 Maen nhw, y dyfodol y First Item of Business is General Questions. The first question is from Maurice Corry. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Water Safety Scotland regarding its work and with local authorities to promote water safety and drowning prevention. Minister Ash Denham. Firstly I would like to pass on my sincere condolences to the loved ones of the two women who sadly died in Aberdeen on Good Friday. The Scottish Government has supported Water Safety Scotland since the launch of their drowning prevention strategy in 2018. My officials are meeting with Water Safety Scotland and the Royal Life Saving Society this week as part of our continuing engagement. While it is for local authorities to agree their own policy on water safety, last October I wrote to all community safety partnerships to support their work and to promote water safety. Maurice Corry. I thank the minister for her answer, yet, with the upcoming year of coasts and waters in 2020, does the minister agree with me that Scotland's waters must be promoted in the safest possible way, especially considering Rossford's research, which shows that 60 per cent of Scottish local authorities do not have a water safety policy? Minister. I do. Obviously, Scotland has, I think, is 90 per cent of all the standing fresh water in the UK, but we want people to be able to enjoy the amazing countryside of Scotland but in a safe way as possible. Over the last five years, the Scottish Government has provided Rossford over £600,000 in funding to deliver its annual home and water safety programme. This year, we are providing funding of £112,000, which will help to support delivery of the commitments set out in the drowning prevention strategy. We have also proactively supported the implementation of the strategy, and so we have funded and distributed water safety educational material to 2,500 school children before the summer break last year in partnership with Rosba and Water Safety Scotland. We have hosted a ministerial round table with Water Safety Scotland and sporting governing bodies in June last year. A range of actions were agreed around data-sharing, local authority engagement and education and awareness raising, which are being progressed by Water Safety Scotland. Just to reiterate on my earlier answer, I also wrote to all the community safety partnerships to encourage them to do all they can as well with Water Safety Scotland to support and implement their strategy. 2. Sandra White To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Electoral Commission regarding encouraging EU citizens living in Scotland to register to vote in the forthcoming European Parliament elections. 2. Michael Russell I wrote to David Littington, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 3 April to express my concern that citizens of EU member states might not have sufficient time to complete the UC1 forum, which will allow them to vote at the European Parliamentary elections in the UK. If EU citizens do not have time to complete and return those forums, they will be disenfranchised and will not be able to vote on 23 May. I am pleased to note that the Electoral Registration Office in Scotland has now contacted all registered EU citizens to encourage them to complete the forums. Scottish Government officials are participating in weekly meetings of the Electoral Commission advisory board where planning for the European Parliament elections is discussed. The Electoral Commission's public awareness campaign will encourage all eligible electors, including EU citizens, to register to vote by 7 May deadline in order to take part in the elections. I encourage all citizens to register and to make sure that they are registered by 7 May. Sandra White I thank the minister for that response. EU citizens living in Scotland make a hugely positive contribution economically, culturally and academically, as I have in Glasgow University, in my constituency. I know how much they actually put forward there. Would the minister agree with me that the shambles at Westminster makes the case for an independent Scotland absolutely essential, where we welcome and value those who chose to make Scotland their home and that the forthcoming European elections offers the opportunity for everyone living in Scotland to again reject Brexit? The effort is imperative for those who are eligible to register to vote by 7 May. The Scottish Government has made it very clear that EU citizens are welcome in Scotland and they contribute an enormous amount. We want them to stay and we will support them to stay. Of course, one of the great advantages of independence will be the ability to tailor immigration policy for Scotland's needs to do away with the UK Government's deplorable, hostile environment approach. The member is, as she has said, the representative of Glasgow University. Our university sector, 25 per cent of the staff in the research side of universities are from other EU countries. In, for example, the abattoir sector, 60 per cent of the employees is a 95 per cent of the vets. I could go through, Presiding Officer, a whole range of sectors I know you rather I didn't, that pointed out the dependence upon EU Labour and, indeed, in rural Scotland that dependence is particularly great. It is an appalling thing to be pleased that freedom of movement is coming to an end and it will be very damaging for Scotland if that is allowed to happen. Question 