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-14563

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement that a new pension fund for retired British Transport Police (BTP) officers will be established around the time of merger with Police Scotland, how much the so-called triple-lock guarantee will cost in the (a) short, (b) medium and (c) long term; from which budget line this will be drawn, and whether allocating this money to cover the pension fund will lead to a reduction in other services and, if so, which.

There has been no announcement by the Scottish Government or the Joint Programme Board that a new pension fund for retired BTP officers will be established on the integration of the BTP in Scotland into Police Scotland.

The Joint Programme Board has agreed that, subject to the approval of the British Transport Police Force Superannuation Fund (BTPFSF) Trustee, that existing officers and staff should continue to have access to their current pension scheme on transfer. The Scottish Government have sent a pension proposal to the Trustee and we expect to publish that letter soon. Retired officers will continue to have access to their existing benefits from the same pension scheme. The Scottish Government will refer to pension and actuarial experts to ensure the arrangements are fair for officers, staff and the Scottish taxpayer.

BTP officers and staff who are serving, deferred and retired BTPFSF scheme members will be in the same scheme, with the same pension benefits, with the same Trustee continuing to deliver effective management of the funds.

The cost of railway policing pensions is a key consideration for the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government aims to ensure that public sector pensions are affordable, sustainable and fair. Doing so will ensure that railway policing officers and staff in Scotland remain well-skilled and well-motivated as they deliver an essential service across Scotland.

Pension costs already form part of the costs allocated to the railway industry under the BTP Authority Police Service Agreement model and will continue to do so in Scotland under Railway Policing Agreements by the Scottish Police Authority.

Question reference: S5W-14557

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many licence applications under the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 have been (a) awarded, also broken down by how many were subsequently revoked, and (b) refused.

Question reference: S5W-14555

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many weapons have been seized in the course of criminal investigations under the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015.

Question reference: S5W-14550

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is committed to providing an extra £1,068,000 to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner’s budget.

Question reference: S5W-14558

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many crimes have been committed since the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 came into force, in which it has been suspected that the perpetrator used an illegally-held air weapon.

Question reference: S5W-14713

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 6 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13691 by Annabelle Ewing on 24 January 2018, what progress has been made with the establishment of the joint working group; what the key milestones are in this process; what the reason has been for the reported delay with it being set up, and whether the Orange Order will be invited to join and/or participate in it.

An initial working group meeting is due to take place later this week, hosted by Police Scotland. The group is expected to comprise COSLA, Police Scotland the Scottish Government/Transport Scotland. The key milestones going forward will be discussed at this meeting.

When the group meets it will also be able to consider how to appropriately capture and consider the views of other stakeholders, such as the Orange Order.

Question reference: S5W-14734

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) officers and (b) other staff have been absent due to sickness in each of the last three years, broken down by prison.

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

The following table shows the total number of (a) officers and (b) other staff who have incurred one or more periods of sickness absence during the financial year.

	Financial Years
	2014-15		2015-16		2016-17
Establishment	Officer Grades	All Other Grades	Officer Grades	All Other Grades	Officer Grades	All Other Grades
Barlinnie	278	58	258	59	286	63
Cornton Vale	147	30	167	32	107	20
Dumfries	77	19	79	19	83	22
Edinburgh	255	44	267	49	283	58
Glenochil	187	38	203	40	208	47
Grampian	191	39	175	53	166	41
Greenock	95	16	104	20	100	18
Inverness	54	10	52	13	62	13
Low Moss	168	37	191	40	192	38
Open Estate	27	17	44	18	40	22
Perth	184	43	173	45	189	48
Polmont	212	43	220	44	248	51
Shotts	180	35	176	40	194	42
	2055	429	2109	472	2158	483

Question reference: S5W-14729

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations the Scottish Prison Service is taking to implement the no smoking policy across the prison estate, which is due to be introduced in November 2018, and whether electronic cigarettes will be permitted.

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

SPS has made changes to the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011 and single use, first generation e-cigarettes are being introduced for sale to those in our care. Further changes to these Rules will be made which will enable simultaneous implementation of smoke free prisons across Scotland on 30 November 2018.

SPS will deliver support to those in our care through facilitating additional smoking cessation classes and provision of an effective range of nicotine replacement therapies. SPS has also been working collaboratively on an ongoing basis, with NHS and other partners, in order to implement and review our integrated Smoke-free Prisons’ Strategy and Communication Plan.

These initiatives will assist those who wish to stop smoking or manage their nicotine intake in a much less harmful way, whilst maintaining safety and security for those who live, work and visit our prisons.

Question reference: S5W-14813

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of body-worn video cameras for prison staff, in light of the plans to introduce this at HMP Addiewell.

Question reference: S5W-14730

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners in each of the last three years have been aged over 60.

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

On 21 February 2018, there were 286 individuals in SPS care who were aged over 60.

SPS does not aggregate or retain historical data based on the ages of those in our care. I am therefore unable to provide you with a retrospective breakdown of how many prisoners in each of the last 3 years have been over 60.