Paisley. As clearly the situation described by Mr Adam, it would be very distressing in dealing with neighbours' noise. The local authority perhaps has been unable to resolve the situation to their satisfaction, but I have every sympathy with those suffering from such a situation. I fully agree that it is unacceptable that those strains are being placed in normal family life caused by the actions of inconsiderate and selfish behaviour of neighbours. However, when a local authority investigates a noise complaint, it must consider the facts and circumstances of each case when deciding what action to take. I am aware that an environmental health officer must either witness the noise or be in a position to measure the level of noise to determine whether the law is being breached. In cases in which it has not been possible to witness or measure the noise as it happens, local authorities may install recording equipment in homes to establish whether acceptable levels are being breached and enable them to take appropriate enforcement action. My officials have been in contact with Renfrewshire Council and have been informed by the council that they provide the service, but, clearly, given the experience of Mr Adam's constituents, that might not be widely known. There may be a case for making sure that the neighbours are notified that this is a potential solution to the problem and to build the evidence base. To ask the Scottish Government how the justice directorate is tackling violence against women. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling and eradicating violence against women and girls. We have committed £20 million over the period of 2015 to 2018 from the justice portfolio to support a range of projects and initiatives. We are strengthening the law in this area and seeking views on a new specific offence of domestic abuse. We have established the equally safe joint strategic board, which will drive forward real and lasting change through key areas such as justice and prevention. As a Government, however, we recognise that to truly achieve our goal, enhancing the justice system in isolation, is not enough. It is through tackling the root causes of gender inequality in all aspects of our life that we will realise our true goal of eradicating violence against women and girls. I thank the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive amount of work that we are doing. Could I further ask the cabinet secretary how the Scottish Government is supporting children and young people who witness domestic violence? I am grateful to the issue that the member has raised, which is an important matter. We have to remember that a whole family can be severely affected by domestic abuse, especially where children have been involved. In terms of the support for victims, there are a range of existing measures to support vulnerable witnesses through our justice system, including children who witness domestic abuse. In addition, to assist children who are giving evidence, for example, all those under 18 are entitled to supportive measures such as screening and through other video link systems in order to assist them as we move through the court process. In addition to this, the children's services fund supports a range of specialist services that offer direct support to children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse. The member can be assured that the Government will be underlending in its commitment to make sure that we continue to tackle all forms of domestic violence that are perpetrated against women and girls. Can I ask the cabinet secretary when he will publish the research commission on commercial sexual exploitation and when the symposium into that research will take place? Some of that work is coming to its completion, so part of the stakeholder meetings that were due to take place were due to be completed this month. Once that work is being undertaken and we have engaged with all the various stakeholders, we will then be in a position to consider the final paper that comes from the research and the work that we have engaged in with other stakeholders. Question 7. The name of Lewis MacDonald has not been lodged and an explanation has been provided. Question 8, Iain Gray. To ask the Scottish Government what action the cabinet secretary for justice will take to allow survivors of child abuse in care prior to 1964. I will respond to the member's questions as I have responsibility for the policy on time bar. I have had the opportunity to engage with survivors. As the member will know, this is a complex and sensitive issue. I have heard personally from survivors about the difficulties that they have experienced in trying to raise a claim in the civil courts and I can very much understand their feelings of injustice. That is why I intend to lift the three-year limitation period from civil actions in cases of historic child abuse. As we have already previously committed, a draft bill will be published before the end of this parliamentary session. As Mr Gray is aware, the limitation period only applies to actions based on harm that occurred after 26 September 1964. For any harm that occurred before this date, the law of prescription applies. We gave serious consideration to the removal of the law of prescription, but the legal issues for those cases were too difficult to overcome. We are of the view that the traversal law of prescription would be incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights. I know that that has come as a great disappointment to many survivors and I can understand their frustration. However, the legal issues in respect to prescription mean that there appears to be no viable legislative solution for the pre-1964 cases. We are however looking at what else can be done for survivors in this group, which includes looking closely at experiences and other jurisdictions, and that work is on-going. No one doubts the complexities, but in the recent meeting with survivors held by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, she said that, prior to Parliament rising, a paper would be produced with those options for potential action. Is that still the intention of the Scottish Government? I can confirm that Ms Constance met survivors on 11 February, and she has committed to showing progress in this work before Parliament dissolves. Many thanks. That concludes that item of business. We will now move to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 15693, in the name of John Swinney.