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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-12706

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered using alternative providers for the victim surcharge fund and, if so, which.

Following detailed consideration, it is our intention that the Scottish Government will operate the Victim Surcharge Fund (VSF).

Under this model, Victim Support Organisations (VSOs) will be invited to apply to the Scottish Government for an award from the VSF, which they can then use to provide immediate and practical support to victims and their relatives in the aftermath of crime.

Scottish Ministers operating the VSF directly will ensure that VSOs can continue to focus on supporting victims, rather than diverting resources and expertise to the operation and management of the Fund.

Question reference: S5W-12707

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the victim surcharge fund is not already operational, and by what date it will (a) be operational and (b) issue its first payment.

Establishment of the Victim Surcharge Fund (VSF) has taken longer than originally anticipated as we’ve undertaken detailed consideration and consultation with partners on the most effective mechanisms to operate and manage the VSF.

Our intention is to lay the subordinate legislation required to establish the VSF, in Parliament in early 2018. This will set out further details of how the fund will operate, including the date it will become operational.

Question reference: S5W-12631

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases have been referred to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for investigation in each of the last three years, also broken down by how many of these cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) investigate alleged miscarriages of justice where an application is made by or on behalf of the person who claims to have suffered a miscarriage of justice. It is not possible for a third party with no connection to the alleged victim of a miscarriage of justice to refer a case to them for investigation.

Information on the number of cases received by the SCCRC and the number of cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary since 1 April 2014 is contained in the table below. It should be noted that cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary in one year may have been received by the SCCRC in a previous year.

Year	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18 (to date)
Number of cases received by the SCCRC	174	148	150	97
Number of cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary by the SCCRC	3	2	3	3

Question reference: S5W-12549

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase sailings on the Pentland Firth route between Stromness and Scrabster after Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) is introduced on the service.

Question reference: S5W-12550

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings (a) ministers and (b) officials have had with stakeholders to discuss increasing sailings on the Pentland Firth route between Stromness and Scrabster after Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) is introduced on the service.

Question reference: S5W-12547

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing three return sailings between Stromness and Scrabster between March and October each year.

Three return sailings are already provided on the Scrabster – Stromness service from mid-May to early September, excluding Sundays, to cater for the increased demand over this period. A third sailing is also provided on other particularly busy days throughout the year.

Transport Scotland, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, commissioned independent transport specialists to undertake a comprehensive transport appraisal, in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG), which involved exploring and assessing the specification of both the next Northern Isles Ferry Services contract, as well as the new fares structure set to be introduced in the first half of 2018.

As part of that, a working group was set up by Transport Scotland, which included representatives from Shetland Islands Council, Orkney Islands Council, HITRANS and Highlands & Islands Enterprise to oversee the study. Feedback from the group was fed into the study, which has now concluded. We are currently considering the findings of the study, which presents a variety of different options in relation to service provision across the Pentland Firth. The study report is currently being finalised and is due to be published before the end of the year.

Question reference: S5W-12633

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases referred the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for investigation in each of the last three years have been overturned by the High Court of Justiciary, also broken down by how many of these cases referred to that court.

The following table sets out the number of cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary on the grounds that there may have been a miscarriage of justice, the number that were determined in each year and the number of those where the court found that there had been a miscarriage of justice.

Year	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18 (to date)
Number of Cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary by the SCCRC on grounds that there may have been a miscarriage of justice in relation to conviction or sentence.	3	2	3	3
Number where conviction or sentence quashed	3	2	2	0
Number where conviction or sentence upheld.	0	0	1	1
Cases to be determined	-	-	-	2

Question reference: S5W-12481

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) meetings and (b) discussions (i) ministers and (ii) officials have had with NHS boards regarding the review to examine their number, structure and regulation, and whether it will publish any (A) minutes and (B) correspondence, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government set out its position on the review of Health Boards in the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan and associated News Release published in December 2016. This stated that there are no plans to reduce the current number of patient-facing Boards or change Board boundaries. Our focus is on promoting greater collaboration between Health Boards, and with partners, to deliver modern, sustainable health and social care services. Regional and National Delivery Plans are being developed to improve services more widely to ensure that patients' needs are met and resources allocated more effectively.

Question reference: S5W-12483

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the territorial NHS boards have been consulted as part of the review of their number, structure and regulation, and what the reasons are for this.

Question reference: S5W-12504

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11962 by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017, whether workstreams will result in the clinical and wellbeing needs of care home residents with neurological conditions being assessed and met.

As detailed in S5W-11962, the National Care Home Contract reform process is underway. Part of this work involves developing a set of nationally agreed terms which will better support local processes. The aim is to build a sustainable model for commissioning and purchasing care placements based on the needs of localities – supporting the redesign of services and enabling authorities to purchase placements on what is required, and supporting the well- being and needs of all care home residents.