 Group Good, the first item of businesses dayf pleasure is portfolio questions.ボナIR Erbyd's result Thank you Presiding Officer. I very rarely make a point of order, but I felt it was important, on this occasion, to make a point of order to ensure that the answers provided by ministers to parliament are accurate and reflect reality. Yesterday, during the topical question in response to my supplementary question, the Minister for GreenScales, for green skills, circular economy and by diversity stated, I also remind the member that barcodes are not part of the regulations passed by the Scottish Parliament and are therefore not part of the legislation that we can consider here. However, the deposit and return scheme for Scotland regulations 2020, passed by this Parliament, required European article numbers or barcodes to be included in any application for producer registration as set out in schedule 1 of the regulations. I would be grateful if the Presiding Officer could confirm whether there has been any attempt by the minister to correct the official record on this point. I think that, as members have been reminded on numerous occasions, they are approved mechanisms for amending the record that is up to members, whether they choose to avail themselves of those mechanisms. On that basis, we will proceed with portfolio questions. The first portfolio is constitution, external affairs and culture. As ever, any member wishing to ask a supplementary question should press the request-and-speak buttons during the relevant question. I call question number one, Sarah Boyack. To ask the Scottish Government what supports— Apologies, Ms Boyack. I think that we need to move the business motion first, so I am going to call on the minister to move the motion. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thought that I would come down here for no reason. Moves, Presiding Officer. I think that you will find constitution portfolio questions as well, worth the trip down from the ministerial office. Is that the question that the motion be agreed to? Are we all agreed? Yes. We are agreed, and we can now move on to the long-anticipated portfolio questions on constitution, external affairs and culture, question number one, Sarah Boyack. Many thanks, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to Pakistan following the severe flooding that the country experienced in 2022. The Scottish Government has provided £1.5 million in support for the people of Pakistan following the devastating floods in 2022. We have awarded £1 million in humanitarian support to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal and members of our humanitarian emergency fund panel helping to deliver relief on the ground in Pakistan. We have also provided an additional £500,000 for the existing British Council, Pakistan Women and Girls Scholarships programme, to double the number of school and university scholarships available to women and girls in the worst-affected areas, ensuring that they can continue their education with minimum disruption. Can I thank the minister for that answer? I also want to put on record my support for all those who are still involved in the aftermath, supporting communities to recover, such as the Disasters Emergency Committee. The minister mentioned direct funding to Pakistan, and the Government is also committed to increasing its international development fund to £15 million each year, but stakeholders have told me that they are unsure how the money will actually be utilised by the Scottish Government. Could the minister outline what work the Scottish Government is doing with the international development sector in Scotland to ensure that the increase in the fund will be used in country, in community, and could she also outline how that increase will help communities in Pakistan to recover from the extreme weather disruption and, indeed, other countries, which will only increase due to the climate emergency, not just to get them back to where they were but to build on resilience against future climate disasters? I will make the usual reminder that questions will need to be brief and ministerial responses as brief as possible to allow everybody to get in. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. It is a really important question, including the issues that we have seen across Malawi with the flood and the impact of climate change. We have been discussing with officials over the past few weeks the work that we need to undertake, and I have met members of the HEF and other organisations over the past few weeks. I would be keen to come back to Sarah Boyack with an update on what we are doing with the fund and the criteria for utilising that fund and the questions that she has asked about how it will be utilised so that I can come back and let her know. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting community-based facilities in the west of Scotland region to preserve Scottish culture and heritage. The Scottish Government supports a range of organisations that help to preserve our culture and heritage in communities across Scotland. We provide targeted support for culture and heritage facilities through our funding to local authorities, organisations and public bodies, including Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland. In 2022-23, Creative Scotland invested £85.4 million in the west of Scotland region. Our culture collective programme brings together creative practitioners, organisations and communities, and, importantly, communities across Scotland to work together to shape the future cultural life of their community. West of Scotland culture collective supports programmes, including Inverclyde culture collective, Evolve and the Air Gateway. I thank the minister for that response. As gateways to knowledge and culture, libraries play a vital role in our society. However, under the SNP Government, they are sadly declining. In 2009-2010, there were 65 full-time staff employed in libraries in East Dunbartonshire. However, in 2022-23, there were just 38. Local councils are having to plug budget gaps created by the SNP Government cuts. I ask the minister what more will the Scottish Government do to keep our libraries open and to ensure that knowledge and cultural heritage is preserved? Pam Gruslaw makes an excellent point about how important libraries