Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not centrally capture information on the number of people appointed following recruitment processes in which the interview was conducted exclusively online. Consequently, the information requested, including a breakdown by employing body, job title or role and the percentage of all appointments represented, is not held.

All recruitment undertaken by the Scottish Government is conducted in line with the UK Civil Service Recruitment Principles, which require appointments to be made on merit following fair and open competition. Recruitment processes are designed to ensure candidates are assessed consistently, fairly and objectively against the requirements of the role.

Hiring Managers are supported through comprehensive recruitment guidance and policy frameworks which set out the requirements for planning and conducting assessment exercises, including interviews. In addition, managers involved in recruitment activity have access to training and support covering assessment methods, interviewing techniques, objective decision making, equality, diversity and inclusion considerations. This helps to ensure that recruitment decisions are evidence-based, consistent and aligned with Civil Service standards regardless of whether interviews are conducted online, in person or through a blended approach.

The children and families who arrived under the Gaza medevac scheme in Autumn 2025 received 24-month Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) visas from the UK Government. We are not aware that any of the arrivals have returned home to date.

It is right that Scotland has welcomed these child patients and Scottish Government will continue to urge UK Government to provide clarity on their options to remain in Scotland, should they wish to do so beyond the duration of their initial visas.

The Scottish Government received a collaborative application from a range of Justice partners, including Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, through the invest to save initiative, for funding to support the development of a system-wide business case and roadmap for long-term digital and service modernisation across the criminal justice system.

While that application did not prove successful, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform and I have recently met and discussed the proposal with the Chief Executive of Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, who led on this work, and the Crown Agent. In recognising the importance of the challenge outlined within the bid, we have invited the development of a further justice system proposal, out with the invest to save structure.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-03636 on 2 October 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Average time spent on remand prior to departure from prison or a transition to the sentenced population is published in the accredited official statistics on the Scottish prison population. The statistics are available here: Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2024-25 - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The recruitment and deployment of police officers are matters for the Chief Constable, with oversight by the Scottish Police Authority.

As an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

The review of the end-to-end recruitment and selection process for Prison Officer roles is an internal research and engagement exercise. Its purpose is to inform proposals for potential improvements to the recruitment process, ensuring it remains relevant and effective in attracting individuals with the values, skills and behaviours required to support SPS’s vision and objectives.

The review will be completed in consultation with the Trade Union Side and SPS staff within 12 months and used to inform the implementation of any agreed changes, in line with SPS’s commitment to continuous improvement and organisational development.

Following the contract award to host the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS) in April 2025, a total of £2,826,472.75 (exc. VAT) was allocated to the University of Strathclyde in partnership with the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER). The contract runs from 17 June 2025 to 30 September 2027, with a further three-month extension confirmed up to the end of December 2027. No additional funding is included in that extension.

No funding was provided for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 as AROS was not yet established. The table below gives the amounts allocated to the University of Strathclyde for hosting, staffing, financial management, human resources support and operational costs associated with establishing and delivering AROS. This supports AROS's functions as a national centre of excellence on anti-racism, including community-led co-production, accountability, and scrutiny; data, research and evidence gathering; and the development of tools, resources and partnerships to support anti-racism policy and practice across Scotland's public sector.

The Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS) is currently hosted by the University of Strathclyde, working in partnership with the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER).

AROS operates independently of the Scottish Government in relation to decisions concerning its workplan and activities. Arrangements relating to the hosting of AROS are governed by the contract between the Scottish Government and the hosting body.

The Scottish Government considers AROS to be an established organisation in the sense that it is fully operational and delivering an agreed programme of work. However, it is not currently constituted as a separate legal entity.

The Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS) is currently considering options for its long-term organisational model, ahead of the conclusion of the current hosting contract in December 2027. A decision on the preferred future arrangement is expected to be made in early 2027.