3, Neil Findlay. To ask the Scottish Government when it will assess the impact of fish and protection orders on trout and salmon stocks and rivers and lochs. The Scottish Government has no current plans to undertake a review of the 14 fisheries protection orders that are in place. Neil Findlay. We are told that we live in an era of evidence-based policymaking, so given the decline of salmon stocks on rivers with protection orders on them, will the cabinet secretary now instruct an independent scientific review of the impact of protection orders on fish stocks in Scottish rivers and lochs? Neil Findlay. The Scottish Government does a number of things that are in connection with, particularly, the situation of salmon. I am very aware of Mr Findlay's concerns about protection orders, but I have indicated that there are no current plans to review the orders. I understand from the information that I have been given that we have been giving full answers to his points when he has raised them earlier in the year. I appreciate his concerns about trout and salmon stocks, but the protection orders are most relevant to freshwater fisheries and we have specific conservation measures in place for the protection of Atlantic salmon. Dean Lockhart, to ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the efficiency of ScotRail services using Stirling station. In the preceding 13 rail periods, Network Rail was responsible for half of all delays impacting on services calling at Stirling station. ScotRail was responsible for 44 per cent. £159 million has been invested in electrification, introducing brand new electric services to Stirling. From May, all Glasgow Stirling all our services will see six extra services per day, longer formations providing 4,000 extra seats per day. On the Edinburgh Stirling Dumblane service, there will be two extra services per day, with longer formations providing 1,500 extra seats per day. ScotRail must now deliver its remedial plan, monitored by Transport Scotland with independent oversight, from a railway operations expert. Dean Lockhart, let me remind the cabinet secretary that ScotRail data for March showed that less than 60 per cent of trains terminating at Stirling station were on time with 40 per cent classified as late. Notwithstanding his assurances that everything possible is being done to remedy this, does he agree with my constituents that the current level of service from ScotRail is unacceptable? Does he have a real plan to fix that? What the member ignores is the impact that infrastructures had on those particular figures during March, where there were significant challenges with points and signalling issues in the Edinburgh area that had a very detrimental impact on performance over the March period. Having said that, where ScotRail has to make its improvements, it is important to do so, and it is outlined in terms of the timetable changes in May, how that will enhance seating capacity on the particular routes that are serviced by Stirling station, and why it also now has to make sure that it implements its remedial plan. However, as I have said on a number of occasions in the chamber, we need to make sure that both parts of a railway are operating effectively, and that means that Network Rail needs to address the infrastructure issues that continue to have an impact on passenger services. Is the Cabinet Secretary aware that, while there has been disruption caused by ScotRail's performance, another major reason for disruption of passengers in the Stirling area is signal failure. Responsibility for signalling lies fairly and squarely at the door of Network Rail, which is, of course, fully reserved to Westminster. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport, the new-grade responsibility for rail should be entirely devolved so that we can have a joined-up railway system in Scotland and ensure that Network Rail is accountable to this Scottish Parliament. The member makes a very good point. As I pointed out to Dean Lockhart in the course of his supplementary question, very often members are keen to point out the failings of ScotRail, and rightly so they should be held to account for those matters, but at times they are very reluctant to point out the failings of Network Rail, an impact that it has on passenger services. I have made it very clear that the existing structural system that we have for providing rail services in Scotland is no longer suitable to serve at the travelling public, and that is why we need to see the full devolution of railways services in, to the Scottish Parliament and to the Scottish Government, so that we can ensure that both parts of a rail network, ScotRail and the infrastructure provider Network Rail, are accountable to this Parliament and to this Government, and we can make sure that it is addressing the issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. 