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-27833

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Scottish breast screening programme data 2022-23, for what reason the uptake for routine first invitations has been declining, and what steps are being taken to address this.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme Statistics 2022-23 show that more women than ever are attending breast screening appointments, and that uptake is increasing for most groups. It is important to note that uptake for women receiving their first breast screening invitation in 2022-23 was higher than any pre-COVID year since 2013-14, and was above the 10 year average of 70.8%. It is also above the standard uptake rate of 70%. Therefore, overall the picture for breast screening uptake is encouraging.

However, the Scottish Government recognises that there is still work to be done to improve uptake, including among those receiving their first invitation, and to meet the 80% achievable standard. We continue to work with the organisations responsible for breast screening to fully understand barriers to uptake, and to encourage all women to attend breast screening when invited. As part of this, we continue to ensure work is carried out to address inequalities in uptake and access to screening, having committed £3 million since 2021 to tackle inequalities in the programmes, which remains a priority. We will also provide £1 million funding for 2024-25.

The Breast Screening Review that was published in 2022 noted recommendations that seek to increase breast screening uptake. The Breast Screening Modernisation Board, chaired by Dr Marzi Davies, is currently taking forward these recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-27459

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any legal advice that it has received regarding the potential for any action in the Scottish courts against (a) it and (b) Police Scotland resulting from any disclosure of a non-crime hate incident.

Question reference: S6W-27789

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, 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 which police stations in the (a) Lothian region and (b) Edinburgh Division area have been identified as containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Question reference: S6W-27791

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, 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 whether it has ever corresponded with the Divisional Commander of Police Scotland's Edinburgh Division regarding the operational distribution of officers.

Scottish Government ministers and officials liaise with Police Scotland officers of various ranks on a regular basis. I and accompanying officials met the then Divisional Commander for Edinburgh in August 2023 as part of a short visit to the joint Police Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council operation overseeing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The operational deployment of officers is however a matter for the Chief Constable. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 is very clear on this point, and that Police Scotland is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference.

Question reference: S6W-27806

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ruth Charteris on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of hate crime charges or hate crime aggravations have been recorded in Lothian region, to date, under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical purposes and the information within it is structured accordingly. Information provided is at date of extract and may therefore be subject to change as data and systems are updated for operational reasons.

From 1 April to 28 May 2024, 170 hate crime charges and 615 charges with one or more hate crime aggravations in terms of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 have been reported to COPFS for the whole of Scotland. The total, therefore, is 785 charges.

From 1 April to 28 May 2024, 33 hate crime charges and 98 charges with one or more hate crime aggravations in terms of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 have been reported to COPFS in the Lothian region. For the purposes of this answer, the ‘Lothian region’ been restricted to charges reported to COPFS from the Edinburgh and Livingston Sheriff Court Districts. The total 131 hate crime charges and aggravations for Lothian region represents 16.7% of the total for the whole of Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03573

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will end the reported practice of children and young people being admitted to adult services for treatment, rather than an NHS specialist child and adolescent mental health ward.

Question reference: S6W-27429

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S6O-03335 by Angela Constance on 24 April 2024, whether it can confirm if any non-crime hate incidents recorded by Police Scotland under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 will appear in any (a) disclosure and barring service check, (b) security clearance check, including a developed vetting check and (c) database check by (i) a serving officer or civil employee of Police Scotland and (ii) an employee of Disclosure Scotland, including an informal inquiry carried out with regard to current or potential employment.

In the Interim guidance published for officers on the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents - Police Scotland published by Police Scotland on 9 May 2024, it explains that the alleged perpetrator would usually be recorded as the ‘other party’ (unless in exceptional circumstances where there is real risk of harm or future criminal offence). When asked at the Scottish Police Authority Board Meeting on Thursday 23 May 2024 if detail on the ‘other party’ would appear on a Disclosure check, Deputy Chief Constable Alan Spiers provided reassurance that it would not.

In rare cases, Disclosure Scotland may receive other relevant information (ORI) from relevant police forces (including forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) when someone applies to join the PVG scheme, the ongoing monitoring of scheme members, or for an enhanced disclosure check.

ORI is used across the UK, with the UK Government having their own guidance to the police for the handling and processing of non-crime hate incidents in relation to disclosure checks. ORI about the applicant or scheme member can only be provided where the chief officer of a relevant police force reasonably believes it is relevant for the specific purpose of the disclosure and ought to be included on the disclosure certificate. The inclusion of any information Scottish police may hold on an individual is a decision for Police Scotland to make with regard to the statutory Guidance for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

Disclosure Scotland staff do not have access to the database on which non-crime hate incidents are recorded.

Question reference: S6W-27433

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether (a) it and (b) Police Scotland could be liable for any material effect to a Scottish resident's circumstances if it was found that any negligence or malice on the part of a public servant had led to public knowledge of a recorded non-crime hate incident.

Question reference: S6W-27665

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it differentiates between a "hate crime advisor" and a "hate crime champion", and whether people who are designated as such (a) are all sworn constables and (b) have formal legal training.

Question reference: S6W-27432

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what data destruction methods and processes Police Scotland would employ to delete any recorded non-crime hate incident where it had been found not to have met the threshold for being so recorded.