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: S6W-34146

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of prosecutions for speeding offences on trunk roads have resulted in (a) fines, (b) driving bans and (c) other penalties being imposed in each year since 2018, broken down by trunk road.

(a)Number of people receiving fines for speeding offences on trunk roads, where main crime, in Scottish Courts, by court location (LA), 2018-19 to 2022-23.

	2018-19	2022-23
TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1992	-	1
TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1994	1	1
TRUNK ROADS IN SCOT (TEMP PROHIBITIONS & TEMP SPEED RESTRICTIONS) ORDER 1996	-	2
All	1	4

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Some speeding offences that occurred on trunk roads may have been prosecuted under more general speeding offence charges.

Please note: data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are affected by the pandemic, subsequent court closures, reduced court capacity due to physical distancing measures and delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, and may not be considered indicative of long term trends.

(b) No individuals received a court-imposed driving ban under legislation specifically for speeding offences on trunk roads (where main crime) between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

(c) No individuals were convicted and sentenced to 'other penalties' under legislation related to speeding on trunk roads (where main crime) between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-34245

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance Food Standards Scotland provides to food businesses regarding the use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in food production and safety monitoring.

Regardless of the technology used to produce food, the food business operator must abide by the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 on general food law and the hygiene requirements, Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs of animal origin. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) provides guidance on the general food safety and hygiene requirements, which includes the need for a food safety management system based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles, guidance on the specific rules covering products of animal origin, if they apply depending on the nature of the food. Also, if the food falls within one of the Regulated Products categories, then there is free online guidance to support businesses in applying for the appropriate type of authorisation.

Question reference: S6W-34179

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis each emergency service takes into the reason for calls being recorded as hung up or terminated early, including the potential impact on response times and outcomes.

Question reference: S6W-34177

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many calls to each emergency service that have been recorded as being (a) hung up and (b) terminated before completion in each year since 2018 have resulted in a response being dispatched.

Question reference: S6W-34176

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what protocols each emergency service has in place to follow up on calls that are recorded as having been hung up or terminated before completion.

Question reference: S6W-34178

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps each emergency service is taking to reduce the number of emergency calls that are recorded as being hung up or terminated prematurely, and what information it has regarding the outcome of this action.

Question reference: S6W-34180

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on media training for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each year since 2018, broken down by department.

Question reference: S6W-34639

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the early release of prisoners on public safety in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government has utilised emergency early release legislation on two separate occasions in the last five years (May 2020 and June/July 2024).

Public and victim safety is central to our decision making, particularly when releasing individuals early from their prison sentence.

In each instance, the emergency action was necessary and proportionate to ensure prisons were able to operate safely, and to protect the health and wellbeing of prison staff and those held in custody. These decisions were not taken lightly, and on both cases strict eligibility criteria were set out, and agreed by Parliament.

In both cases, the number of individuals released was carefully limited to the level required. Only individuals who were close to their scheduled release date were eligible for release. There were important exclusions put in place for domestic abuse and sexual offences, long-term sentenced individuals were excluded, and Governors could veto the emergency early release of an individual, if this would present a risk to an individual or group.

Question reference: S6W-34647

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of prisoners released under any early release programmes in each of the last five years secured (a) stable housing and (b) employment within three months of release.

Data in relation to the housing circumstances and employment status of individuals released from custody is not available.

Individuals serving short-term sentences are not routinely subject to any form of post-release supervision or monitoring, and those that had supervision or monitoring requirements post-sentence were automatically excluded from both the Coronavirus specific early release process in 2020 and the Emergency Early Release process in 2024.

Pre-release planning, including in relation to housing needs, was a key feature of both of the emergency early release processes (2020 & 2024). The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) worked closely with representatives from Local Government – including housing departments, wider public bodies, and the third sector in the planning and operation of the processes.

Question reference: S6W-34643

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average length of sentence reduction has been for prisoners released under any early release programmes in each of the last five years.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The table below shows the average length of sentence reduction for prisoners released under either the 2020 COVID 19 Early Release Scheme or the 2024 Emergency Early Release Regulations within the last 5 years:

Year	Average sentence reduction (days)
2020	24.7
2021	NA
2022	NA
2023	NA
2024	60.3