are, and it is so important that the responsibility for them is devolved to local authorities. It is a local authority's responsibility to take that forward. Of course, we know about the wellbeing and the health and education impact of local libraries, and we have been working closely with the sector in order to ensure that we can maintain libraries too. The minister will be well aware of many community organisations that are trying to save Scotland's built heritage at risk. A good example is an organisation called the Springbow Winter Garden Trust, which I am the chair. It is trying to save Scotland's largest Victorian glass house, which is an increasingly perilous state of dereliction, and has been abandoned since 1983. We have been really struggling to try to achieve the necessary capital funds to initiate works to save this building, which should be willing to meet with me and the trustees to see if we can find a viable way forward to save this historic building, one of Scotland's poorest communities. I know the Winter Gardens well, having spent a lot of time in that park with my cousins growing up, so I am very well aware of it. A historic environment Scotland's heritage and place programme is an area-based funding programme that aims to contribute to developing vibrant and sustainable places in Scotland through community-led regeneration, exactly what Paul Sweeney is speaking about there. I would be happy to meet with Paul Sweeney and the organisation, because we have a number of ways that we can support communities in order to ensure that they maintain and sustain and keep for the future that heritage. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments by Scottish Opera regarding the disbanding of an orchestra due to the lack of young people in the industry. We know that participating in cultural activity from a young age boosts our well-being and helps us to develop valuable life skills. The Scottish Government provides significant funding to support access to music and the arts for young people across Scotland. That includes £9.5 million this financial year, announced just recently by my colleague Angus Robertson for the Youth Music Initiative. I understand that the orchestra, which formed part of Scottish Opera Young Company, was disbanded about five years ago, but the Scottish Opera Young Company is still going strong and is supported by Scottish Opera's main orchestra. Despite the SNP commitment in 2021-22 to remove fees from all pupils learning a musical instrument, data now shows that 92 per cent of pupils are missing out. Specifically, in my constituency and in Dumfries and Galloway, the number of pupils taking a musical instrument is declined by almost 500. At least one school in the constituency music is no longer being offered as an in-school subject despite pupil demands. Can the minister explain how the SNP intends to keep their manifesto promise of removing barriers to music education and ensuring that all Scottish pupils have access to that? I am very happy to work across the board with any organisers, including our local authorities, to look at more ways in which we can ensure that our young people get the access to music tuition and all that comes with it. That is why that investment in the Youth Music Initiative is incredibly important. It is delivering on our commitment to expand this into other art forms and it is also ensuring that the Youth Music Initiative is used very well in local authorities. It also covers other art forms beyond music and we need to ensure that that is targeted in a way that supports children and young people's health, wellbeing and personal development through the arts and their creative activity. As I am happy to work across the board with any local authority or organisation who is working on that, I have just recently met the chair of the COSLA wellbeing board to re-institute the work of the culture chairs committee and we will be meeting soon, so I will raise it there. I am briefly voice of children. Instrumental music tuition is an area that has been drastically reduced by some councils to keep up with the budget cuts. This means that thousands of children in Scotland may not have the opportunity to learn how to play the musical instrument at school. What assessment have the Scottish Government made about the impact of this on the ability of the industry to continue to recruit young musicians? The organisations that recruit young musicians into all the different aspects of this are working very hard in order to keep doing that. That is why that Youth Music Initiative investment is so important. I would be happy to work with anyone across the chamber, but that does not need to be a political issue. It needs to be an issue about how we ensure that our children get the best out of their education, but that investment is really important and it would be great if the opposition would welcome it. Question 4 is withdrawn. Question 5, Paul O'Kane. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting local theatres. Minister Christina McKelvie. The Scottish Government values the importance of the arts and local theatres for the many benefits they can bring, such as nurturing creativity and improving health and wellbeing. The Scottish Government provides support to local theatres through funding to Creative Scotland for their regularly funded organisations, which include world-class theatre. Independent local theatres in Scotland are also eligible to apply to Creative Scotland's open fund for specific projects or productions, and I would urge them to do so. This year, the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock celebrates its 10th birthday, a significant achievement, reflecting its status as a much-loved cultural institution, the continuation of the arts guild in Greenock that was founded in 1946, and much-loved by people in Inverclydon across west Scotland. Unfortunately, it is the case that the Beacon is often seen as an exception, rather than the rule, with too many community theatres struggling for survival due to the inadequate financial support. Indeed, the decision of the former finance secretary to reverse the proposed £6.6 million cut to the culture sector back in February was a welcome step. However, Creative Scotland should not have been threatened with such a significant financial cut in the