- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the projected total subsidy for the next five years is for (a) ScotRail and (b) Caledonian Sleeper services.
Answer
ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper submit their forward forecasts as part of annual budget processes. Forward forecasts of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper revenue and the level of subsidy required are subject to ongoing discussions between the train operating companies, Transport Scotland and Scottish Rail Holdings.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the availability of (a) bicycles and (b) other sustainable transport options for its staff.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not currently plan to increase the availability of bicycles for use by staff. We do not have any plans to increase the availability of other sustainable transport options.
Our staff already have access to cycle mileage expenses for official business journeys, a cycle to work scheme for commuting journeys, a season ticket scheme covering public transport operators, and discounted personal car hire and car club journeys through our staff benefits package.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many bicycles it currently (a) owns and (b) leases, and how they are currently utilised by its staff.
Answer
The Scottish Government owns two bicycles, and we do not lease any bicycles.
Our bicycles are for use in campaign marketing in respect of Net Zero messages, and are not made available to staff for use on official business.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors and evaluates the performance of Registers of Scotland in delivering public services.
Answer
Registers of Scotland is accountable to the Scottish Parliament and its performance is regularly scrutinised by the Economy and Fair Work Committee. The Scottish Government also receives regular reports on the progress RoS is making in delivery of its Corporate Plan 2022-2027 strategic objectives, which includes updates on the achievement against RoS’s Key Performance Indicators for its service performance (timeliness, quality and customer satisfaction).
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has in place to ensure that government-owned vehicles comply with emissions regulations.
Answer
All Scottish Government fleet vehicles are maintained in line with manufacturers guidelines to ensure emission regulation compliance.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 15 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of cases handled by the Aberdeen office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in the last year involved alleged offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Answer
The following table shows percentage of cases reported to the Aberdeen Procurator Fiscal’s Office containing one or more charge under - Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Criminal cases reported to COPFS Aberdeen Procurator Fiscal office during the financial year 2023-24 |
| | | |
| | 2023-24 | |
Percentage of cases reported which contained one or more charge under - Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 | 7% | |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 15 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how often the Aberdeen office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has consulted with victims and families before proceeding with cases involving fatalities in each of the last three years.
Answer
COPFS communicates with bereaved relatives in every case before proceeding with cases involving fatalities and continues to do so during those court proceedings. The Family Liaison Charter sets out the Crown’s obligations in relation to liaising with and providing information to bereaved relatives. These obligations apply equally to deaths arising in any area of Scotland.
The various specialist death investigation teams within COPFS consider deaths from all over the country, therefore communication with families in respect of fatalities occurring in Aberdeen, may be undertaken by staff situated in offices other than Aberdeen.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 15 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how Police Scotland evaluates the potential risks of unexploded ordnance to critical infrastructure, and what measures are in place to mitigate these risks.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Police Scotland.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 15 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what protocols Police Scotland has in place to manage the discovery of unexploded wartime military ordnance near critical infrastructure, including ports and transport hubs.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Police Scotland.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many freedom of information requests it has refused in each of the last five years, broken down by the basis for refusal.
Answer
The following table sets out the number of requests where there has been no disclosure of any information (fully exempted):
Year | Full exemption of info |
2020 | 884 |
2021 | 1108 |
2022 | 1047 |
2023 | 1010 |
2024 | 1052 |
The exemptions applied are noted below, per year. Many responses can have more than one exemption applied. The information provided details the lead exemption as indicated by our case handlers on our case handling system.
