Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21680 on 1 March 2019.
In addition, the Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , published in June, sets out in more detail the analysis which underpinned its development and the actions planned to achieve our vision of having restorative justice available across Scotland to all those who wish to access it, and at a time that is appropriate to the people and cases involved. 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 .

A person is on life licence until their death. It is not an automatic right to terminate the supervision element of the licence conditions. Supervising officers may submit requests to do so after a period of 10 years or more has elapsed. Termination of supervision will not occur without a full Risk Assessment being carried out. The Parole Board will make these decisions on a case by case basis. However two licence conditions will always remain -

• that they are of good behaviour and keep the peace; and
• they inform the local authority if they are arrested or questioned by the police.

The Parole Board can reinstate the full licence or recall the person back to prison if they do not adhere to the conditions.

Information on the number officers (a) on long-term leave and (b) paid wholly or in part by ports, airports or local authorities is not held centrally.

First published as Official Statistics in December 2008, Police Officer Quarterly Strength Scotland (POQS) was designed to measure the implementation of the manifesto commitment to increase officer numbers by 1,000. As such, figures include all police officers appointed by the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and senior police officers appointed by the Scottish Police Authority, excluding those on career breaks.

The latest edition of POQS was published on 6 August 2019, and reports that there were 17,259 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 30 June 2019, up 87 police officers (+0.5%) in the last year, from 30 June 2018 and up 1,025 police officers (+6.3%) from the position at 31 March 2007.

Further information on POQS can be found in the Statistical Release Notes that accompany each publication, available online at the following link:

https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PublicationPoliceStrength/POQS2019Q2 .

The Scottish Government is committed to protecting Police Scotland’s revenue budget during this Parliament to deliver a £100 million boost by 2021. The Scottish Budget 2019-20 shows that the total Scottish Government funding for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) in 2019-20 is increasing by £42.3 million, this includes continuing reform funding into 2019-20, meaning the annual policing budget is now over £1.2 billion.

In recognition of the range of challenges Police Scotland are currently facing, particularly in relation to a no-deal EU Exit, the Scottish Government has also assured the Scottish Police Authority that up to £17 million is available in 2019-20 to cover EU exit-related policing costs. In addition to this Police Scotland’s capital budget has been increased by £12 million – a 52% increase to support further improvements to ICT infrastructure which includes the introduction of improved mobile technology for officers which is currently rolling out across the country.

The Scottish Government also ensured that policing is benefitting from being able to reclaim VAT of around £25 million a year, money that was previously paid to the UK Government. The Scottish Government continues to press the UK Government for a refund of the £125 million paid by Police Scotland in VAT between 2013 and 2018.

The Scottish Government continues to engage closely with the SPA and Police Scotland to support them in keeping people safe.

Delivering Community Payback Orders (CPOs) and ensuring completion of these orders is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. National completion rates for Community Payback Orders (CPOs) are 70%, as reported in the Criminal Justice Social Work statistics for 2017-18.

The Scottish Government is working with national and local partners including Community Justice Scotland, Social Work Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, local authorities and third sector partners to help ensure orders are implemented as effectively as possible and improve completion rates where possible. The national Community Justice Leadership Group, which I co-chair with COSLA, will drive action to improve the delivery of community justice services across Scotland, with a focus on supporting rehabilitation and reducing reoffending whilst promoting public safety.

Updated CPO Practice guidance was published earlier this year which supports effective practice, and included a focus on breach and compliance, and reiterates the importance of successful completion.

We value the work of justice social workers and unpaid work managers in helping ensuring individuals successfully complete their orders. This is particularly the case when they are dealing with people who have chaotic lifestyles, which may include mental health issues and/or a history of drug or alcohol problems.

Outcomes are likely to be influenced by who gets the orders in the first place, the nature of the offending and their underlying needs. Some caution is therefore needed against seeing completion rates as the sole indicator of effectiveness. Short custodial sentences are not an effective alternative as 35% of those who receive short sentences are reconvicted and given further custodial sentences within a year.

Our Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , published in June, sets a desired outcome of having high quality restorative justice services delivered by trained facilitators.

The Plan also sets out a suite of actions to deliver this outcome, including commissioning a national training needs analysis by Spring 2020, which will identify the skills required and the scale of the requirement for training.

The number of officers armed with Taser on a day to day basis is an operational matter for Police Scotland. Any plan to increase the number of officers equipped with Taser would be subject to wide consultation by Police Scotland.

As part of the development of our Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , which was published in June 2019, we undertook a survey seeking evidence on the current use of restorative justice across Scotland. The survey found provision to be inconsistent, with limited opportunities for adults to take part.

This survey, alongside extensive engagement with stakeholders across the justice sector, directly informed our vision set out in the Action Plan to have restorative justice available across Scotland to all those who wish to access it, and at a time that is appropriate to the people and cases involved. The Plan also explains the steps we will take to achieve this vision.

The Scottish Government has commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate to develop Scotland-specific standards for Barnahus. Draft standards will be shared for consultation at the end of 2019 and publication of finalised standards is timetabled for summer 2020.

Our Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice in Scotland https://www.gov.scot/publications/guidance-delivery-restorative-justice-scotland/ , published in 2017, provides direction to ensure that, where restorative justice services are available, these are delivered in a coherent, consistent and victim-focused manner.

In addition, our vision as set out in the Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , published in June, seeks to ensure the needs of persons harmed and their voices are central to the restorative justice process.