first instance. Therefore, I would ask the minister, does she agree with me that cultural institutions like the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock are invaluable local assets, and will she agree to meet with me to discuss funding for various theatres in west Scotland that are in real peril? It is a quick answer, Presiding Officer, yes and yes. The minister may be aware of Westlothian leisure's proposals to close the Howden Park Centre and Theatre in Livingston in Westlothian. After the Labour-led Conservatives supported, Westlothian Council has proposed to withdraw all management fee funding from the trust in future years. What more can the Scottish Government do to ensure that local authorities are meeting their statutory responsibilities under the local government and planning Scotland Act 1982 to provide cultural facilities, simply owning buildings that surely is not enough, communities need a local cultural strategy and at least some financial contribution to the running of cultural services? I understand the concerns raised about the future of the Howden Park Centre, although local authority provision is entirely a matter for each local authority. I understand that Creative Scotland is initiating discussions with Westlothian Council about the potential closure in view of the redevelopment grant previously given to the centre. The Scottish Government's Covid-related additional funding for Westlothian Council included £4.2 million in recognition of the loss of income during the pandemic in respect of leisure centres such as the Howden Park Centre. More broadly, we continue to work in partnership with COSLA and the culture conveners group, a forum that was originally instigated by Fiona Hyslop at both local and national level to identify ways to strengthen services around the principle of cultural recovery and renewal. To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of Creative Scotland's total awards funding was allocated to the Highlands and Islands in the last financial year. Creative Scotland provides a range of support for cultural activities and organisations across all regions of Scotland through their network of regularly funded organisations, the open fund or their various other funding streams. In the financial year 2022 to 2023, 8.7 per cent of Creative Scotland's total funding awards were allocated to projects in the Highlands and Islands. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, given the size of the area involved. I would have hoped for more, but I anticipate he expected that answer. Edencourt Theatre is a very valuable asset to the community of the Highlands. The venue has supported residents through the global cost of living crisis with its warm welcome and the introduction of low-income tickets. Like many other Scottish theatre venues, Edencourt continues to face significant funding challenges. Will he agree to look at what further funds could be made available to them in these difficult times? The Edencourt in Inverness is the largest arts venue in the Highlands. It includes two theatres, it includes two multipurpose studios, two cinemas and three art galleries. It underscores the importance that Edward Mountain rightly raises in the chamber. The Edencourt receives regularly funded regular funding from Creative Scotland of £0.5 million a year. It also receives supporters as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, including £242,000 for recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Something else that is worthy of mention is that the Edencourt Youth Theatre provides dance and theatre classes to young children aged five to eight years and holds theatre workshops inviting schools across Scotland and are well known for their work right across the Highlands and Islands and not just in Inverness. I totally agree with Edward Mountain how important the Edencourt Theatre is and the support that the Scottish Government and, through it, Creative Scotland gives. I hope that that continues long into the future. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in establishing a peace institute by the end of 2022 as set out in its 2021-22 programme for Government. The Scottish Government commissioned an independent report last year to advise on the establishment of a peace institute. Scottish ministers have endorsed the report's proposed path to establishing a full-fledged peace institute, and the Scottish Government remains committed to that ambition. However, since the report's release in June 2022, the financial situation facing Scotland and the Scottish Government has deteriorated and is the most challenging since devolution. In difficult economic times, difficult decisions are required to be made and ministers have reluctantly agreed to delay further work on the peace institute until later this parliamentary term. The Scottish Government's commitment to establishing the peace institute was that it would have a focus on human rights, yet Scotland's own police force Police Scotland signed a training agreement with Columbia in 2020. Columbia Police subsequently killed over 40 people during protests in 2021 and detained hundreds of young people on spurious charges, many of whom remain in prison. Can the minister confirm what discussions he has had with Scottish Government ministers to ensure that the peace institute's focus on human rights is not undermined by Police Scotland's international development unit working with police forces with a record of human rights abuses? I think that I'm right in saying that this is not the first time the question has been raised by the member in the chamber. I think that it's absolutely right and proper that we look at the highest possible maintenance of human rights standards where any Scottish public institution is involved. I think that it's also right to say that it's important where practicable that efforts are made to help and support the changing of cultures in other parts of the world which do not maintain the high standards of human rights that we enjoy in this country, but I'll reflect on what the member says and undertake to write back to her. Thank you. Can the cabinet secretary reflect on the success of the Scottish Council of Global Affairs which has fulfilled the programme for government pledge to coordinate Scottish expertise and research on global