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Since Transport Scotland appointed design consultants in September 2016 to take forward the design and assessment of a new grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk it has held a number of technical meetings with Aberdeenshire Council officers in relation to the scheme along with six partnership group meetings with Aberdeenshire Council, Angus Council and Nestrans.

The Scottish Government is currently taking forward the detailed development and assessment of the preferred option with a view to publishing draft Orders and Environmental Impact Assessment Report later this year for comment.

The Scottish Government is committed to completing the A90/A937 Laurencekirk Junction Improvement for the people of the north east as soon as possible. We are currently taking forward the detailed development and assessment of the preferred option with a view to publishing draft Orders later this year for comment.

Delivery of the scheme can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory procedures and thereafter a timetable for its progress can be set.

Since early 2017, extensive geotechnical, topographical, traffic and environmental survey work has been undertaken as part of the rigorous assessment process used to establish and then develop in detail the preferred option for the trunk road improvement at Laurencekirk. Transport Scotland is currently taking forward the detailed development and assessment of the preferred option with a view to publishing draft Orders and Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the scheme later this year.

The delivery of police ICT projects, is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland is investing £3.9m in a national computer network to improve service and efficiency across Scotland. This will deliver increased network performance, stability and capability by removing legacy network services. This is currently being rolled out across the country.

While Audit Scotland found that recommended good practice was followed in the planning and procurement of the i6 programme, Police Scotland has learned lessons from this and from other projects, as outlined in the Audit Scotland report: Principles for a digital future: Lessons learned from public sector ICT project . These lessons have been built into Police Scotland’s outline business case for the development of Digital, Data and ICT (DDICT) capabilities. The agreement reached with the provider of i6 ensured that there was no financial detriment to Police Scotland or to the public purse.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the transformation of policing as outlined in the ten year policing strategy, Serving A Changing Scotland . Improved DDICT capability is key to this. To support this, we have continued police reform funding, with £28.6 million available in the current financial year.

The 2019-20 policing budget also includes a 52% increase in the capital allocation. In addition we have ensured that policing will benefit from being able to reclaim VAT of around £25 million a year, previously paid to the UK Government, bringing Police Scotland into line with every other police service in the UK.

This funding is supporting the development of a new national computer network, the rationalisation of core ICT systems and the roll out of mobile devices to police officers across Scotland.

We continue to press the UK Government to refund the £125 million paid by Police Scotland in VAT between 2013 and 2018.

As stated in the Programme for Government 2019-2020, the Victims Taskforce will be directly informed by a Victims Sounding Board and victim reference groups.

Rape Crisis Scotland has established a survivor reference group, which met for the first time in April, and published an initial report on their website. Victim Support Scotland has also established a victim reference group, via a series of one to one meetings and conversations with individual victims and family members. Some members of this group would prefer to continue to be involved on a one to one or virtual basis. Those members who wish to meet in person did so for the first time in August. Victim support organisations are working together to identify individuals from these reference groups and other existing networks to form a sounding board.

Updates on the Victims Taskforce engagement mechanisms can be found amongst the Taskforce papers at .

We are working with Young Scot and third sector partners to co-design an online resource for young people on gender-based violence. Young Scot hosts up to date material on a range of subjects, developed for and by young people aged 11 to 25.

The online resource will complement other work we are undertaking to improve young people’s knowledge and awareness of gender-based violence. These include the Equally Safe at School project which works with pupils and staff to address issues of gender inequality in their school. We are also funding the increased coverage of the Rape Crisis Scotland national sexual violence prevention programme to each local authority.

In 2016 the Scottish Government announced £24 million for the design and construction of a new grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk as part of a package of additional investment alongside, but separate to, the Aberdeen City Region Deal, as such the scheme is being progressed through the Scottish Government’s Motorways and Trunk Roads Capital Land and Works budget.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Youth Volunteer Scheme (YVS) has replaced the cadet scheme. There are currently five legacy young firefighter programmes operating across the SFRS which will transition to the new YVS from mid November 2019. The SFRS YVS creates opportunities to improve life chances and empower young people to work together for a safer Scotland.

The Scottish Government has included sustainability as one of its draft Strategic Police Priorities. These are the subject of a current consultation, and will set the long term strategic direction for the policing of Scotland and the carrying out of the Scottish Police Authority's (SPA) functions.

The Scottish Government continues to support the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland to deliver financial sustainability. This includes protecting the police revenue budget for the lifetime of this parliament, continuing reform funding to support transformation, and a 52% uplift in the police capital budget in this financial year.

We have also ensured that policing will benefit from being able to reclaim VAT of around £25 million a year, previously paid to the UK Government, bringing Police Scotland into line with every other police service in the UK. We will continue to press the UK Government to repay the £125 million of VAT paid by Police Scotland between 2013 and 2018. The SPA has a three year financial plan in place which outlines how it will eliminate its budget deficit to reach a financially sustainable position.

The Scottish Government has recently agreed to provide an additional £17 million to cover the policing costs of EU exit.

We continue to support and work closely with the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland, including through the spending review process, to ensure we have a modern and responsive police service which supports its workforce and shapes its services around the needs of individuals and communities.