Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Questions Justice and Veterans Jamie Greene S6O-00235 1. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service consultation, Reducing Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals. Emma Harper S6O-00236 2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its £500 million of funding to modernise the prison estate, including any updates to HMP Dumfries. Monica Lennon S6O-00237 3. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a backlog in toxicology analyses, how many final post-mortem reports following a sudden or unexplained death were not issued within the 12-week target in 2020 and 2021. Fulton MacGregor S6O-00238 4. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to implement a Bairns’ Hoose, or Barnahus, model for children and vulnerable witnesses in criminal proceedings. Dean Lockhart S6O-00239 5. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics showing that the number of cyber-crimes recorded has nearly doubled in the last year. Richard Leonard S6O-00240 6. To ask the Scottish Government what role fatal accident inquiries have in the delivery of justice in Scotland. Alex Rowley S6O-00241 7. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it supports veterans, and what official statistics it records to monitor this. Donald Cameron S6O-00242 8. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Police Scotland in its upkeep of the police estate. Finance and the Economy Foysol Choudhury S6O-00243 1. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported increase in underemployment. Paul Sweeney S6O-00244 2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will respond to the calls being made by trade unions and activist groups and allocate an additional £17 million in funding this year to support the local authority services currently managed by Glasgow Life. Maurice Golden S6O-00245 3. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote sustainable public procurement. Stuart McMillan S6O-00246 4. To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken with Inverclyde Council to encourage business development and inward investment into Inverclyde. Neil Bibby S6O-00247 5. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision to remove the cohesion target from the National Performance Framework, how it is monitoring whether the employment gap is narrowing between the best and worst performing areas. Gillian Martin S6O-00248 6. To ask the Scottish Government how it will support the north east economy, in light of the impact of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. Willie Coffey S6O-00249 7. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government regarding the digital economy and digital single market. Bill Kidd S6O-00250 8. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of UK Government policies on the local economies of areas of high multiple deprivation. followed by Ministerial Statement: Supreme Court Judgement on European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill followed by Scottish Government Debate: Scotland in the World – Championing Progressive Values That the Parliament welcomes the internationalist vision for Scotland set out in the Programme for Government and the Scottish Government’s commitment to be a good global citizen; supports the measures outlined to promote progressive values globally and offer practical help to international partners, notably a 50% increase in the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund and doubling of the Just Transition Fund, the opening of additional Scottish Government hubs in Copenhagen and Warsaw, and the ambition to align domestic policy objectives with the approach to international development; regrets the actions taken by the UK Government, particularly since 2016, which have reduced its standing in the world, for example the deplorable decision to cut its Official Development Assistance by a third, which will hit the world’s poorest communities at a time of great need; notes the increasingly interdependent nature of the world and the necessity of cooperation between nations to address global challenges; welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to promote democracy, fairness and human rights across the world; recognises Scotland’s distinctive profile on the world stage, and believes that Brexit, which the overwhelming majority of people in Scotland did not vote for, is at odds with that internationalist ambition. followed by Decision Time followed by Members' Business — S6M-00989 Donald Cameron: A83 Rest and Be Thankful That the Parliament recognises what it sees as the ongoing frustration felt by communities and businesses across Argyll and Bute as a result of the reported continued problems on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful pass; acknowledges the establishment of the Rest and Be Thankful Campaign group, representing 1,500 businesses across Argyll and Bute; notes the group's calls for a more robust, long-term solution to the existing road, and for faster action to be taken to deliver it; understands that, following public consultation, Transport Scotland has identified a new route to replace the existing A83 Rest and Be Thankful pass; considers that the timescale set out to achieve this does not meet the urgent needs of communities and businesses across Argyll and Bute; notes the view that Transport Scotland should explore the potential use of the nearby forestry road as a temporary mitigation route, and further notes the calls on the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland to work with MSPs from all parties, the Rest and Be Thankful Campaign and other local stakeholders to achieve a suitable outcome.