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No Transport Scotland or Scottish Government payments to Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP have been identified for consultancy work on the (a) design and (b) tender of the (i) Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) 1 and (ii) CHFS2 contract.

No Transport Scotland or Scottish Government payments to Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP have been identified for consultancy work on the (a) design and (b) tender of the (i) Northern Isles Ferry Service passenger specifications, (ii) Northern Isles Ferry Services freight specifications and (iii) Gourock to Dunoon contracts.

The Scottish Government has directly engaged with justice stakeholders to provide the following information. Police Scotland have confirmed that RAAC has been identified in three sites across the Police Scotland estate, in Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee. These sites are pre 2007, however where RAAC has been identified, appropriate mitigation measures have been put in place and there is no immediate risk to officers, staff or visitors.

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) have confirmed ongoing structural survey work is underway, RAAC has been identified in one building within the North Lanarkshire area at Airdrie Sheriff Court.

The Scottish Government’s response to question S6W-21348 on 27 September 2023 provides the member with a response to the question “To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of any fire station buildings that contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)”.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government has directly engaged with justice stakeholders to seek updates on the current position across the justice estate. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) undertakes a regular rolling inspection regime of the buildings in its estate. There is an on-going programme of condition surveys underway to inform the programme of works needed over the short (1yr) medium (2-5yrs) and long (6-10yrs) term to undertake maintenance or remedial work identified on a managed risk basis.

In order to ensure a rigorous assessment in relation to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) the SCTS conducted desk-based and visual surveys of its estate over the summer and is conducting detailed structural surveys of the 10 buildings on its estate that were either constructed or had major works carried out during the time period in which RAAC was in use. These surveys will confirm whether or not RAAC is present in any facility and, if so, its condition and whether any remediation is required. At this point RAAC has been identified in one building – Airdrie Sheriff Court. No immediate signs of risk or deterioration of structural integrity have been identified. SCTS are conducting further work to identify any medium or longer term arrangements that may be required to ensure continued safety. The building is safe and the detailed survey will make recommendations to ensure that remains the case.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) based on their knowledge of the SPS estate, do not believe that RAAC is present within the prison estate. SPS is however conducting a further evidence based scoping exercise to identify any buildings that cannot be categorically ruled out as containing RAAC. Any buildings identified will require further investigation and may need more intrusive testing/inspection by specialist consultants. The initial scoping exercise is due to be concluded by 30 September 2023.

In April 2023, Police Scotland undertook visual inspections of 65 sites across its estate, resulting in 36 sites being confirmed as not containing RAAC. The remaining 29 sites were inspected by structural engineers, and RAAC was confirmed as present at 3 of these sites in Edinburgh, Perth and Baluniefield.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) are not aware definitively of any RAAC buildings in their estate, however, COPFS have engaged surveyors to carry out a desktop study of their owned and leased estate. At this stage, of the owned 8 assets, only one; Dumbarton, may fall within the RAAC age band, suggesting it may require further investigation.

The Scottish Government’s response to PQ S6W-21348 on 27 September 2023 provides the member with a response to the question “To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of any fire station buildings that contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)”.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

SFRS carried out a thorough assessment of all its buildings in 2019 and identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in 14 fire stations. These are: Crewe Toll (Edinburgh), Cumbernauld, Dalkeith, Galashiels, Hawick, Helensburgh, Huntly, Liberton (Edinburgh), Livingston, Marionville (Edinburgh), Milngavie, Portree, Stewarton and Tranent.

Where the presence of RAAC is confirmed in a public building, we expect the owner to take appropriate measures to assess and manage any risk identified in line with the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. Mitigating measures are in place at all 14 fire stations.

These were pre-RET products that had always been intended to be removed at the point RET was introduced across the Calmac network from 2015.

Following representations from the community, Transport Scotland are engaging with Calmac on this matter to consider whether any interim replacement product can be put in place. This will need to consider any practical challenges and any costs associated with the reintroduction of a similar product that will function with the new system.

A wider review of fares policy will be undertaken as part of the consultation on the Islands Connectivity Plan in due course.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) fully recognise the need to ensure prison infrastructure is fit for purpose for those that live and work in prisons, and supports the rehabilitation of people living there.

As set out in the Programme for Government 2023-24 we continue to invest in the prison estate, working towards replacing prisons in Inverness and Glasgow to ensure modern facilities that promote rehabilitation into communities and reduced reoffending. Given the current significant financial and operational pressures, we are having to prioritise capital investment based on risks and pressures across the estate.

At this time, the only form of electronic monitoring available in Scotland is radio frequency monitoring (RF).

As at 11 September 2023 the number of non-custodial sentences being electronically monitored was 1,583. This compares to 1,177 non-custodial sentences being electronically monitored at the same time last year.

The Scottish Government is represented on the ETSU steering group by officials from the Directorate for Energy and Climate Change.

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding electronic monitoring use across a broader range of licences and community orders, including exploring use of remote alcohol monitoring as provided for by the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019.

Following passage of the Act a new national contract was procured that would allow for use of new technology. The majority of the Act has now been commenced and from 17 May 2022 provisions were commenced to allow electronic monitoring as part of bail and to allow electronic monitoring with Community Payback Orders at first disposal. As work continues to embed these recent changes, we are now engaging with justice partners to explore the potential uses of new technologies, including remote substance monitoring technologies.