- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) injuries and (b) deaths were reported in connection with the use of e-scooters on (i) roads and (ii) pavements, in 2022.
Answer
Data on injuries and deaths from road accidents for 2022 are still being collected and provisional figures will be available on 24 May 2023. I will therefore be able to provide an update to the member's question at that time.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether the pathfinder phase for Bairns' Hoose has begun, and, if it is the case that it has not yet commenced, when it will do so.
Answer
The final stages of preparation for the Pathfinder phase for Bairns’ Hoose are underway. Applications for prospective pathfinders partnerships will open in Summer 2023 with pathfinders commencing in Autumn 2023. Further information on this phase will be included in the Project Plan Progress Report and Pathfinder Development Plan to be published this Spring.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to (a) ban and (b) restrict the breeding of the Scottish Fold cat.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to ban the breeding of the Scottish Fold cat. The breeding of this particular breed is however restricted under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (the 2021 regulations).
The 2021 Regulations include a licence condition (section 8(4), schedule 2) which states that "no cat may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, conformation, behaviour or state of health, that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring". Given the well documented conformational health issues with this breed, the licensing authority is likely to refuse any application for a licence or a request to vary a licence where the intention is to breed the Scottish Fold. Comprehensive guidance produced for local authorities and cat breeders also makes it clear that persons seeking to breed the Scottish Fold are unlikely to be granted a licence to do so.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments from the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association that its plans for juryless trials would be an affront to justice and that any proposed pilot could result in boycott action.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2023
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how its domestic abuse policies are informed by research from the Scottish Sentencing Council.
Answer
Several recently published research reports support our understanding of the experiences of those affected by domestic abuse, including 'The sentencing of offences involving domestic abuse’, a literature review published by the Scottish Sentencing Council in June 2022, which can be found at https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/media/2231/20220624-domestic-abuse-final-report-as-published.pdf .
These will play a key role as we further develop and assess our policy approach to tackling domestic abuse. Both the research into the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 which can be viewed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/domestic-abuse-scotland-act-2018-interim-reporting-requirement/ and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of ‘Constabulary for Scotland’s Thematic Review of Domestic Abuse which can be viewed at https://www.hmics.scot/publications/hmics-thematic-inspection-domestic-abuse-phase-1 found that challenges exist in preventing domestic abuse and protecting those who are vulnerable from its harmful effects.
We will continue to take relevant research and information into account as we work with partners to prevent and address domestic abuse.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects purposeful activity levels in Scottish prisons to be restored to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS is using learning from the pandemic to reshape its delivery model for purposeful activity as part of our 5-year Corporate Plan which is due to be published in Summer 2023.
Although purposeful activity hours have increased since the pandemic, focus will now shift to qualitative improvements rather than quantitative improvements. SPS recognise the importance of an individual's rehabilitation and reintegration and will structure pathways to support progress towards release.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling the reported large amount of absenteeism of offenders carrying out unpaid work as part of a Community Payback Order.
Answer
Once a Community Payback Order (CPO) has been imposed, its management – including with regard to compliance and attendance – is a matter for the courts and local authority justice social work services.
Managing compliance effectively is critical to achievement of the purposes of a CPO. If an individual does not attend any part of their CPO, this will be investigated by justice social work services. If the reason for absence is not acceptable, this will result in the commencement of a formal warning process, which can result in the case being returned to court under breach procedures, where the court will consider the breach.
Seventy-nine per cent of orders which ended during 2021-22 did not involve any breach applications for the duration of the order. It is up to the independent courts to decide the most appropriate outcome where a CPO has been breached, based on all of the circumstances of the case, and ultimately this may include the imposition of a custodial sentence.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many homes have been returned to use with support from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership since 2022, and whether it can provide a breakdown of the information by local authority area.
Answer
The number of empty homes returned to use with support from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership in 2021-22 is 1,152.
This information is published each year in their annual report and available to view on the website:
https://emptyhomespartnership.scot/ . The report for 2022-23 is due to be published in June 2023.
We do not collect a breakdown of homes brought back into use by local authority.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15794 by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023, on what date SafeDeposits Scotland first implemented the estimated response time, including in relation to automatic replies to emails, of over five working days; when that estimated response time was reduced, and when all “teething issues with system functions” had been resolved and user journeys described as “back to normal”.
Answer
The Scottish Government's role is to monitor the Schemes' compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Regulations 2011 and is not involved in the business operations of the Schemes. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold information on when SafeDeposit Scotland (SDS) first implemented the estimated response time. SDS monthly reporting call centre activity data indicates improvements in response times to both calls and emails from November 2022 onwards. Latest monthly reporting for March 2023 gives the average answer time for calls as 10 seconds, and 8 minutes for emails.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether any court closures will take place during the current parliamentary session.
Answer
There are no plans for any court closures during the current parliamentary session. The current court model provides appropriate access to justice for Scotland’s communities.
The management of the court estate is an operational matter for SCTS. SCTS have stated that there is no current evidence to support any further court closures following the most recent court closures in 2015.
Court locations can only be closed following the approval of the Scottish Parliament.
