Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-23346

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23022 by John Swinney on 16 May 2019, in light of the cabinet secretary’s comment that “we take the issue of the handling of asbestos within educational establishments very seriously”, what discussions it has had or plans with the Health and Safety Executive regarding the levels of asbestos in schools and colleges.

Responsibility for the control and management of asbestos in educational establishments rests with the local authority, College Board, University Court or proprietor, as the case may be, who is the duty holder for those premises. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for ensuring that duty holders comply with the legislation and requirements in relation to asbestos, and offering information and advice on complying with these duties.

HSE undertakes inspections in the education sector to provide public assurance about the management of asbestos risks, and including targeted inspections to schools and universities, colleges and healthcare premises across Great Britain to test the effectiveness of the management arrangements and controls in respect of the duty to manage asbestos within buildings.

My officials are in contact with HSE to understand the outcome of recent inspections, including whether there are any concerns regarding management of asbestos by educational establishments in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-23345

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to questions S5W-16167 by Kevin Stewart on 4 May 2018 and S5W-23022 by John Swinney on 16 May 2019, in light of Mr Stewart stating that “the Scottish Government is absolutely clear that local authorities follow Health and Safety Executive recommendations for managing asbestos…I wrote to all local authorities following the publication of the Cole Report on schools to underline their obligations in relation to verifying and enforcing building regulations, technical standards and the inspection processes”, what (a) action the minister takes to ensure that councils meet these recommendations and (b) response the minister has received from each council to his letter, and, in light of this, for what reason Mr Swinney commented that information regarding the levels of asbestos in schools and colleges was “not held centrally”.

As previously stated within the answers to questions S5W-23022 and S5W-23029 on 16 May 2019, information on the levels of asbestos in Scottish schools and colleges is not held centrally as health and safety legislation, including compliance with requirements relating to the management of risks arising from asbestos, is not devolved to the Scottish Government. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of the related legislation and regulations on asbestos. Where an authority does not comply, it is for HSE to determine, in accordance with HSE enforcement policies, what enforcement action is appropriate and proportional to health and safety risk and the seriousness of the breach.

The Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning's letter to local authorities was about addressing concerns over non-compliance with building regulations raised by the Edinburgh Schools Report. This matter was progressed through our Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety, with a public consultation last year. Initial action to reinforce the roles and responsibilities of the building standards system will be published in October.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-23348

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23029 by John Swinney on 16 May 2019, in light of the cabinet secretary’s comment that “we take the issue of the handling of asbestos within educational establishments very seriously”, what discussions it has had or plans with those responsible for educational establishments regarding the levels of asbestos in their facilities.

HSE undertakes inspections in the education sector to provide public assurance about the management of asbestos risks, and including targeted inspections to schools and universities, colleges and healthcare premises across Great Britain to test the effectiveness of the management arrangements and controls in respect of the duty to manage asbestos within buildings.

My officials are in contact with HSE to understand the outcome of recent inspections including whether there are any concerns regarding management of asbestos by educational establishments in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-23349

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to questions S5W-23022 and S5W-23029 by John Swinney on 16 May 2019, in light of the cabinet secretary’s comment that “we take the issue of the handling of asbestos within educational establishments very seriously”, what monitoring it has carried out on the impact of asbestos on the health of (a) school pupils and staff and (b) college and university students and staff.

Question reference: S5W-23350

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 4 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work registered the meeting and dinner that he attended with property developers in Cannes in March 2019 and, if not, whether this constitutes a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The Scottish Government can confirm that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work attended the Investment Dinner on 12 March 2019 at MIPIM Cannes which was organised by Scottish Enterprise as part of the MIPIM 2019 programme. Attendees were comprised of public sector partners and private sector sponsors to this commercial property sector focused event with the aim of demonstrating the openness and collaboration of doing business in Scotland.

Engagements and events are an essential part of official government business. We are transparent about details of ministerial engagements and events, and routinely publish this information online as per the Scottish Ministerial Code, section 10.18.

Question reference: S5O-03331

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland earn less than the Living Wage.

Question reference: S5W-23236

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Eveline Lubbers' report, Political Undercover Policing in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-23102

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Scottish Prison Service has taken to tackle the use of new psychoactive substances in prisons.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

It would be inappropriate to place into the public domain specific details of all the responses deployed to tackle illicit drug use in Scottish Prisons.

SPS has established a Strategic Risk and Threat Group to identify emerging threats and coordinate tactical responses. This group is responsible for the management of large scale searching across the prison estate. SPS also has an established Technical Support Unit which provides specialised equipment to support national search operations.

Tactical measures are supported by various technologies, including X-ray machines, body scanners and other equipment which can assist in detecting attempts to introduce illicit substances to prisons. SPS also has a number of drug detection dogs.

To promote awareness of psychoactive substances (PS), SPS staff have also been made aware of the key methods used in attempts to introduce PS and are being encouraged to focus on these factors whilst undertaking their duties. SPS staff also carry out regular searches of people in our care, staff, visitors and items posted/handed into prisons.

It is regrettable that, despite robust security processes some individuals are ultimately successful in bypassing these. SPS and Police Scotland continue to work closely to share information to prevent the introduction of illicit substances and seek convictions where appropriate.

SPS will continue to evolve our understanding of the use of psychoactive substances and deploy a range of tactics charged with addressing the alleged use of such substances within Scottish prisons.

Question reference: S5W-23101

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many prison officers have been hospitalised due to the passive inhalation of new psychoactive substances in each of the last five years.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS began recording instances of staff requesting medical attention as a result of reported exposure to unknown substances in April 2018.

Since then there have been 86 members of staff who have sought medical attention, reporting that they have felt unwell and potentially under the influence of an unknown substance.

SPS does not hold information on how many of these staff members went on to receive hospital treatment for passive inhalation.

Question reference: S5W-23105

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken regarding the impact on prison staff of fumes and smoke from prisoners' use of new psychoactive substances.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS continues to work alongside justice sector partners to understand the risks of psychoactive substances. SPS is a member of the Psychoactive Substances Centre for Excellence Working Group alongside representatives from Scottish Government, Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS and subject matter experts in the field of illegal drug use.

SPS has also engaged with independent experts such as CREW 2000 and NHS Clinical Consultants to share knowledge and expertise, leading to a better understanding of the challenges presented.

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