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: S4W-22087

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 11 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 8 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has (a) had any discussions with Police Scotland and (b) issued Police Scotland with any instruction or guidance regarding the appropriateness of searching children.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with Police Scotland on a wide range of policing issues, including stop and search. The most recent meeting was held on 22 July 2014.

The use of stop and search is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government has not issued Police Scotland with any instruction or guidance regarding the appropriateness of searching children.

The Scottish Government welcomes the establishment by Police Scotland of a new Children and Young Persons Reference Group in order to better understand the views of young people and other relevant stakeholders in relation to stop and search.

Question reference: S4O-03469

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position on the set-up costs for an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-22102

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 14 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions police officers used incapacitant spray in each year between 2006-07 and 2012-13, broken down by legacy force, and in 2013-14, broken down by division.

Question reference: S4W-22089

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 11 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the use of non-statutory stop and search to be compatible with Articles (a) 5, (b) 8 and (c) 14 of the Human Rights Act 1998.

The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Scotland Act 1998 incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into Scots law. Police officers must comply with Articles 5, 8 and - if applicable - 14 when carrying out their duties. In addition, police officers are required to comply with the requirements set out in the code of ethics for policing in Scotland. The police no longer carry out non-statutory stop and search of young people under the age of 12.

Properly targeted, intelligence-led use of stop and search is an important tool to enable the police to prevent and detect crime and to protect individuals and keep people safe.

Question reference: S4W-21800

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which prisons’ mental health teams provide access to (a) nurses trained in cognitive behaviour therapy and (b) clinical psychology.

Question reference: S4W-21797

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which prisons provide psychological therapies as part of mental healthcare provision.

On 1 November 2011 responsibility and accountability for the provision of health care services transferred from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to the NHS and these services are now provided by the respective local health boards. As part of this transition, all prisoner health care records and mental health service management information also transferred from SPS to NHS.

As such, the information requested in questions S4W-21797, S4W-21798, S4W-21799 and S4W-21800 is not held centrally.

A range of interventions and training is being delivered in prison settings. For example, NHS Education for Scotland deliver a five day practical skills training programme to equip clinicians (including nursing, social work, psychology and occupational therapy staff) with the skills to deliver a suite of low intensity psychological therapy programmes. 68 clinicians from across six sites attended this training during 2013-14.

The National Prisoner Healthcare Network’s Mental Health Sub Group has identified issues relating to, and components considered essential to a successful model of prisoner mental healthcare.

As part of our work to deliver the access to psychological therapies HEAT target, we have begun to look at what psychological therapies are being delivered in prisons, and whether boards could collect data on these. We do not have reliable data at this stage.

We aim for the provision of mental health care for prisoners to be equivalent to care received by people in the community, taking into consideration the increased mental health needs of the prison population. We recognise that there is much work to be done to reach that position.

Question reference: S4W-21799

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how long prisoners wait on average to access (a) mental health treatment and (b) specialist psychological therapies, broken down by prison.

Question reference: S4W-21798

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have been diagnosed as requiring (a) mental healthcare provision and (b) specialist psychological therapy in each of the last three years, broken down by prison.

Question reference: S4O-03305

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the rural economy and environmental research of the loss of 70 jobs at the James Hutton Institute.

The institute's review of its science portfolio is aimed at identifying areas of scientific strength to build on for the future. The institute will take account of our needs identified in the Rural Affairs and Environment research strategy for 2016-2021.

An independent report commissioned by the institute in 2010 showed that the return on investment from their activities was £225 million per annum. We expect any proposed changes will help to secure the Institute's long term future as a leader in agricultural and environmental research.

Question reference: S4F-02149

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2014

To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with Police Scotland regarding the use of stop and search.