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-24135

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the performance of GEOAmey in fulfilling its Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Services contract; whether it has any concerns regarding this, and, if so, whether it will outline these.

We have been supporting Scottish Prison Services and other partners in delivering an improvement in the contract. This has resulted in some progress, with a slowdown in staff attrition, which is down by 40%. Prisoner Custody Officer (PCO) staffing levels have increased by around 40 officers in the last 3 months with another 20 currently in officer training, with them operationally deployable during January 2024. Steps have also been taken to help reduce future demand for service.

SPS is continuing to monitor the performance of the contract carefully to ensure target thresholds are met, so we can have a level of service which meets the needs of our Justice system.

Question reference: S6W-24134

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether GEOAmey is effectively fulfilling its obligations in its Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Services contract.

Question reference: S6W-24131

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether the Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Services contract with GEOAmey stipulates that a penalty for poor performance is the cancellation of the contract and nationalisation of court custody and prisoner escort services.

We have been supporting the Scottish Prison Service and other partners in delivering an improvement in the GEOAmey contract that has resulted in early positive signs, with a slowdown in staff attrition and improved staff numbers.

The Criminal Justice Board has been engaged with issues relating to the contract and, as Teresa Medhurst, the Scottish Prison Service Chief Executive, stated at the Criminal Justice Committee in November 2023, all options remain under consideration in relation to prisoner escort arrangements in Scotland.

The Scottish Prison Service will continue to monitor the performance of the contract carefully to ensure target thresholds are met, so we can have a level of service which meets the needs of our justice system.

Question reference: S6W-24133

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has done to assess the effectiveness of the GEOAmey Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Services contract.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) leads the management and monitoring of the contract on behalf of Scottish Ministers as well as Justice partners and is working closely with GEOAmey to resolve the performance and service delivery issues.

Scheduled monitoring of the contract is undertaken by SPS which reports against a significant number of service level and performance indicators to assess contractual compliance. In addition, routine and ad-hoc audits are also carried out to ensure care, welfare and other legislative elements are maintained and delivered by GEOAmey.

As a result of the contractual audits and reviews completed since the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, a contract recalibration was agreed in 2023 to support the changing demands of the Justice Sector.

Question reference: S6O-02965

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-23321

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2022-23 will be published.

Question reference: S6O-02872

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations outlined in the STUC's report, Raising taxes to deliver for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23161

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it consulted (a) healthcare and (b) social care workers prior to it making the decision to end the mandatory wearing of face masks in healthcare and social care settings.

Throughout the pandemic, any changes to Scottish Government’s guidance on the extended use of face masks in healthcare and social care settings went through an extensive consultation process. Whilst direct engagement with NHS staff was not conducted, the Directorate for Health and Social Care's Professional Advisor Group were consulted - this group includes representatives from across Health and Social Care. The Professional Advisors engage with NHS staff through various forums and networks.

The consultation process also included the Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Medical Officer, National Clinical Director and Health and Social Care Directors. All were content with the advice to withdraw the extended use of face mask and face covering guidance, based on the Antimicrobial Resistance and Hospital Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland and Public Health Scotland reviews, the expert opinion of Professional Advisors, and consideration of the current pandemic context.

Direct engagement was conducted between the Scottish Government and social care representative bodies and providers of care homes and care at home services. These groups expressed that the extended use of face mask and face covering guidance was having a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of service users. Representatives were content for services to revert to assessing the need for personal protective equipment (such as a face mask) using the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and Care Home National Infection Prevention and Control Manual.

Question reference: S6W-23159

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether its position on ending the mandatory wearing of face masks in healthcare and social care settings is being kept under review in response to COVID-19 infection rates across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has a robust process in place for creating, updating and withdrawing COVID-19 guidance. The extended use of face masks and face coverings guidance across health and social care settings was withdrawn on 16 May 2023. This followed advice from Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland and Public Health Scotland (PHS) that health and social care settings should revert to the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and the Care Home Infection Prevention and Control Manual. Both manuals hold personal protective equipment guidance based on clinical need and risk assessment.

ARHAI Scotland and PHS continue to monitor and analyse COVID-19 data, including variants, hospital clusters and deaths. This is considered alongside reviews of the current scientific literature. The Scottish Government regularly reviews this information together with any new emerging evidence. Any change to guidance would consider the epidemiological context and the latest scientific evidence and is continually under review.

Question reference: S6W-23160

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it undertook a health and safety assessment before taking the decision to end the mandatory wearing of face masks in healthcare and social care settings.

The Scottish Government has a robust process in place for creating, updating and withdrawing COVID-19 guidance. The health and safety of health and social care workers continues to be at the forefront of our approach in developing policies and guidance. However, it is important to note that the extended use of facemask guidance was never mandatory, and NHS Boards have responsibility for Health and Safety assessments in the workplace in an operational context.

The withdrawal followed advice from Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland and Public Health Scotland (PHS) that health and social care settings should revert to the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and the Care Home Infection Prevention and Control Manual. Both manuals hold personal protective equipment guidance based on clinical need and risk assessment.

This recommendation was supported by the Scottish Government’s Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) Professional Advisors. The Scottish Government also has a Professional Advisory Group of experts from across the health and social care sectors who were asked to give their expert opinion on the recommendation to withdraw the extended guidance and were supportive of this change.

The Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Medical Officer, National Clinical Director and other Health and Social Care Directors were content with the advice based on the ARHAI Scotland review, the expert opinion of IPC and health and social care advisors, and consideration of the pandemic context.