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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-13874

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when an update to the Reconviction Rates in Scotland statistics will next be published.

The heavy impact of the pandemic and subsequent court closures on reconvictions data must be balanced against user needs for information with the provision of meaningful and informative statistics that carry minimal risk of misinterpretation. We are currently investigating what information we could helpfully provide users in respect of reconvictions statistics. We will communicate the outcome of this investigation to users as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-13875

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many drug tests for any prohibited substance have taken place in prisons (a) in 2021-22 and (b) so far in 2022-23, broken down by how many test results were (i) positive, (ii) negative and (iii) inconclusive.

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

The following table provides the total number of drug tests conducted in each financial year, along with the results.

Year	Total Number of Tests	Positive tests	Negative tests
2021-22	4496	294	3892
2022- Jan 2023	3770	258	3185

* The reports run from 01 April to 31 March each year.

The SPS do not record data on inconclusive tests.

Question reference: S6W-13873

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 17 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when Parole Board for Scotland’s annual report for 2021-22 will be published.

The Parole Board for Scotland is required to make a report on the performance of its functions to the Scottish Ministers as soon as practicable after the end of each year, after which this report is laid before Parliament. No specific date has been set as yet for the receipt of the annual report, including accounts, for 2021-22, but this will be laid before Parliament and published in due course.

Question reference: S6W-13377

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the publication of the Drug Seizures and Offender Characteristics 2020-21 statistics has reportedly been delayed.

As noted within the Scottish Government's calendar of forthcoming statistical publications (link provided below), the Drug Seizures and Offender Characteristics 2020-21 publication has been delayed to provide additional time for data collection and validation.

Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Government statisticians now intend to publish figures for 2020-21 and the following year of 2021-22 in the Spring of 2023, and we will pre-announce a specific month to users in the near future.

Question reference: S6O-01633

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities to ensure that the provision of local services meets the needs of local communities.

Question reference: S6F-01572

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2022

To ask the First Minister how much the Scottish Prison Service has spent on providing free mobile phones to all prisoners.

Question reference: S6W-11834

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any significant case review into the murder of Esther Brown, as referred to by the First Minister in the Scottish Parliament on 18 November 2021.

If a person managed under Scotland’s Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) commits a further offence which results in the serious harm of another person, a Significant Case Review (SCR) must be undertaken. This SCR process is designed to examine the actions or processes employed by the agencies involved to ensure that all reasonable steps had been undertaken to minimise risk and to capture any learning.

I can confirm that in this case it is the Glasgow MAPPA Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) who are responsible for ensuring that an SCR is carried out. I understand that the report commissioned by the SOG is entering its final stages. There is a necessary process of factual accuracy checking and consideration of comments from all relevant partner agencies prior to a final report being presented by the independent reviewer. The report will then be formally considered by the Glasgow SOG and their Chief Officers Group.

We are unable to comment in any more detail as to timing or content at this time as this is a report commissioned and overseen by the Glasgow SOG.

Once published, we will carefully consider, along with our MAPPA partners, any review recommendations at organisational and national level.

Question reference: S6O-01561

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to keep teachers and pupils safe while at school.

Question reference: S6W-11507

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 7 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its reported commitment to end the detention of under-18s in Young Offenders Institutions, whether it intends to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 fully commenced on 17 December 2021. Section 78 of the Act requires the Scottish Ministers to review the operation of the Act.

The Scottish Ministers must review the operation of the Act in general, and with a view to considering the future age of criminal responsibility. The review period (of 3 years) began on the day on which section 1 came into force (ie on 17 December 2021). The Scottish Ministers are required to prepare a report on the review, publish and lay it before the Scottish Parliament no later than 12 months after the end of the review period.

An Advisory Group comprising a range of different stakeholders has been established to support Ministers with the review.

Question reference: S6W-11684

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the existence and activities of a so-called "110 Overseas" centre in Glasgow, which, according to a report by the Spain-based human rights NGO, Safeguard Defenders, operates as a branch of the Chinese police service.

As the First Minister indicated in Parliament on 27 October, she was aware of the report and stated “that those reports are deeply concerning, and I want to be very clear that we take them extremely seriously. Any foreign country that operates in Scotland must abide by Scottish law. The Scottish Government fully supports individuals’ rights to freedom of expression, which is an extremely important principle".

The First Minister went on to say: "Obviously, those matters require to be fully and properly investigated. It would not be appropriate for me to go into too much detail, but I know, as a result of a conversation that I had yesterday with the Chief Constable, that the police are aware of those reports. Of course, the police are operationally independent, and it is up to them to determine what investigations would be appropriate. However, they are aware of those reports, and I repeat that those reports require to be treated extremely seriously.”