issues and their impact on Scotland? Since the launch last year, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs has made excellent progress in establishing itself as a crucial, as an impartial Scotland-based research institute providing a hub for informed, non-partisan debate on a wide range of global issues. The three founding universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews have made significant progress in harnessing the breadth of expertise that Scotland-based researchers have to offer. I'm glad to see that the institute benefits from the support not only from the Scottish Government but also from the UK Government and from across the political spectrum. Through their research programme and suite of regular events, they have begun to help to foster vital public discussion around key global issues of relevance to Scotland. I'm excited to see the plans that they have for the future. I've previously asked about the location, cost and remit of the proposed peace institute on three separate occasions, but no answers have been provided regarding those specific points. Can the cabinet secretary use this opportunity to share how much money has been spent so far, the projected cost and the number of civil servants involved? I'm surprised that this manifesto commitment has been dispensed with. We've got wars in Ukraine, we've got the conflict in Sudan, we've got the conflict in Yemen. If Scotland is going to make a big impact on the world in resolving conflicts, why doesn't the Government prioritise that? This is a priority for the Government during this parliamentary term, but I'm happy to share the commitment that I've given to write to the member from the Conservative benches on this subject. I think that he understands the financial constraints that the Scottish Government is working under. I think that he also knows the commitment that the Government has to supporting peace and reconciliation efforts around the world. I'm confident that we'll make progress on that during this parliamentary term. I look forward to the support of all parties for this initiative, as it has been for the Scottish Council for Global Affairs. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to accelerate the reopening of sites currently closed due to inspections by Historic Environment Scotland. We are providing Historic Environment Scotland with £72.7 million this year, a record high level to help maintain Scotland's heritage and historic environment. That is an 82.6 per cent increase on pre-pandemic funding. With their commercial income, Historic Environment Scotland's operating budget this financial year is £114.5 million, which is 22.4 per cent higher than pre-pandemic. Historic Environment Scotland has completed the first group of inspections in its prioritised inspection programme on schedule and is making progress on the next group of prioritised sites, which will be completed by the end of this year. They continue to put the health and safety of individuals first, reopening sites only when it's safe to do so. I thank the minister for the answer. In 2022, El Torcastle closed due to Historic Environment Scotland inspections, with no known date of being reopened. It's considered one of Scotland's best preserved tower houses from the 1500s and a favourite spot for family day trips. Can the minister assure me that the reopening of El Torcastle will be a priority so that families can enjoy it during the summer months and that the local economy is no longer adversely affected? Yes. I can give Ross McCall the assurance that I will have Historic Environment Scotland look into the particular site that she mentions and come back to her with the most up-to-date position on that. I think that those inspections and the repairs on all the work that's being done are moving on at pace and it changes almost in a daily basis. Getting Ross McCall that most up-to-date position from Historic Environment Scotland is probably the best answer at this time. The minister concludes portfolio questions on constitution, extended affairs and culture. We'll have a brief pause before we move on to the next portfolio to allow front benches to change. The next portfolio is justice and home affairs. As ever, if a colleague wishes to ask a supplementary question, I'd invite them to press the request and speak buttons during the relevant questions. There is quite a lot of interest for supplementaries in this section, so I would invite members to be as brief in their questions and to be brief in their answers as possible. I call question number one, Jeremy Balfour. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government when the next regular review of the sentence in young people guidelines is due to take place. Presiding Officer, the timing and form of reviews of sentence and guidelines are, of course, matters for the independent Scottish Sentencing Council. Their review process for offence and offender-specific guidelines is that, after one year, they will consider data on relevant cases and engage with sentences to assess whether the guideline has had the intended effect and identify any unintended consequences or emergent trends as a result of the guideline. After three years, they will review the data on relevant cases over this period and engage with sentences on their experience of using the guidelines and publish a review of the guidelines' operations detailing the impact of the guideline over the medium term. Jeremy Balfour. