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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-07542

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many inadmissible items have been found during strip searches at (a) young offenders institutions and (b) secure units, in each of the last three years.

As detailed in the response to Parliamentary Question S6W-07540 on 21 April 2022, the Scottish Prison Service does not undertake strip searches. It does not collate centrally any items recovered during body searches.

The Scottish Government does not collate information on inadmissible items found during strip searches carried out in secure units.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-07540

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many strip searches have taken place at (a) young offenders institutions and (b) secure units, in each of the last three years, broken down by age of the individual searched.

The Scottish Prison Service carries out ‘rub down searches’ or ‘full body searches’ rather than strip searches. These are performed in line with SPS search procedures, and are not recorded. Information on the number of body searches carried out is not collated centrally.

The Care Inspectorate is responsible for the regulation of care services for children and young people in Scotland, and assessing safety is a key element of inspection.

Within secure care, this extends to considering how the service protects children and young people from unsafe and unknown articles being brought into the service. The Care Inspectorate require each secure care service to keep records if a member of staff needs to search any person or their property. The service’s record should identify reasons for a search , the person authorising, staff involved and any subsequent action arising. The Care Inspectorate does not hold aggregated or centralised data.

Scotland’s secure centres all subscribe to the October 2020 secure care pathways and standards, co-designed with young people who have experience of secure care. All secure centres have written search policies reflecting the expectations set out in those standards. There is no central data on the number of strip searches carried out in each independent secure unit.

Question reference: S6W-07541

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many strip searches have been carried out by Police Scotland on under 18-year-olds in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of strip searches carried out by Police Scotland. This information is held by Police Scotland.

Data Publication - Police Scotland .

The Stop and Search Code of Practice stipulates that a record must be made of any search in the exercise of any power to which the Code applies. The Code also sets out what information must be recorded, including whether a search was a standard search, a strip search within a police station, a strip search outwith a police station, or an intimate search. Police Scotland publish this data quarterly on their website:

Additionally, section 7 of the Code of Practice outlines additional considerations that should be taken when a search involves a child or a young person, requiring Police Officers to ensure that their actions are fully compatible with the young person’s human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Question reference: S6O-00982

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with COSLA and Police Scotland to discuss safe access for all women to clinics and hospitals.

Question reference: S6W-07430

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd’s announcement on 11 March 2022, whether it will make an assessment of workers’ rights at Cemre Marin Endustri’s shipyard in Altinova, Turkey, during the 10-day standstill period.

Question reference: S6W-07432

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd since January 2020 on applying the Fair Work Framework to the vessel procurement process for Islay.

Question reference: S6W-07433

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd’s announcement on 11 March 2022, what assessment it has made of (a) trade union recognition and (b) other aspects of the Fair Work Framework at Cemre Marin Endustri’s shipyard in Altinova, Turkey.

Question reference: S6W-07431

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd applied the Fair Work Framework in assessing preferred bidder status for the contract to build two ferries for Islay.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd ensured the highest standards of service quality in this procurement, relevant at time of initiating the procurement process. Suppliers were asked to describe and demonstrate how they will commit to progressing towards adopting the five Fair Work First criteria that were in place at the start of the procurement for workers (including any agency or sub-contractor workers) engaged in the delivery of this contract, as part of a fair and equitable employment and reward package as a route to progressing towards wider fair work practices set out in the Fair Work Framework. Answers also had to include tangible and measurable examples and also describe how they will report on, and demonstrate progress, to the contracting authority during the lifetime of the contract.

Question reference: S6T-00610

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with DP World and P&O Ferries regarding the loss of jobs for ferry staff working out of Cairnryan.

Question reference: S6W-07043

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme will reopen for new applications for development funding and capital funding.

Applications for development and capital funding are open. More information can be found on the Local Energy Scotland website here www.localenergyscot.org . Loan and grant capital funding is currently available to communities developing renewable energy, heat decarbonisation, and local energy system projects through the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).

Funding is dependent on project needs and type. The CARES team work with projects from inception to completion and continue to offer a flexible package of support to a wide range of renewable energy projects and will also soon offer support through a framework of specialised technical consultants to make it quicker and easier for communities to explore options. More information on this will be published shortly on the Local Energy Scotland website.

From April 2022 CARES will also give greater focus to the decarbonisation of heat in buildings in line with the ambitions set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy.