Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-27805

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of stalking were recorded in 2023-24, and how many of those cases have been prosecuted to date.

Instances of stalking in 2023-24 will be published within the Recorded Crime in Scotland 2023-24 accredited official statistics on 25 June 2024. The most recently published data shows there were 872 crimes of stalking recorded by police over the year ending December 2023.

We do not hold information on the specific proportion of stalking cases recorded by the police that led to a prosecution. This is because the recorded crime and criminal proceedings statistics are not operationally linked. Recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland, while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases once they have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only a single conviction for the ‘main charge’ (the one receiving the most severe sentence) would be counted in the court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility a crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.

Noting the above, the latest published Criminal Proceedings in Scotland accredited official statistics show 401 people were proceeded against in court for a crime of stalking in 2021-22.

Question reference: S6O-03548

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide an update on how it is widening access to its educational services.

Question reference: S6W-27703

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent painkiller overdoses in young people.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in combination with retailers, already limit the sale of paracetamol to a maximum of two packs (containing up to 16 solid dose tablets or capsules) in a retail environment. The aim of these voluntary measures is to balance the need of people for access to pain relief medicines against the dangers for vulnerable individuals and reduce the opportunity for people to purchase, on impulse, excessive quantities of any single analgesic (paracetamol, aspirin, or ibuprofen). A pharmacy may sell larger packs containing up to 32 tablets or capsules under the supervision of a pharmacist; it is illegal to sell more than 100 tablets or capsules of either paracetamol or aspirin in any one retail transaction. Since most packs available for sale are for 16 or 32 dose units, this means that, in practice, 96 is the maximum number that can be sold.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has provided guidelines to community pharmacies on the dispensing and supply of medicines to children and young people. The decision on whether a supply is appropriate is on a case by case basis and will involve considering the individual circumstances. The guidelines apply for both NHS and private prescriptions as well as pharmacy services such as NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27654

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to expand the Fund to Leave scheme across Scotland.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-27630

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many people participating in the Caledonian System have reoffended in each financial year since it was launched.

The Scottish Government assess the effectiveness of the Caledonian System through accreditation and evaluation.

The Caledonian System is delivered to accredited standards and accreditation gives confidence that a programme is designed based on the best available evidence, monitored to make sure it is delivered as intended and evaluated to show the outcomes.

The Scottish Advisory Panel on Offending Reduction (SAPOR) reaccredited the Caledonian System in December 2022 for a further five years. In re-accrediting SAPOR recognised the limitations in data collection for the purposes of evaluation, as a result of disruption to services due to Covid.

Work is underway to improve data collection across the programme, including in what can be said about reconviction rates. Data on reoffending rates for those going through the programme every year since it was launched are not centrally held.

It should be noted that reconviction rates are not necessarily a reliable indicator of programme efficacy as the women being supported are encouraged to recognise abuse, so increased reporting of incidents by women (considered a positive outcome) could drive increased reoffending or reconviction rates.

Question reference: S6W-27629

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to local authorities to administer the Caledonian System in each financial year since it was launched.

Caledonian Service funding to local authorities is paid through the Section 27 funding for Justice Services (the Men’s Programme) with additional monies for the Women and Children’s Service paid out under separate funding powers.

The following table shows Section 27 funding in previous years:

Year	Men’s Programme (Section 27 Funding)
2010-2011	£1,156,674.00
2011-2012	£1,288,359.00
2012-2013	£1,288,359.00
2013-2014	£1,288,359.00
2014-2015	£1,288,359.00
2015-2016	£1,288,359.00
2016-2017	£1,288,359.00
2017-2018	£1,288,359.00
2018-2019	£1,899,074.00
2019-2020	£2,557,546.00
2020-2021	£2,557,547.00
2021-2022	£2,557,547.00
2022-2023	£2,557,547.00
2023-2024	£2,557,547.00
2024-2025	£2,557,547.00

Funding is also provided to Community Justice Scotland in support of the Caledonian Central Team for training delivered to Caledonian workers to ensure the programme is delivered to accredited standards.

Funding for the women and children’s work is additional to the S27 support, and is paid out under separate grant powers (and is paid to local authorities and third sector providers). The total spend for the Caledonian System for 2023-24, (men, woman and children) was £4,467,666.

Question reference: S6W-27647

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to create a violence against women unit.

The Scottish Government absolutely recognises the serious damage which violence against woman and girls causes to individuals and society, as evidenced through the aims of our Equally Safe Strategy and its delivery mechanisms.

As I have outlined in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this area alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask in the context of Police Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27650

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve access to domestic abuse services for underrepresented groups.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-27648

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to classify violence against women as a "national threat".

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-27651

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to deliver a dedicated women’s officer for every local authority.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

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