Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-18843

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains its position that Police Scotland should assume responsibility for British Transport Police operations and staff in Scotland and, if so, what measures it is taking to deliver this objective.

The Scottish Government believes that the British Transport Police’s operation in Scotland should form part of Police Scotland.

All policing in Scotland is under the jurisdiction of a single Chief Constable, Sir Stephen House, and accountable to the Scottish Police Authority. It is therefore an anomaly that the policing of the railways is an exception to this.

I have recently written again to the Secretary of State for Transport on this matter and a meeting is being organised early in 2014 to discuss this further.

Question reference: S4O-02748

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the provision and uptake of Cantonese and Mandarin in schools.

Question reference: S4O-02650

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of the impact on communities of Police Scotland’s proposals regarding public counter opening times.

This is an operational matter for the chief constable in line with the provisions in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 Act passed by this Parliament. The Act makes it clear that the Chief Constable is responsible for the day to day administration of the police service and the direction and control of officers and staff.

This Police Scotland review of public counter provision is not about closing police stations. The review will help deliver a more consistent professional service to the public, enabling more officers to be deployed in our communities where and when they are needed most.

Question reference: S4W-17249

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 30 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) the relationship between Police Scotland and external media organisations, (b) Police Scotland's openness regarding the release of details of crimes and other incidents to the media and (c) the availability to the public of up-to-date information on crime.

Police Scotland recognises external media organisations are one of the main ways the public receive information on policing and other issues.

Police Scotland adheres to guidelines agreed with the Crown Office which clearly set out what information it is appropriate to provide to the media. There has been no change to this since the establishment of Police Scotland.

Information is issued proactively to external media organisations on many issues, from crime which has taken place to forthcoming initiatives. However, operational considerations are also taken into account, it is not always appropriate to give information to the media about incidents while they are ongoing.

Information on crime is regularly published.

Question reference: S4O-02439

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it will provide to East Ayrshire Council to assist with the restoration of open cast mines.

Question reference: S4F-01563

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2013

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government considers the impact will be on local policing of reported plans to replace local police officers with officers from other divisions on public holidays to avoid double-time payments.

Question reference: S4W-16997

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce price competitive tendering in the provision of legal aid.

Question reference: S4W-16724

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Frank Mulholland on 12 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what steps the Crown Office is taking to (a) identify and (b) contact the next-of-kin or families of deceased people who have not been given the opportunity to arrange for disposal of (i) brain, (ii) tissue and (iii) other body parts that were removed after the person's death.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) deals with the investigation of around 12000 deaths every year and instructs post mortem examinations in respect of some cases.

Under section 38 of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006, tissue samples taken during a post mortem examination become part of the medical records. As such, nearest relatives will not routinely be asked about their preferences for disposal of tissue.

COPFS has identified six instances in which the nearest relatives were not afforded the opportunity at the time of the retention to express their wishes in respect of any further steps once retention was no longer required. These related to one case in 2007, one case in 2008, one case in 2010, two cases in 2011 and one case in 2012. Arrangements were made to contact these relatives to ascertain their wishes on disposal.

Question reference: S4W-16729

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Frank Mulholland on 12 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the procedure is for informing next-of-kin or families regarding the granting of consent for the removal of (a) brain, (b) tissue and (c) other body parts after death.

COPFS deals with the investigation of around 12000 deaths every year and instructs post mortem examinations in respect of some cases.

Where a post mortem required in the public interest is instructed by the Procurator Fiscal and the pathologist determines that an organ should be retained for further examination after the conclusion of the initial post mortem examination, the Procurator Fiscal will rely upon the pathologist’s expertise and the organ will generally be retained until such time as the organ is no longer required for the purposes of the Procurator Fiscal’s investigation. The nearest relative will be advised of the organ retention. The consent of the nearest relative is not required to remove or retain organs or tissue following a post mortem examination instructed by the Procurator Fiscal.

In respect of any organ which may not have been returned, the nearest relative will be made aware of the retention and consulted regarding their wishes in respect of any further steps once retention is no longer required.

In the case of NHS hospital instructed post-mortems, authorisation has to be given before the examination can take place, and authorisation forms should take account of the wishes of the deceased (if known) and where appropriate, the wishes of the next of kin/relatives. The standards for health boards include that the relatives need to be informed immediately after the post-mortem if some organs are unable to be returned before the funeral, and have their wishes taken into account when the examination is complete and the organs are able to be disposed. The standards also include that the relatives and funeral directors are informed if the deceased or their organs taken for diagnosis need to be moved to another hospital. Organs taken for diagnostic purposes can only be retained or additional tissue slides or blocks taken for research if the appropriate authorisation is obtained. Authorisation obtained can be withdrawn at any time.

Under section 38 of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006, tissue samples taken during a post mortem examination become part of the medical records. As such, nearest relatives will not routinely be asked about their preferences for disposal of tissue.

Question reference: S4W-16719

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) maximum time was between incident and trial, and how many specialist sheriffs were involved with cases, at the dedicated domestic violence court in (i) Glasgow and (ii) Edinburgh in each of the last 10 years.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you request. You might wish to contact ASSIST (Advocacy, Support, Safety, Information Services Together) who in Glasgow, support victims from the point of contact. Notwithstanding the information sought is not available, the Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service has advised that some of the information may be available on the allocation of sheriffs and timeline from the point of case registration in court. If this information would be of assistance you may wish to contact SCS directly.

Domestic abuse is completely unacceptable and has no place in a modern Scotland.

Supporting victims of such a traumatic crime requires help from the point they make contact with the police, through the courts and beyond. This network of support is available throughout the country. Additional advocacy support is provided in Glasgow where, unfortunately, there is a high density of domestic abuse cases.

Chamber and committees