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for her answer. The SNP's sentence in Quango introduced the sentence to young people guidelines in January last year, which applied to all criminals under the age of 25 and allowed them to get off with lighter sentences. That is despite widespread opposition from the public, 71 per cent of whom said that the guidelines should not apply to such a high age limit. We have now seen those guidelines used so that rapers avoid jail murders to get much reduced sentences in time. Cabinet secretary, why did the First Minister, who was just a secretary at the time, support those guidelines and when will they be developed? If the member does not mind, I would like to correct him. This is not the SNP's sentence in guidelines. This is the Scottish Sentencing Council's guidelines, a matter in which Parliament as a whole had a voice on in 2010 in the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act, where the form and functional role and responsibilities of the Sentencing Council were set out and agreed by this Parliament. I have set out to the member the processes in which the Sentencing Council keep under review their guidelines. They take very seriously their responsibilities in engaging with the public and informing the public in terms of the role and purpose of sentencing, which of course includes rehabilitation, but it also includes punishment. I understand that Sentencing guidelines are clear that a prison sentence remains an option for the court when it comes to heinous crimes such as rape and murder. Can the cabinet secretary provide figures for the number of rape convictions that resulted in a custodial penalty since 2018? The latest public statistics that covered the period up to 31 March 2021, between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2021, 327 people have been convicted of rape and of those 322, which is 98 per cent, received a custodial sentence. Of course, rape trials are dealt with in the High Court. The High Court has unlimited sentences and powers, including up to life sentencing. Members might be interested to know that the average sentence for rape is six years, eight months and that prison sentences have on average, across all offences, increased by 14 per cent. There have now been a number of cases where there has been huge public concern about the sentences given to offenders convicted of rape, where the judges said that the sentence was significantly reduced due to young persons' sentencing guidelines. Given that those guidelines were introduced and have created a significant change without the involvement of Parliament, will the cabinet secretary do what she can to ensure that there is a debate on the impact of those regulations in Government time? As I stated to Mr Balfour, that Parliament did have its voice when it passed legislation on the powers of the Sentencing Council. In Parliament at that time, I sat in the Justice Committee and I can assure members that there was certainly a fulsome debate on those matters. There was not necessarily consensus on all matters of detail. However, in terms of the Sentencing Council's functions in terms of reviewing, it will have, as I have outlined, an interim review looking at initial decisions that have been made, where the guidance has been applied, but, in those cases, the guidance has not been applied. Of course, it is up to judicial discretion whether it chooses to apply the guidance, but it would, of course, have to provide written reasons for that. Over the three-year period, once perhaps the appeal court processes have been fulfilled in relevant cases, you will see much more robust and thorough data that will be published by the Sentencing Council. To ask the Scottish Government how forthcoming legislation will advance the rights of child victims of crime. The Scottish Government is committed to advancing the rights of child victims through legislative and non-legislative measures. Both the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill and the Children's Care and Justice Bill contain provisions to increase protection for the privacy and dignity of child victims. We recognise that children find aspects of the system particularly traumatising, so we will benefit from the trauma-informed and person-centred approaches that underpin the legislation. We have also published our vision for the Ben's Hoose, a transformational whole-system approach to delivering child protection, justice and health support in services to child victims. I thank the minister for that answer and welcome the measures that she outlined. Does the minister agree with me that advancing and balancing the rights of all children who come into contact with our justice system, where their child victims of criminal harm, witnesses or children who cause harm to others, is of the utmost importance and that any legislation made in this place must get it right for every child? Yes, I do agree and this is to be a finely balanced area. CEM must be taken to ensure the kill brand and ethos of the children's hearing systems, which has the needs and welfare of the child, is a subject to the referral at its centre and it is not compromised. The rights of the child victim must therefore be carefully balanced against the right of the referred child whose privacy and welfare needs are being considered by the children's hearing. Crucially, children's hearings are not criminal justice settings and are welfare based rather than being an impunity system. Bruce Supplementary is first from Russell Findlay. Thank you. One in four cases sent to children's reports are for alleged crimes often serious yet. Victim support Scotland describes an information vacuum with victims not being entitled to details of their cases. Will the minister ensure that victims are no longer kept in the dark and that their rights are central to this new bill? Thank you. If the child is placed in a secure care via the hearing system, the provisions which govern information sharing in the children's hearing system allow for information about whether compulsory supervision order has been made or how the children's hearing was otherwise changed. There is no provision within the bill to share information beyond this because it is not an offence or behavioural loan that determines where a child is placed and for how long. The system takes a holistic approach and considers how the child's welfare in is as well as offence and behaviour agree, engage with a secure care criteria. The independent strategic review of funding and commissioning of violence against women and girls services was published yesterday. It recommended that children and young people experiencing domestic abuse are identified as victims in their own right in law. How does the Scottish Government intend to respond to this recommendation? The review was just launched yesterday and we are considering the review that was launched. The bill is a part of a wider strategic programme of work, including the Children's Care and Justice Scotland Bill and the Bairns Hoos with on-going engagement taking place, with officials leading on this area to ensure a joined-up approach across Government. