Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-03033

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 April 2024

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the Lord Advocate regarding the exoneration of Scottish sub-postmasters and mistresses whose convictions were based on evidence from the Post Office’s Horizon computer system.

Question reference: S6W-26652

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how train fares are set by ScotRail since it was brought into public ownership.

Question reference: S6W-26650

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the recent 8.7% increase in ScotRail fares is above the rate of inflation.

Question reference: S6F-02959

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what resources the Scottish Government will be providing to Police Scotland for the investigation of complaints made under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Question reference: S6W-25873

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 12 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current anticipated timescale is for the completion of HMP Glasgow.

HMP Glasgow will deliver safe and secure accommodation, with maximum possible benefit and opportunity to those who live and work there, as well as the surrounding communities. The new prison will provide a better quality of living environment and enable strong relationships with staff and those in the care of the Scottish Prison Service.

The final design will be concluded in summer 2024, prior to the planned award of the construction contract that is scheduled for autumn 2024. Until the construction contract is signed, time-scales cannot be confirmed.

Question reference: S6W-25538

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 12 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents have occurred, in each of the last five years, in which (a) prisoners and (b) prison staff have received medical attention as a result of coming into contact with illicit drugs in Scotland's prisons.

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

The health and wellbeing of those who live and work in our prisons is a key priority for the Scottish Prison Service and we continue to work with numerous organisations to offer those in their care a suite of support to address both their addiction and recovery journey.

1. Current reporting incident categories do not align with the above question and make it impossible to answer. SPS do however record instances of those in our care who are believed to be under the influence of substances.

SPS are reviewing reporting processes that should allow this information to be captured in a more robust and accurate manner.

2. Staff are advised in line with Staff Notice 053/17 to follow procedures if they believe they have been exposed to an unknown substance, this includes recording of the incident by way of an Accident at Work.

With regards to the recording of medical attention, NHS are responsible for the release of this information due to patient confidentiality; and in the case of SPS staff members, SPS will record accidents at work, however, it is at the individual’s discretion if they chose to report such incidents, despite advice and guidance detailed in staff notice 053/17.

Question reference: S6O-03181

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to stop image-based abuse of girls.

A wide range of criminal laws relate to image-based sexual abuse, including legislation concerning indecent images of children and the offence of coercing a person to view a sexual image. It is also a criminal offence to share intimate images without consent.

In schools, pupils also learn how to conduct online relationships safely and to understand the risks and consequences of sharing intimate images. Our Gender Based Violence in School Guidance published this week, makes clear that this includes the non-consensual sharing of sexual images and the threat of it.

In addition we fund Education Scotland to coordinate the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme, focussed on challenging attitudes underpinning gender-based violence, and support schools to access Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Sexual Violence Prevention programme.

Question reference: S6W-25871

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what prisoner number capacity is being planned for HMP Glasgow.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25373 on 26 February 2024. 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-25872

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will decide on a final design plan for HMP Glasgow.

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

HMP Glasgow will deliver safe and secure accommodation, with maximum possible benefit and opportunity to those who live and work there, as well as the surrounding communities. The new prison will provide a better quality of living environment and enable strong relationships with staff and those in our care.

The final design will be concluded in summer 2024, prior to the planned award of the construction contract that is scheduled for autumn 2024.

Question reference: S6W-25551

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) the Scottish Prison Service has any concerns regarding prison officers having to work until the age of 68.

It is well established that some occupations are restricted by capacity and age due to the physical demands of those roles, making it untenable to expect them to be carried out until the State Pension Age. This was recognised by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 which set a pension age of 60 for firefighters, police officers and the armed forces.

Prison officers do not have a dedicated pension scheme as they are members of the Civil Service pension scheme, which is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We recognise that prison officers carry out frontline operational duties, including control and restraint, until the State Pension Age, which is due to rise to age 68. This can be particularly challenging and carries with it significant stresses and strains. We have previously raised the concerns around physical demands of prison officers role with the UK Government.

Scottish Prison Service do not assess age to determine whether a prison officer is capable of carrying out their duties but recognises that front line staff work in a very challenging environment. SPS has arrangements in place to support staff who may no longer be able to fulfil the physical demands of their role and these cases are managed in accordance with the circumstances of each individual.

Chamber and committees