Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-14204

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to help prevent spiking incidents at universities and colleges.

We expect universities and colleges to be places where students and staff are free from all forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), including spiking.

Universities and colleges are autonomous bodies. However, they have a responsibility for the welfare and safety of their students and it is for each institution to determine procedures to keep students safe from spiking.

The Scottish Government held several roundtable meetings to bring together partners including representatives from colleges and universities to discuss the prevalence of spiking and a range of initiatives and information available on spiking for students.

Representatives from College Development Network, Universities Scotland, NUS Scotland and The Student Services Organisation (AMOSSHE) were involved in these roundtable discussions. Significant collaborative work through the roundtable format was undertaken to raise awareness and heighten vigilance in the run up to the return to college and university campuses.

The Scottish Government currently funds the Emily Test charity to develop the Emily Test Charter and the accompanying LISTEN Risk Assessment Tool. The Charter provides a framework to help institutions start or improve their work in tackling GBV, and we would encourage all institutions to engage with it.

We will continue to work closely with the university and college sectors, and their representatives, through the Equally Safe in Colleges and Universities Core Leadership Group, as part of our approach to tackling all forms of GBV.

Question reference: S6W-14209

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any trends in reported incidents of spiking, and what steps it is taking to ensure that perpetrators are (a) caught, (b) prosecuted and (c) appropriately sentenced.

The Scottish Government does not intervene in or comment on the investigation, prosecution or sentencing of individual cases which are independent operational matters for Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the courts.

Police Scotland have advised they take all reports of spiking seriously and thoroughly investigates all reports.

A comprehensive Investigative Strategy has been developed and circulated to provide guidance and direction to staff responding to and investigating incidents of spiking. A Detective Superintendent has national investigative oversight and Senior Investigating Officers have been appointed within each policing division to lead on all spiking related investigations locally. Police Scotland’s focus is on identifying people who carry out an assault in this way, investigating fully, gathering evidence, and working with Crown Office to bring the perpetrator to justice.

Where evidence is provided to Crown Office as regards an offence, it is for independent prosecutors to decide what action to take. If a case is prosecuted, it is for the independent court to determine whether an accused person is guilty and if so, what an appropriate sentence should be.

Question reference: S6W-13874

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when an update to the Reconviction Rates in Scotland statistics will next be published.

The heavy impact of the pandemic and subsequent court closures on reconvictions data must be balanced against user needs for information with the provision of meaningful and informative statistics that carry minimal risk of misinterpretation. We are currently investigating what information we could helpfully provide users in respect of reconvictions statistics. We will communicate the outcome of this investigation to users as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-13875

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many drug tests for any prohibited substance have taken place in prisons (a) in 2021-22 and (b) so far in 2022-23, broken down by how many test results were (i) positive, (ii) negative and (iii) inconclusive.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table provides the total number of drug tests conducted in each financial year, along with the results.

Year	Total Number of Tests	Positive tests	Negative tests
2021-22	4496	294	3892
2022- Jan 2023	3770	258	3185

* The reports run from 01 April to 31 March each year.

The SPS do not record data on inconclusive tests.

Question reference: S6W-13873

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when Parole Board for Scotland’s annual report for 2021-22 will be published.

The Parole Board for Scotland is required to make a report on the performance of its functions to the Scottish Ministers as soon as practicable after the end of each year, after which this report is laid before Parliament. No specific date has been set as yet for the receipt of the annual report, including accounts, for 2021-22, but this will be laid before Parliament and published in due course.

Question reference: S6W-13377

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the publication of the Drug Seizures and Offender Characteristics 2020-21 statistics has reportedly been delayed.

As noted within the Scottish Government's calendar of forthcoming statistical publications (link provided below), the Drug Seizures and Offender Characteristics 2020-21 publication has been delayed to provide additional time for data collection and validation.

Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Government statisticians now intend to publish figures for 2020-21 and the following year of 2021-22 in the Spring of 2023, and we will pre-announce a specific month to users in the near future.

Question reference: S6O-01633

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities to ensure that the provision of local services meets the needs of local communities.

Question reference: S6F-01572

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2022

To ask the First Minister how much the Scottish Prison Service has spent on providing free mobile phones to all prisoners.

Question reference: S6W-11834

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any significant case review into the murder of Esther Brown, as referred to by the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament on 18 November 2021.

If a person managed under Scotland’s Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) commits a further offence which results in the serious harm of another person, a Significant Case Review (SCR) must be undertaken. This SCR process is designed to examine the actions or processes employed by the agencies involved to ensure that all reasonable steps had been undertaken to minimise risk and to capture any learning.

I can confirm that in this case it is the Glasgow MAPPA Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) who are responsible for ensuring that an SCR is carried out. I understand that the report commissioned by the SOG is entering its final stages. There is a necessary process of factual accuracy checking and consideration of comments from all relevant partner agencies prior to a final report being presented by the independent reviewer. The report will then be formally considered by the Glasgow SOG and their Chief Officers Group.

We are unable to comment in any more detail as to timing or content at this time as this is a report commissioned and overseen by the Glasgow SOG.

Once published, we will carefully consider, along with our MAPPA partners, any review recommendations at organisational and national level.

Question reference: S6O-01561

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to keep teachers and pupils safe while at school.