Chamber and committees

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

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The following table sets out specific grounds that led to Scottish Prison Service staff being removed, dismissed, or blocked from taking up employment due to security concerns, including how many cases involved (a) known or suspected links to organised crime, (b) intelligence provided by Police Scotland, (c) corruption or integrity risks, (d) involvement in contraband-related activity and (e) associations with serving or liberated prisoners’ and (f) other.

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

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The following table sets out the number of prospective employees who have been prevented from taking up SPS employment. Due to differences relating to data recording, categories have been amended as follows: (a) criminal history, (b) financial vulnerabilities, (c) corruption or integrity risks, (d) association with serving or liberated prisoners, (e) failure to provide required documentation and (f) any other identified grounds. Any other identified grounds include reasons such as failed medical assessments and unsatisfactory employment history.

Police Scotland is by law, operationally independent of the Scottish Government, and is held to account by the Scottish Police Authority which provides oversight and scrutiny.

The Keeper of the Records of Scotland oversees record keeping by public authorities.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly.

The Fire and Rescue Unit is part of the Scottish Government Safer Communities Division. In common with all Scottish Government Divisions, strategic oversight is provided through Directors and Director Generals reporting to the Scottish Ministers.

The Fire and Rescue Unit is part of the Scottish Government Safer Communities Division. The Fire and Rescue Unit has a risk register and contributes to the Safer Communities Division and Directorate risk registers. In line with good practice, these risk registers are kept under constant review.

The procurement of fire and rescue vehicles and operational equipment is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Oversight and Governance is provided by the SFRS Strategic Leadership Team and the SFRS Board.

The process of procuring and designing Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) off-road vehicles is based on the established operational needs of the organisation while taking into account feedback from internal and external stakeholders. Operational performance of these assets is routinely evaluated through SFRS’s Operational Assurance process and via internal and external debriefs. These evaluations and feedback are integral in developing future policy and procedure, as well as influencing future procurement processes.

Given the procurement and the performance assessment of its vehicles are operational matters for SFRS, it would be inappropriate for the Scottish Government to offer comment on such matters.

In the past three years, SFRS has procured the following 4x4 and multi-role vehicles:

• 10x Ford Ranger Wildfire Units for dedicated wildfire management @ £44,050 each (£440,500);
• 4x Iveco Daily Wildfire Support Units for supporting and providing additional equipment to Wildfire Units @ £95,394 each (£381,576);
• 10x Polaris Ranger 4x4 All-Terrain Vehicles for dedicated wildfire management @ £33,450 each (£334,500);
• 21x Ford Ranger Multi-Role Units for use in rural communities, adverse weather, towing, and off-road access as needed @ £35,402.93 each (£743,461.53); and
• 8x Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units for wildfire management at volunteer stations, road traffic accidents, and other operational activities as needed @ £123,043.40 each (£984,347.20).

All vehicles listed in the answer to question S6W-42094 on 26 November 2025 have been deployed except for two of the Ford Ranger Multi-Role Units (which are at the final stage of commissioning work expected to be deployed by next month) and the Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units. These units required additional configuration from the supplier. As present, five of eight are completed, and all eight units are expected to be deployed within the next few weeks. 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.