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: S5W-26118

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether fines imposed on private sector-operated prisons are retained in the Scottish Prison Service budget.

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

When credit notes are received as a result of performance at HMP Addiewell and HMP Kilmarnock failing to meet the standards set in the PFI contracts, these costs are offset as a reduction to the cost of the contracts for that period. These costs are processed and recorded in SPS’ annual accounts.

Question reference: S5W-26300

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many school pupils in each local authority area have been excluded for (a) physical assault and (b) assault with a weapon in each of the last three years.

Statistics on pupil exclusion from school are collected biennially by the Scottish Government. Headline statistics for 2018-19 will be published on 10 December with further breakdowns published in March 2020. Information for 2016-17 is shown in the following table.

Pupils excluded for physical assault by local authority 2016/17
	Physical assault using improvised weapon	Physical assault using weapon	Physical assault with no weapon
Aberdeen City	14	16	198
Aberdeenshire	14	11	203
Angus	*	*	70
Argyll and Bute	*	*	31
Clackmannanshire	*	*	55
Dumfries and Galloway	13	8	90
Dundee City	12	15	120
East Ayrshire	12	9	132
East Dunbartonshire	*	*	21
East Lothian	12	5	97
East Renfrewshire	*	*	12
City of Edinburgh	22	18	235
Na h-Eileanan Siar	*	*	6
Falkirk	17	10	98
Fife	26	18	237
Glasgow City	44	58	373
Highland	19	*	154
Inverclyde	*	*	30
Midlothian	9	*	95
Moray	10	8	72
North Ayrshire	10	7	41
North Lanarkshire	34	14	261
Orkney Islands	*	*	*
Perth and Kinross	18	*	108
Renfrewshire	12	7	82
Scottish Borders	7	5	60
Shetland Islands	*	*	*
South Ayrshire	7	*	60
South Lanarkshire	24	19	195
Stirling	5	5	42
West Dunbartonshire	13	11	87
West Lothian	13	25	218
All local authorities	378	294	3,492

Note: Where pupils are excluded multiple times they are only counted once for each exclusion reason. ‎ * denotes counts of fewer than 5 pupils, or values that may allow a count of under five to be calculated.

Question reference: S5O-03738

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on north east road infrastructure projects.

Question reference: S5W-25888

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what specific financial support is offered to older people to offset any rise in the cost of (a) heating expenses during winter and (b) council tax.

Warmer Homes Scotland is the Scottish Government’s national scheme to help households living in, or most at risk of, fuel poverty. It provides insulation and renewable heating systems to qualifying households. People who are of pension age, have no working heating system and who are in receipt of a qualifying benefit can receive assistance. Those over the age of 75 need only be in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

More than 175,000 people aged over 65 (37% of all recipients) currently receive support through the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme. CTR provides up to 100% reduction of a household’s council tax liability depending on their circumstances, income and savings.

Question reference: S5O-03728

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to replace HMP Barlinnie.

Question reference: S5O-03691

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps Social Security Scotland has taken to mitigate the risk of fraud.

Question reference: S5W-25477

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25103 by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2019, whether the calculation that £9.5 million a year more has been invested in Criminal Justice Social Work since 2015-16 is based on cash or real terms.

Question reference: S5W-25476

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 8 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24721 by Humza Yousaf on 6 September 2019, whether the Lord Advocate in his role as head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will rule out implementing restorative justice as an alternative to prosecution, allowing it to run only in parallel with existing criminal justice processes.

The decision to divert a case from prosecution is properly a matter professional prosecutors within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). Diversion from prosecution is a process by which a prosecutor may refer a case to social work or other relevant agencies as a means of addressing the underlying causes of alleged offending when this is deemed the most appropriate course of action by the prosecutor, applying the Scottish Prosecution Code.

Diversion from prosecution will be considered in any case where the individual reported to COPFS has an identifiable need and where it is assessed that diversion from prosecution is in the public interest. There must be a sufficiency of evidence before COPFS can refer an individual for diversion from prosecution. The relevant agency may in appropriate cases devise a diversion programme for an individual which includes a restorative justice element.

Restorative justice has been a feature of diversion in Scotland for a number of years. Restorative justice projects are recognised by COPFS as one of the suite of diversion options. Restorative justice projects can offer a valuable mechanism to provide victims of crime with meaningful participation in the criminal justice system and closure and it can be welcomed by both victims and perpetrators, in appropriate cases.

COPFS are currently engaged with the Scottish Government in the development of the ‘Restorative Justice Action Plan’. The Action Plan makes it clear, in line with the Scottish Government Guidance for the delivery of restorative justice that, “ risk assessments must be carried out throughout the RJ process and will take full cognisance of the role of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) as the independent public prosecution service for Scotland. In that respect, RJ will not impinge on any ongoing criminal proceedings. Decisions relating to the prosecution or diversion of a case from prosecution are matters solely for COPFS”.

Question reference: S5W-25469

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25045 by Michael Matheson on 23 September 2019, by what date it will bring forward the relevant statutory procedures for the improvement scheme.

Question reference: S5W-25267

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Prison Service has not published its annual report and accounts for 2018-19, and by what date it will do so.