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of whole-life sentences as an option for judges in relation to the most serious offences. Judges in Scotland set the punishment parts of life sentences. The punishment part of a life sentence is a period that must be served in custody. Under this long-standing law, judges have the power to set a punishment part that exceeds the remainder of a prisoner's natural life. That can result in a whole-life sentence in individual cases. The Scottish Government supports the courts having those powers available for the most serious offences. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. The horrific case of Joe Bartley, who was murdered in a medieval way according to the judge who presided over the case, was required under Scott's law to impose a punishment that resulted in the sentence being 24 years reduced from 29 due to the murderer being under the age of 25. The sentence means that it is feasible that in this well case the murderer could be released in his forties. Does the cabinet secretary not agree that judges should be at the very least have the opportunity to impose whole-life sentences for such barbaric cases? Of course, our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by the brutal murder of Ms Bartley. With respect to Mr Stewart, I have just made very clear to this Parliament what the law currently is that punishment parts can exceed a prisoner's natural life. He will also be aware that life sentence prisoners have no automatic release. He might be interested to look at the information provided by the Parole Board for Scotland. He will get a sense of the seriousness in which the Parole Board takes its duties. For example, in 2021, the only released a small proportion of people who came up for release on parole licence. I believe that we should be leaving that in the hands of the judges and the experts. They will, through their own sentencing statements, make clear what guidance they have and have not taken into consideration. I repeat that, since the early 2000s, the punishment part of a prisoner's sentence can exceed their natural life, where a judge decides that that is appropriate. I would contend, Mr Stewart, that that is an appropriate decision for a judge and not a politician. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that prisoners can already be kept in prison by an order for lifelong restriction when there is a concern of public safety and that it was the SNP in government that ended the previous system of early release for serious offenders introduced by the Conservatives? I can confirm that prisoners serving orders for lifelong restriction remain in custody if there is a concern about public safety. In 2021-22, the Parole Board considered for parole 90 prisoners serving those sentences and not one was released. That shows how seriously the Parole Board takes their responsibilities. It is a matter of record that it was this Government that ended automatic early release for the most dangerous offenders in 2015. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the protection of workers' retail and age-restricted goods and services Scotland Act 2021 has assisted the police in responding to reports of assault, threat or abuse of retail workers. Information provided by Place Scotland indicates that, in the period since the act came into force in August 2021 to February 2023, more than 5,000 reports of assaults or threatening abusive behaviour against retail workers have been received. It is clear that this number of reported incidents is very concerning and unacceptable, but I do hope that it also shows that retail employees are aware of the legislation and are using it. Last November, Police Scotland launched the national partnership Assault Pledge, which is not part of the job, and has established a retailer's forum, where retailers can discuss issues and concerns and share best practice. I thank the minister for that answer. I have recently been contacted by representatives of the GMB trade union who have informed me that the Asda Blantyre store in my constituency has been the target of anti-social behaviour. That has seen staff threatened and feeling intimidated. Now clearly no one should have to put up with violence threats or abuse in their workplace. Can the minister outline the work of the Scottish Government and the police are doing to promote awareness of the law to ensure retail staff know their rights and, most importantly, to deter such behaviours from occurring in the first place? I very much agree that no one should have to put up with violence or threats in their workplace. We fully support law enforcement agencies having extensive powers to deal with such incidents. When the law came into force in 2021, the Scottish Government worked with crime stoppers, Fearless and the Scottish Grocer's Federation to run an awareness raising campaign. I agree that it is important that workers and retailers know that this new law can help to protect them. In addition, the member may be interested to know that a business crime prevention team within Police Scotland carries out business engagement days throughout Scotland to support the retail sector. They have implemented that your safety matters external partners group, which consists of 14 members, including representatives from the retail centre. Can I assure the member that the Scottish Government takes this matter very seriously? I am coincidently meeting Dr Peter Schema from the Scottish Grocer's Federation this afternoon on this particular issue. Of the 5,000 reports of abuse mentioned by the minister, what was lacking in the answer was how many were actually prosecuted, grateful for that information. Of those that were prosecuted, did anyone receive a custodial sentence given that this bill carries a maximum of 12-month penalty, which under the presumption against short sentences means no-one will actually go to prison for such an offence? For that question, I do not have the figures at hand, but I am happy to write to you with those figures. