Chamber and committees

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: S6O-02083

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has put in place to support island communities in advance of Hulls 801 and 802, and other ferries, coming into service.

Question reference: S6W-15771

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any (a) ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers were consulted before the offer of immunity from prosecution was made to prison officers charged with the care of Allan Marshall.

The Crown does not grant immunity from prosecution but makes prosecutorial decisions based on criteria set out in the Scottish Prosecution Code. Decisions on prosecution are taken independently and are matters for professional prosecutors within the system for which the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are responsible. It is therefore not appropriate for any other minister, or for Scottish Government officials or special advisers to be consulted in relation to any prosecutorial decisions.

I have confirmed to Mr Marshall’s family that some aspects of the investigation fell short of what they were entitled to expect. The previous decision not to prosecute individual prison officers cannot be reversed. I have instructed Police Scotland to investigate possible corporate responsibility by the Scottish Prison Service.

The way in which custody death cases are handled by COPFS has been reviewed and transformed. I am confident that new structures and processes in place will ensure such cases are undertaken rigorously, respectfully and compassionately.

Question reference: S6W-15770

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision of the Lord Advocate to instruct the police to investigate the Scottish Prison Service for corporate homicide, whether it will hand over to Police Scotland all correspondence, transcripts, notes of meetings and all other communications with ministers, their officials and the Scottish Prison Service to assist with this investigation.

Question reference: S6W-15034

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the full-time equivalent staffing levels were in Transport Scotland’s Ferries Unit in each year from 2012 to date.

Within Transport Scotland, we only have FTE records available from 2016, due to data retention policies. From 2016 to December 2022, Ferries existed as a team within the Aviation, Maritime, Freight and Canals (AMFC) Directorate. I have provided the FTE separately for both the Ferries team and the AMFC directorate as a whole. From December 2022, a new Ferries Directorate was formed, this FTE figure is shown below. All figures are as at March of each year.

FTE Figures	AMFC Directorate	Ferries Team within AMFC
March 2016	34.6	17
March 2017	29.1	13.5
March 2018	30.5	15.5
March 2019	33.3	19.3
March 2020	38.4	23.6
March 2021	42.7	23.8
March 2022	48.5	30.6
	N/A	Ferries Directorate
Currently		41.7

Question reference: S6W-15032

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Minister for Transport’s reported commitment on this issue, what steps it has taken to ensure that its private sector consultant, Ernst and Young, meets with trade unions organising Scotland’s ferry workers to discuss Project Neptune.

Question reference: S6W-15033

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the recommendations in Project Neptune that it is taking forward for public consultation.

Question reference: S6W-15031

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many times Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd has time chartered the MV Arrow for service on publicly-contracted ferry routes in Scotland from January 2012 to date, and what the (a) duration and (b) cost was of the time charter in each instance.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) have never chartered the MV Arrow, which is owned by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Any charter has been between the publicly funded ferry operator and the owner of the vessel.

The following table details, from January 2012, when either CalMac Ferries Ltd or Serco NorthLink Ferries have chartered the MV Arrow.

Operator	Network *	Period of Charter
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	18-10-14 to 12-11-14
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	02-11-17 to 12-11-17
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	22-11-17 to 30-11-17
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	18-01-18 to 19-02-18
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	14-09-18 to 07-10-18
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	14-10-18 to 07-11-18
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	31-10-19 to 23-11-19
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	13-01-20 to 26-01-20
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	16-06-20 to 25-06-20
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	10-05-22 to 24-05-22
Serco NorthLink	NIFS	07-11-22 to 28-11-22
CalMac Ferries	CHFS	16-07-21 to 09-09-21
CalMac Ferries	CHFS	01-11-21 to 13-11-21
CalMac Ferries	CHFS	14-01-23 to 15-03-23

*	CHFS – Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services NIFS – Northern Isles Ferry Services

The cost of any charter is commercial in confidence between the respective ferry operator and owner of the MV Arrow.

Question reference: S6O-02007

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-15335

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to organisations that support those affected by workplace bullying.

The Scottish Government promotes the role of Citizens Advice Scotland and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in providing free and impartial advice and support on workplace issues, including bullying and harassment.

Everyone has the right to go to work without fear of intimidation. We endorse the Fair Work Convention's Fair Work Framework and agree that every worker, regardless of status or position, should be treated fairly and with respect.

We are committed to supporting strong trade unions and promoting collective bargaining. On 09 December we published our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan and continue to encourage all employers to provide effective voice channels, giving workers a voice in tackling workplace issues such as bullying.

Only with the devolution of employment powers will the Scottish Government have the full set of levers to take real action on workplace injustices.

Question reference: S6W-15337

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the Health and Safety Executive on issues of workplace bullying.

As health and safety legislation is reserved we regularly cooperate with the Health and Safety Executive to promote workplace safety. This includes using our devolved healthcare powers to promote and support safety in the workplace, our Fair and Healthy Work for All Strategy, and continuing to represent the opinion of the Scottish Government on worker safety to the HSE.

The Scottish Government believes that bullying and harassment of any worker, under any circumstances, is unacceptable. Everyone has the right to go to work without fear of intimidation. We endorse the Fair Work Convention's Fair Work Framework and agree that every worker, regardless of status or position, should be treated fairly