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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.

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Question reference: S5W-22621

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21968 by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2019, whether it will provide the data broken down by (a) white and (b) non-white, in addition to age and location.

Tables a) and b) show the prison population disaggregated by ethnicity and broken down further by age and prison establishment.

Figures relate to a snapshot extracted from the Scottish Prison Service live operational database on 12th March 2019.

Table a) Prison Population (12-03-19) by age and ethnicity

	White	Other ethnic group	Total	% Other ethnic group
21 years and under	450	30	480	6%
22 - 30 years	2189	95	2284	4%
31 - 40 years	2664	109	2773	4%
41 - 50 years	1416	52	1468	4%
More than 50 years	1050	30	1080	3%

Table b) Prison Population (12-03-19) by age and ethnicity

	White	Other ethnic group	Total	% Other ethnic group
Addiewell	690	13	703	2%
Barlinnie	1357	99	1456	7%
Cornton Vale	93	2	95	2%
Dumfries	175	14	189	7%
Edinburgh	873	42	915	5%
Glenochil Prison	714	26	740	4%
Grampian	441	27	468	6%
Greenock	211	4	215	2%
Inverness	119	0	119	0%
Kilmarnock	496	9	505	2%
Low Moss	760	21	781	3%
Open Estate	176	3	179	2%
Perth	701	14	715	2%
Polmont	445	26	471	6%
Shotts	518	16	534	3%

Question reference: S5W-22506

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21910 by Fergus Ewing on 12 March 2019, by what date it will announce details of its plans for school children's farm visits.

Question reference: S5O-03149

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that freight capacity on Northern Isles ferry routes meets future demand.

Question reference: S5W-22457

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-18658 and S5W-18659 by Kevin Stewart on 7 September 2018, how much has been spent to date; how many homes (a) have been and (b) are being built, and how much of the fund it estimates will be spent by March 2021.

£485,000 has been spent to date from the Islands Housing Fund. A total of four homes have been completed, with project approvals for a further eleven homes. Several Island Housing projects are completing their feasibility work and working towards full applications. It is therefore difficult to estimate the spend to March 2021 until projects submit full applications, however the £5 million allocated towards the Islands Housing Fund remains in place.

Question reference: S5W-22351

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what interim measures it is considering to address any environmental governance gap arising from the loss of functions currently carried out by EU agencies, the European Commission and European Court of Justice in the event of a no deal Brexit, and whether it will seek stakeholder input on their development.

Question reference: S5W-22354

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that it will act in full accordance with section 26A (Environmental matters; duty to consult) of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill, and when it will lay a report before the Parliament.

Question reference: S5W-22350

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether its plan to introduce a legal duty on ministers regarding EU environmental principles, as set out in the consultation on environmental principles and governance, will require legislation.

Question reference: S5W-22353

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that Scotland's environment is not negatively affected as a result of any UK-wide governance gap created by Brexit.

Question reference: S5W-22352

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its proposals for interim measures for environmental governance in the event of a no deal Brexit.

Question reference: S5W-22183

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 15 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 29 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21864 by Ash Denham on 14 March 2019, what discussions it has had with the Inspector of Prosecution regarding the follow-up review; when it was informed that she would be undertaking the review; what information it has regarding the proposed contents of the review, and whether this will include analysis of (a) the protracted timescales, (b) structural barriers and (c) public confidence in the process.

The Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS) is the independent inspectorate for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which is the sole prosecuting authority in Scotland and is also responsible for investigating sudden deaths. Under the terms of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007, in exercising her inspection functions, the Chief Inspector acts independently of any other person.

The Inspectorate of Prosecution confirmed that a follow-up report on fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) would be included in their future work programme in their Annual Report which was laid before Parliament in December 2018:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/inspectorate-prosecution-scotland-annual-report-2017-18/pages/4/

The Scottish Government has made additional funding available to COPFS which has used some of this resource to allow the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit to try to reduce the time required to complete death investigations. In her Annual Report, the Chief Inspector of Prosecution indicated that she had deferred the follow-up report on FAIs to allow the additional resource to become established and make an impact.

The content of the follow-up report is entirely a matter for the Chief Inspector who has, however, noted in the Annual Report that a robust follow-up process is a critical part of an effective inspection regime.