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that police officers are fully resourced. We are fully committed to using the resources that are available to us to support the vital work of the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland. We are investing £1.45 billion in policing this year. Policing is and will continue to be a priority for this Government. As well as having more police officers per capita in Scotland and England and Wales, our police officers are also the best paid, supported by more than £11.6 billion of funding since 2013. The investment is delivering benefits. Police-recorded crime has fallen by 42 per cent since 2006-07 and is currently at one of the lowest levels that it has seen since 1974. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. In a recent meeting with the chief superintendent, he informed me of the 15,000 call-outs that the police had in April. Only 19 per cent of them were for criminal activity, with the majority of the remaining call-outs being for mental health related against a backdrop of the reducing police numbers, the drop of 600 since 2017, the hollowing out of backroom staff and increasing mental health issues in reality. Does the cabinet secretary recognise that the pressures are increasing on her police force and that the role that they are there to do is becoming under threat? I very much recognise that police Scotland is under pressure in terms of the amount of time and the calls that they get to help and support very vulnerable people, quite often people with mental health problems. That is a matter that I have discussed with the chief constable, SPA and staff associations. I have given them my commitment that we need to find better ways of working. I think that the chief constable is absolutely right to say that we won't be following practice in the Met, for example, that recently Scotland does have a responsibility on broader safety and broader wellbeing, but I do think that it is not beyond our work to find better ways of working to ensure that both the justice system and the health system works better together to actually provide a better service to some of our most vulnerable citizenships. That is in everybody's interests, not least the police officers. Can the cabinet secretary provide any details about the starting salaries for police officers in Scotland compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the UK? Police officers, as we know, play a vital role in keeping Scotland safe. I am pleased that our officers are the best paid in the UK. That recognises the hard work and dedication provided by Police Scotland. Officers in Scotland, at the maximum pay for each and every rank, will earn more than their counterparts in England and Wales, with the basic starting salary for a constable in Scotland around £5,000 more than in England and Wales. 6. Pam Duncan-Glancy To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will put in place to support women in the immediate days and weeks after they leave a coercive and abusive relationship. Domestic abuse is abhorrent, and I encourage anyone experiencing it to seek help and to report incidents to the police. Our Victim Surcharge Fund and Victim Support Scotland's Emergency Assistance Fund are already in place, providing immediate expenses for women fleeing abusive relationships. Through delivering equally safe, we will provide approximately £12.5 million in 2023-24 to domestic abuse support services, including women's aid organisations, who provide specialist support and access to temporary accommodation. Additionally, our Victim Centre Approach Fund provides £18.5 million from 2022-25 for specialist advocacy support, and we support the Scottish Women's Rights Centre, which offers free legal advice to women who experience gender-based violence. Pam Duncan-Glancy I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Last week, a woman came to my surgery to highlight the financial vulnerabilities and insecurity of many women leaving domestic violence situations. Many of such situations are left, as we have heard, financially insecure, and because of the coercion experience, we are isolated with few opportunities to build connections and get work. What support is available to women in the immediate days after leaving a relationship, and specifically to help them to re-access employment and training when the time is right, and would the Government consider a mentorship or peer support scheme to be put in place at this point to help women to rebuild the connections that they need? I will not repeat the various funds that I outlined in my original answer, but Ms Glancy Smith makes an important point. We are also, in addition to what I outlined, working with Scottish Women's Aid and other organisations to understand what more can be done in and around establishing a fund for survivors, particularly those survivors with children and who are at risk of homelessness. There is also important work being led by colleagues who are working in homelessness to bear in mind that domestic abuse is one of the leading causes of homelessness for women. Her point about mentorship and enabling women to get back into the workplace or training is well made. Of course, there are various employability programmes that are funded by the Scottish Government, and I will give her an undertaking that I will make sure that we have joined all the dots in that regard. A couple of supplementaries will need to be brief, as will the responses to Emma Harper. According to research published earlier this year, Scotland's domestic abuse legislation better reflects victims' experiences. Can the cabinet secretary outline how the Scottish Government is building on this work to ensure that victims are at the heart of Scotland's justice system? The domestic abuse offence has given more powers to police and courts to punish perpetrators of abuse and protect people at risk. However, as the report highlights, as mentioned by Ms Harper, there is still more that needs to be done. I, for one, acknowledge a very clear message that improvements could be made, for example, to how domestic abuse cases are handled to provide victims with a greater voice in proceedings and to support them through the process. The UK Government is providing lifeline payments to help victims, leave abusive relationships and rebuild their lives. Although I welcome that the domestic abuse 2021 act will allow domestic abusers to be removed from the homes of their victims, more than two years have passed since its introduction, and it has still not been enforced. Can I ask the cabinet secretary for an update on the parts of the 2021 legislation not being