We recognise the range of views on same-sex marriage and registration of civil partnerships. We will therefore begin a process of consultation and discussion of these issues as soon as practicable.

The Scottish Government has provided Smart enabled Electronic Ticket Machines to the entire Scottish bus fleet, as part of its administration of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme, and is working with First ScotRail on a trial of similar systems for the rail industry. A report setting out the findings of a comprehensive review to help advance Scottish Government policy towards Smart and Integrated ticketing in Scotland was published in March 2011.

We will continue to work with transport operators, local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships to support the creation of a multi-modal smartcard ticket for public transport.

The Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009 (the 2009 Act), which came into force in March 2010, ensures that, where it can be proven that an offence has been motivated by malice or ill-will based on the victim’s actual or presumed sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability, the judge or sheriff must take that motivation into account when determining sentence. This may lead to a longer custodial sentence or higher fine or a different type of disposal than might have been the case if the offence was not so aggravated. Work is currently underway to evaluate the effectiveness of the provisions in the 2009 act by identifying the scale of reported hate crime and the progress of these cases through the justice system.

Sentencing decisions in Scotland remain entirely a matter for the sentencer, who hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender, and takes into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant before reaching a view on an appropriate sentence. As such, guidance has not been produced specifically to assist Judges in sentencing aggravated offences under the 2009 Act. However, there are provisions for a Scottish Sentencing Council, in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, which will establish a council when they are commenced. The council will produce guidelines to assist the development of sentencing policy and promote consistency in sentences. A sentencing guideline relating to how courts take account of aggravated factors in hate crimes, including those offences aggravated under the 2009 Act, could be a matter that the Scottish Government could request the council to consider.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/13/part/1/crossheading/the-scottish-sentencing-council/enacted.

Yes, and work is already on-going.

The ScotRail franchise agreement included an option in which Scottish ministers required ScotRail to arrange for the production of a detailed report for the introduction of wi-fi on ScotRail Express routes. This report has been delivered and now forms one of the inputs to our strategy.

Transport Scotland will include the provision of enhanced communications within the contract for future ScotRail passenger services, encouraging bidders to identify the best technical solution and invest in appropriate facilities that meet the expectations of the day.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy, published on 3 March 2011, we are committed to working with industry and Ofcom in identifying barriers to increased mobile coverage and assessing how these may be overcome. Many barriers to increased 3G mobile coverage are similar to those for next generation broadband. We are committed to improving coverage of both mobile and broadband as we implement our digital strategy over 2011 and beyond.

We recognise the potential of 4G mobile – the future generation of mobile services – to significantly improve both mobile and next generation broadband coverage throughout Scotland. We will shortly submit a response to Ofcom’s current consultation on the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum bands to maximise the potential benefits to Scotland from 4G.

Over the past two years, the Scottish Government have developed a new range of quarterly economic statistics for Scotland. In addition to the output-based GDP measure, income and expenditure components have been estimated and are presented alongside the output estimates on a consistent basis. This forms part of the Scottish National Accounts Project (SNAP), see link below for more information:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/SNAP.

Since 2007, when the Scottish Government moved to adopt an outcomes-based model of governance, it has used a wide range of indicators to measure progress against the Purpose and National Outcomes set out in its National Performance Framework. These include economic, social and environmental measures. All measures used in the National Performance Framework and the full supporting data and methodologies used to determine direction of travel can be seen on the Scotland Performs website www.scotlandperforms.com.

The arrangements for independent scrutiny of sustainable development performance were set out in the answer to question S3W-37829 on 25 November 2010.

I will reiterate the main points here. The Scottish Parliament and its Committees scrutinise Scottish Government policy across the board, including sustainable development. The UK Committee on Climate Change has been established as an independent body to provide advice and guidance. Audit Scotland has updated its capacity to scrutinise Sustainable Development. The public sector duties on climate change and sustainability will add further impetus to action on sustainability. Environmental NGOs have increased their own focus on sustainability and climate change policy.

We have previously announced our commitment to community-led action on climate change and sustainable development including by increasing the Climate Challenge Fund to £10.3 million for this financial year and making the same commitment for the five-year period of this Parliament. We have further made clear our commitment through the publication of the Report on Proposals and Policies and the Public Engagement Strategy. The Scottish Government attaches a high priority to ensuring a sustainable future for Scotland.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

On 18 May 2011, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) published a report on Hate Crime in Scotland 2010-11, which provides details of the initial decisions taken on how to proceed with hate crime charges. The publication includes information on the number of charges prosecuted in court but not on sentences, because the information COPFS hold on sentences is not complete. http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Publications/2011/05/Hate-Crime-Scotland-2010-11

The Scottish Government court proceedings database contains data on persons proceeded against in court to the end of March 2010. The Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009 commenced on 24 March 2010 so there are not yet any prosecutions, convictions or sentences recorded on the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database under this act. The Scottish Government plan to publish information on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing for the financial year 2010-11, in December 2011.

Low pay is an issue that the Scottish Government takes very seriously and we support the principles of the living wage campaign. The Public Sector Pay Policy for Staff Pay Remits 2011-12 published by the Scottish Government requires employers covered by the policy to pay their employees a Scottish Living Wage. This is currently set at £7.15 per hour.

Private sector pay, however, is a matter for individual companies. Imposing a requirement on contractors to pay their employees more than the National Minimum Wage could amount to a restriction of the freedom to provide services guaranteed by article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The breakdown of the 19 eligible notes of interest by Regional Transport Partnership area is as follows: HITRANS - 10, SEStran - four, SPT - two Tactran - two and Nestrans “ one.