5. Graham Simpson To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle violent crime. Minister Ash Denner. I thank the member for raising this issue, and he will be aware that, over the last few months, Scotland's groundbreaking public health approach to violent crime over the past decade or so has been subject to much praise from across the UK and also internationally. Violent crime is reducing in Scotland, and since 2006-07, recorded violent crime in Scotland has fallen by 49 per cent to one of the lowest levels seen since 1974. That is welcome, but no level of violence is acceptable, and that is why we are continuing to invest in the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, Medics Against Violence and Youth Link Scotland, and there are many partners to deliver violence prevention programmes to tackle violence wherever it persists across Scotland. Graham Simpson I thank the minister for that answer, but last week, Scottish Government statistics showed that, in South Lanarkshire, offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been involved increased by 150 per cent since 2015-16, and that is the largest increase in Scotland by a mile. In North Lanarkshire, it went up by 40 per cent, so would the minister agree that this is unacceptable and endeavour to find out what is being done to stem the tide across Lanarkshire? I thank the member for raising that issue. I would agree that no level of firearm use in Scotland is acceptable. We are doing everything that we can in order to reduce that across Scotland. I will write to the member for further details on that, but I would say that police officer numbers in Scotland remain significantly above the level inherited in 2007, and that is one way that we would combat that. The number of officers in Scotland has risen over 900 since March 2007, where there has been a reduction of almost 20,000 officers in England and Wales. As usual, the rhetoric from the Conservatives on the issue does not match their record. Gillian Martin. While figures for many violent crimes in Scotland are going down, for sexual offences, they continue to rise. Sexual crimes are now the highest-level since 1971 and they affect Scotland's women the most. Can I ask what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle the decades-long rise in sexual offences, but what it is doing to ensure that women get support to bring their attackers to justice? I thank the member for raising what is a very important issue. There are a range of reasons that lie behind the increase in recorded sexual crime. Those include a greater willingness of victims to come forward, more historical reporting and the impact of new legislation. The Scottish Government provides support for victims through targeted funding, legislative improvements and partnership working with agencies and stakeholders. We are implementing equally safe, our strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, and our equally safe delivery plan contains 118 commitments to achieve that. In 2015, the First Minister announced a £20 million violence against women and girls justice fund to improve the experience of victims and the outcomes of those experiences. The fund also supported prevention and early intervention work, and those aims continue to inform our funding strategy. The minister advises what the level of violent crime is in Scotland compared to south of the border, where Mr Simpson's party is in power. I thank the member for that question, but, unfortunately, comparing levels of violent crime in Scotland with south of the border is not a simple process, because the use of differing definitions and collection methods for the data in both recorded crime and our respective surveys. Our statistics demonstrate that we have seen significant decreases in the levels of violence across Scotland. Since 2006-07, we have seen a 49 per cent decrease in recorded violent crime, a 51 per cent drop in the number of victims of homicide and a 55 per cent fall in the total number of emergency admissions to hospital resulting from assault. Angus MacDonald To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the issue of roadside litter. Cabinet Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham Littering is unacceptable. Roadside litter is unsightly. It presents a danger to other motorists and to the operatives cleaning it up. There is also a significant cost to the taxpayer taking valuable resources away from other public services. On 3 April, I announced my commitment to bring forward legislation in the future circular economy bill that will create a specific offence of littering from a vehicle that will allow for a fixed penalty to be issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle if the responsible individual cannot be identified. Angus MacDonald I thank the cabinet secretary for her reply. Clearly, the introduction of DRS will have a positive and welcome impact on reducing roadside litter. Those of us who are supportive of DRS for some time, in my case since I saw it operating in Norway way back in the mid-80s, are keen that there is no slippage in the timescale for the introduction of the scheme. Can the cabinet secretary assure the chamber that the timeline for introduction of DRS is still on track and advise when we are likely to know whether or not glass will be included in the scheme from day 1? Angus MacDonald Yes, we are on track. The commitment to establishing a deposit return scheme is well established. It is central to our wider circular economy ambitions. Of course, it is also central to the contribution that it can make to climate change emissions reductions. We continue to make progress with the design of the system, informed by last year's extensive public consultation and the on-going engagement that we have had with a wide range of stakeholders. We intend to set out next steps with the scheme's implementation shortly, during which all will be revealed. Maurice Golden Thank you, Presiding