enforced and whether she will match the life-saving fund here in Scotland so that we can change and potentially save the lives of hundreds of women? I share Ms Gossill's point, and it is a fair point. Let me reassure her that the implementation board was established to work with all partners. In this regard, there is also an operational working group that has been established comprising of vital partners. We have done some detailed walk-through work to really understand what some of the issues at a very practical level are, that are standing the way to implementation. In short, this is around the higher and anticipated volume of cases, the challenging tight timescales for operational justice partners, and the challenges in how the views of children can be gathered in the way that does not cause them additional harm. However, let me say to her, I share her frustration and we are absolutely on this. A couple more questions. I am going to get through those, but no supplementaries. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there are any gaps in Scots law in relation to tackling image-based sexual abuse. There are a wide range of criminal laws related to image-based sexual abuse. That includes legislation concerning and indecent images of children and the offence of coercing a person to view a sexual image. Since 2016, it has been an offence for a person to share an intimate image of another person, where they either intend to cause that person to suffer fear, alarm or distress, or are reckless as to whether the sharing of the image would be likely to cause fear, alarm or distress. However, we keep the criminal law under review and will always consider if further legislation is needed. Pauli McNeill. Research shows that the swapping, collating and posting of new images of women without their consent is on the rise, but unlike revenge porn as it is quoted, it is not a crime. Scots law currently provides proof that the perpetrator intended or was reckless as to causing fear or alarm or distress, as the cabinet secretary has outlined. The offence, however, is limited in the requires proof of specific motivations, which means that many cases of cyberflashing are therefore excluded. However, there is some international best practice around this, such as in New South Wales or in many US states, which criminalises the non-consensual distribution of intimate images without the requirement to show any specific motivation. It is where I think there possibly might be a gap in the law. Will the cabinet secretary take a view on whether or not adopting a consent-based cyberflashing law might be beneficial here, or at the very least, we should be prepared to discuss it with me? In short, I am aware of Ms McNeill's concerns that were expressed at the committee. I have seen a read-out of that. At face value, I am not convinced that there is a gap. However, we will look at the experience in New South Wales, and if she wishes to discuss the detail with me personally, I would be more than happy to do so. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the second appliance at Metho fire station will be withdrawn from service by 4 September this year. In common with all public bodies in Scotland, it is right that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service reviews as operations to modernise and ensure that they are meeting needs and delivering value for money. As part of the review, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service plans to temporarily withdraw 10 fire appliances for service from 2 September 2023. I have been assured by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service that those removals will not compromise community safety. There is utter astonishment in Levenmouth area that this fire appliance has been withdrawn. There has been a spate of fires in nightclubs, in shops, in hotels and, in fact, this week in Springfield, in a little village in Springfield, there was a fire there too. Is the Government sure that this is the right time to cut the fire service budget and to allow this cut at Metho to go ahead? The Scottish Government has provided Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with an additional budget of £4.4 million on top of the £10 million uplift set out in the 23 to 24 budget announcement. Scottish Fire and Rescue has advised me that these locations have been identified through risk modelling using historic incident data and have been assessed as being the least impactful in terms of response times for the first and second appliances attending incidents. Scottish Fire and Rescue currently has in the region of 635 operational fire appliances across Scotland, and this modest reduction will allow Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that the more of the remaining 625 operational appliances are always available for deployment. They have extended an invitation to any member who wishes to raise concerns with the local service officers to discuss this issue. Thank you. That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move on to the next item of business. The next item of business is a statement by Lorna Slater on deposit return scheme. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Lorna Slater. Presiding Officer, in 2020, this Parliament voted for a deposit return scheme for single use drinks containers, where the onus for dealing with the disposal and reuse of these containers is placed on the companies which produce them. The polluter pays principle. Parliament did so because it looked around the world and saw that deposit return schemes worked with more than 50 schemes worldwide. It did so because it recognised the benefits of dramatically reduced litter, a step change in recycling rates, and having yet another tool in the fight against climate change, and that those benefits increase the larger the scope of the scheme. It did so because the case is strongest, both economically and environmentally, where schemes are all inclusive. It did so because it took in good faith a UK-wide agreement on the introduction of a deposit return scheme, which includes glass. After all, only a few months before the UK Government had been elected on just such a promise, Rishi Sunak, Alistair Jack and Douglas Ross all elected on the promise of a full deposit return scheme. The Scottish Parliament voted for the