| | 2020 (Nos) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
EIR exceptions | | | | | |
10(4)(a) The number of requests for which all of the information was not held | 81 | 80 | 65 | 124 | 130 |
10(4)(b) The number of requests refused because they were manifestly unreasonable (other than on grounds of cost) | 3 | 5 | 15 | 23 | 27 |
10(4)(c) Requests which are too general | | | | | |
10(4)(d) Material in the course of completion | 5 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 3 |
10(4)(e) Internal communications | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
10(5)(a) Substantial prejudice to international relations | | 1 | | 1 | |
10(5)(b) Substantial prejudice to course of justice | 1 | | | 2 | |
10(5)(c) Substantial prejudice to intellectual properties | | | 1 | | |
10(5)(d) Substantial prejudice to confidentiality of proceedings | | | 1 | | |
10(5)(e) Substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial or industrial information | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
10(5)(f) Substantial prejudice to the interests of a third party | | 1 | | 1 | |
10(5)(g) Substantial prejudice to the protection of the environment | | 3 | | | 1 |
10(8) Neither confirm nor deny whether environmental info held | | 1 | | | |
11(1) Personal data of the applicant | | | | 1 | 1 |
11(2) Third party personal data | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
11(6) Neither confirm nor deny whether personal data held | | | | | |
| | 2020 (Nos) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
FOI exemptions | | | | | |
12(1) Complying will exceed the upper cost limit | 124 | 104 | 173 | 145 | 179 |
14 Repeated/vexatious | 41 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 |
17 Information not held | 453 | 588 | 523 | 481 | 489 |
18 Neither confirm nor deny the information exists | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
25(1) Otherwise accessible | 65 | 198 | 130 | 73 | 100 |
25(3) Publication scheme | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 1 |
26(a) Disclosure prohibited: enactment | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
26(c) Disclosure prohibited: contempt of court | 1 | 1 | | | 1 |
27(1) Future publication: 12 weeks | 47 | 25 | 22 | 26 | 15 |
27(2) Future publication: programme of research | | | | 2 | |
28 Substantial prejudice to UK relations | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
29(1)(a) Formulation/development of government policy | 7 | 8 | 19 | 5 | 5 |
29(1)(b) Ministerial communications | 3 | | 2 | | 1 |
29 (1)(c) Advice by Law Officers | | 1 | | 4 | |
29(1)(d) Operation of Ministerial private office | 2 | | | 3 | 1 |
30(b)(i) Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice | 5 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 11 |
30(b)(ii) Substantial inhibition to free and frank exchange of views | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
30(c) Substantial prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs | 2 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 5 |
31(1) National security | | | | 1 | |
32(1)(a) Substantial prejudice to international relations | | | 1 | | |
32(1)(b) Confidential information obtained from abroad | | | | | |
33 (1)(a) Trade Secret | | 1 | | | |
33(1)(b) Substantial prejudice to commercial interests | 5 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
33(2)(b) Substantial prejudice to the UK administration | | | | | |
| | 2020 (Nos) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
FOI exemptions | | | | | |
34(1) Information held for the purposes of a criminal investigation | 1 | 1 | | | 2 |
34(2)(b) Information held regarding cause of death | | | | 1 | |
35(1)(a) Substantial prejudice to prevention or detection of crime | | | 2 | | 1 |
35(1)(g) Substantial prejudice to the exercise by a public authority for any of its functions (as listed in s35(2)) | | | | 1 | |
36(1) Confidentiality of communications | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
36(2) Actionable breach of confidence | | | 3 | | |
37(1)(a) Court records | | | | | 1 |
37(1)(b) Court records: inquiry or arbitration | 1 | | | 3 | 2 |
38(1)(a) Personal data of the applicant | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
38(1)(b) Third party personal data | 9 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 7 |
38(1)(c) Personal census information | | | | | |
39(1) Endangerment to health or safety | | 3 | | | |
41(a)(b) Communications with the Royal Family and Honours | | | 1 | 1 | |
For the purposes of responding to this written PQ we have interpreted that the term ‘FOI request’ refers to requests responded to under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOI(S)A) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRS).
We have also interpreted the question to mean those requests that were valid and refused in their entirety on exemption grounds. This means where no information was released to the requestor because an exemption or multiple exemptions were applied. Please note that we have not included requests that were invalid e.g. no name provided or those currently in progress and being answered.
When SG refuses a request it is because exemptions or exceptions apply to the information being requested. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOI(S)A) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRS) allow responses to be fully exempted, where all information being requested has been withheld from disclosure, or partially exempted where some information has been released and some information withheld where an exemption has been applied.