Officer. Fewer than half of the litter fines issued in the three years up to 2018 were paid. Given that, what assurance is there that the new measure on roadside litter will be enforced any better? Angus MacDonald Enforcement is always an issue when it comes to any particular change in the law, not just this one. The intention is to provide the enforcement authorities with the ability to go after a registered keeper and not have to go through the process of trying to establish who precisely in the car did the littering, at which point, if they cannot do that, it stops. At that point, there will be an issue for the registered keeper. We are hoping that that provides a better and more appropriate way in order to deal with the problem of littering from cars. Donald Cameron To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to Ofgem regarding its consultation on the proposed Western Isles interconnector. Minister Paul Wheelhouse The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Ofgem and others, with an interest in the proposed transmission link to the Western Isles. I will be submitting a response to Ofgem's consultation, reiterating our strong support for a 600 megawatt link. I have written and spoken to Darren MacDonald and Ofgem's chief executive, stressing that a 600 megawatt link could help to unlock the considerable renewables potential in the Western Isles, including community-based projects, and that this opportunity must not be squandered. I will reiterate those points when I meet Ofgem's chair, Martin Cave, next week. Donald Cameron Given that a 600 megawatt interconnector would greatly benefit local community groups by allowing them to develop their own wind power projects due to the extra capacity, will he join me in calling on Ofgem to strongly reconsider the case for a 600 megawatt interconnector? I support the marks that Donald Cameron made. I have already urged Ofgem to reconsider that position. I will continue to do so in relation to the formal submission that we will make. However, as the member indicates, we are recognised that, in the Western Isles and in the other island groups, interconnections are vital to deliver the kind of community economic development opportunities that we know renewable energy can bring to the islands when there are scant other opportunities to do so. It is very important that we work together to ensure that those links are installed and that it provides sufficient opportunity to develop the economy of all three island groups. Aster Alun Although I very much welcome Mr Cameron's support for this project, which is of huge importance to my constituency, I have to point out gently that it comes on the back of a near decade of intransigence by his Conservative colleagues in the UK Government. Does the minister agree with me that Ofgem should give proper consideration to the enormous socioeconomic benefits that the proposed interconnector would unlock? Will he urge other politicians, particularly those on the Conservative benches, to make that argument very strenuously to the UK Government and its energy minister? Michael Russell The member makes a very important point. As the local member is well aware of the potential for economic development in the Western Isles arising from that investment, we will certainly make those points in the submission and give an absolute commitment to Dr Alun to do that. Of course, Ofgem is not directly accountable to this Parliament, so it is absolutely important that members across the chamber, especially colleagues in the Conservative benches, can use the influence to try and encourage UK ministers to put their own thoughts into Ofgem's consideration. We are urging Ofgem to consider the full range of benefits that Lynx would provide and which we believe should be taken into account in its assessment in those cases. We also believe that that will not only develop the economy of the Western Isles but deliver cheaper energy for GP consumers as well, so it makes sense in both fronts. Rhoda Grant The minister will be aware that Ofgem will only take account of potential generation that is in the planning process and therefore community schemes that are not in the planning process because they cannot afford to do that until their capacity in the system will not be taken into account. What is the Scottish Government doing to measure the potential generation by communities in order to inform Ofgem's decision? Michael Russell Well, the memory is an important point. We are working very closely through the channels of the care scheme to try and support communities with projects, but she is absolutely right that without the grid connection that undermines the argument for investment. It is vital that we have the grid connection in the Western Isles to allow projects that have been grid constrained since 2007, which has been a major constraint in development in the Western Isles to take place. We do know that between Lewis Wimpar and Eucinus projects in Western Isles, there are 360 megawatts already in the planning system. Further capacity is in terms of the Lethan Windfarm and other consented projects, so that is in our 49 megawatts. In total, more than 400 megawatts are already in the system, and we believe that Ofgem should be a bit less risk averse in pushing the boundaries on what is possible. The area has a huge potential for renewables, including we believe that many more projects could come forward.