Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-34554

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Transforming Parole proposals allow victims to speak at parole hearings, and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

The changes which will come into force on 1 March 2021, through the Parole Board (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2021, set out a procedure for victims and family members of victims, who are registered with the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS), to be silent observers at parole hearings with the aim of allowing increased transparency to victims.

Allowing victims to make oral representations to the Parole Board members hearing the case that victims are involved with, would require an amendment to primary legislation. The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 permits certain victims, registered with the VNS, to make oral representations but only to a Parole Board member who is not involved with the case.

Question reference: S5W-34488

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it is providing to households that are undertaking home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scottish Government has invested £25m to support digital inclusion for school-aged learners across Scotland. At end-December 2020, almost 59,000 devices and over 10,000 connectivity packages had been distributed to learners and more will have been distributed since then.

A further £45m is being provided to councils to support families with remote learning. This additional funding may be used flexibly by councils to purchase additional digital devices, to recruit additional staff and to provide additional family support.

Glow, which provides access to Microsoft Office 365, Google G-Suite for Education and Wordpress Blogs, is freely available to all learners and teachers in Scotland.

In addition, Education Scotland has provided a significant expansion of online learning through the National e-Learning Offer. 600 recorded lessons and 14,000 items of online learning and teaching resources are available to schools. Education Scotland have also published clear principles and entitlements for remote learning and will be monitoring provision on a weekly basis.

Question reference: S5W-34218

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the correct figure is for the percentage change in admonishments/discharges from November 2020 to the monthly average in 2019-20, in light of page 23 of the November Justice Analytics Report listing it as an 8% change but the number of admonishments displayed suggesting it should be a negative 8% change.

Question reference: S5O-04906

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Barnett consequentials announced for 2020-21 it has formally allocated.

Question reference: S5W-34000

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 9 December 2020 (Official Report, c.13), whether it will confirm the amount that is being allocated to (a) the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and (b) Police Scotland to cover the "pandemic-related income shortfalls" that were referred to by the cabinet secretary, and from which budget stream this money is being sourced.

In her statement to Parliament on 9 December 2020, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance announced additional funding to cover pandemic-related income shortfalls. This included:

(a) £8.4 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services; and

(b) £8.2 million for the Scottish Police Authority to cover a reduction in Police Scotland’s external income.

This funding has been provided through consequential funding generated by UK Government spending.

The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services to monitor and manage the financial impacts of COVID-19 on their budgets.

Question reference: S5W-33141

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what appears to be a contradiction between the level 3 COVID-19 guidance under the heading "meeting others indoors (socialising)", which states that “children under the age of 12…do not count towards the total number of people counted in a gathering” and under the heading "hospitality", which states that “children under the age of 12 from these households do not count towards the total number of people meeting outdoors only.”

We can confirm that children under 12 count towards the maximum of two households permitted to meet indoors in a public place. However they do not count towards the total number people permitted to gather indoors. For example a children’s party with ten children from ten separate households would not be allowable under these restrictions, but six adults and four children from two households could meet.

The guidance is kept under constant review to ensure it is clear and consistent and up to date, and we are grateful for the Member for raising this matter. We acknowledge that further clarity was required on this issue and we have updated the guidance accordingly.

Question reference: S5W-33440

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified a COVID-19 testing system for visitors to care homes and, if so, whether it is currently being tested at any care homes in Scotland.

As outlined to Parliament on 25 November, lateral flow devices will be used to offer testing to designated care home visitors on the day of their visit. This will be rolled out to up to 12 early adopter care homes across four Local Authorities by 7 December, and to all care homes from 14 December. Training and support will be provided and where a care home cannot initially use Lateral Flow devices, PCR Tests will be provided to support visiting.

Testing is only one measure of protection against COVID-19, alongside a strong emphasis on robust infection prevention and control measures, including the use of PPE, the extended use of face masks, physical distancing and good hygiene.

Question reference: S5W-33646

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects Restitution Orders for attacks on police officers to be in force.

Question reference: S5W-33441

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when COVID-19 testing of visitors to care homes will be available in Scotland, in light of the UK Government currently trialling this in England with the aim to have it functioning by Christmas.

As outlined to Parliament on 25 November, lateral flow devices will be used to offer testing to designated care home visitors on the day of their visit. This will be rolled out to up to 12 early adopter care homes across four Local Authorities by 7 December with full roll-out across all care homes completed as soon as possible thereafter, and from 14th December to all care homes with PCR as the interim backup where needed.

Twice weekly testing using lateral flow devices will be rolled out to healthcare professionals who visit care homes from the beginning of December, as part of a wider extension of routine testing including all patient-facing NHS Staff in hospitals, in the Scottish Ambulance Service and in COVID assessment centres. From 11 January this will be extended to non-NHS staff including independent contractors or statutory body staff who attend care homes or provide care at home at least twice per week and have to be within 1 metre of residents, clients or patients.

Testing is only one measure of protection against COVID-19, alongside a strong emphasis on robust infection prevention and control measures, including the use of PPE, the extended use of face masks, physical distancing and good hygiene.

Question reference: S5W-33342

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 4 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards have been put in place following the trial of giving police officers Naloxene kits, in light of safety concerns highlighted by the Scottish Police Federation.

Maximising the availability of naloxone, particularly amongst emergency responders, has been a key aspect of the work of Scottish Government and the Drug Death Taskforce in our effort to tackle drug deaths, as such I welcome that Police Scotland have approved this initiative.

The trial is being led by Police Scotland and it would be for Police Scotland to provide any specific details around safeguards that they plan to put in place. While I acknowledge the Scottish Police Federation’s view, it is important to emphasise that there is an extremely robust evidence base to support the use of naloxone. Naloxone is not a new medication, it has been available and in use for over 50 years and will have been used to save countless lives not just in Scotland, or the UK, but across the globe. At this current time I am not aware of any significant concerns that exist among experts, stakeholders or medical professionals as to its safety. The trial will undoubtedly be closely monitored and appropriately evaluated by Police Scotland.

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