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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-32085

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has conducted with the Scottish Information Commissioner and the Parole Board for Scotland regarding the publication of reasons for Board decisions to the victims of the offender whose case is being decided, as stated in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report.

Question reference: S5W-32087

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has conducted with the Parole Board for Scotland to update the guidelines on the criteria that boards have to account for when making decisions, specifically relating to the safety and welfare of victims and their families, as stated in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report.

Question reference: S5W-32088

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what options it has explored regarding the use of exclusion zones for offenders who have been released to ensure that they do not come into contact with their victim, as stated in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report.

The Parole Board for Scotland can, and already do, use exclusion zones as part of licence conditions, to help manage the risk that a released prisoner comes into contact with their victim. These exclusion zones can be electronically monitored at present. Last year we legislated through the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 to put in place a framework for improving monitoring capabilities, which has the potential to change how those exclusion zones are monitored. A new national contract for electronic monitoring was procured and was put in place from April this year which allows for the introduction of GPS technology into the electronic monitoring service. While Covid disruption has meant recent activity on electronic monitoring has focussed on maintaining and stabilising the current service, development of the service to incorporate new technology remains a key part of our planning for expansion of electronic monitoring in Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-04701

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect teachers in the north east from COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-32093

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 13 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's statement and Scottish Government press release on 22 September 2020, which section of which coronavirus regulations excepts "non-cohabiting couples" from the new restriction on gatherings in private dwellings.

The current coronavirus regulations define extended household as follows –

“extended household” means two households—

(a) which have chosen to be treated as a single household for the purpose of—

(i) these Regulations, or

(ii) the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, and

(b) have not already chosen to be treated as a single household with any other household

The Scottish Government “Staying Safe and Protecting Others” guidance on extended households sets out the circumstances in which we advise extended households could be formed. There is a section in this guidance entitled “Couples who do not live together”, where more information on forming an extended household in these circumstances can be found.

Question reference: S5W-32018

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 23 September 2020 (Official Report, c.20), whether it will provide a full list of the stakeholders that the cabinet secretary said he had spoken to “to seek their views on the areas of the [Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill]" that he was "committed to considering”; what date each discussion took place, and whether it will publish the minutes of each discussion.

I met with the following stakeholders to seek their views on the areas of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill that I was considering amending:

Faculty of Advocates (04 September 2020)
Law Society of Scotland (14 September 2020)
Humanist Society Scotland (14 September 2020)
Catholic Church (14 September 2020)
Tackling Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Group [1] (22 September 2020)
Scottish PEN (22 September 2020)
Federation of Scottish Theatre (22 September 2020)
National Union of Journalists (22 September 2020)
Scottish Society of Playwrights (22 September 2020)
Writers’ Guild (22 September 2020)
Scottish Police Federation (22 September 2020)

These engagements informed the development of the policy change to the Bill that I outlined to Parliament on 23 September 2020. Discussion also covered a range of other matters connected with the Bill as well as wider hate crime policy.

Short notes of the meetings will be published here by the end of the month and once permission has been received from the organisations in attendance.

[1] https://www.gov.scot/groups/tackling-prejudice-and-building-connected-communities-action-group/ .

Question reference: S5F-04468

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to statistics stating that attacks on emergency workers have risen approximately 6% on the previous year and occur at a rate of more than 20 a day.

Question reference: S5W-31917

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 5 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports (a) that there has been a reduction in the number of young lawyers wishing to do criminal defence work and (b) highlighting figures that show a decline in the number of registered criminal law firms and criminal lawyers of approximately a quarter in the last 10 years.

Anecdotally, it is reported that the number of legal trainees in criminal practice has decreased, however this appears to reflect the fall in reported crime over several years, the subsequent fall in cases proceeding to court, and the business models of many criminal law practitioners. While Scottish Government can provide support to improve the diversity of the legal profession, it has little in the way of legislative powers to direct activity. Any support needs to be carefully managed to ensure that there is no perception of compromising the independence of the legal profession in Scotland. The Scottish Government has encouraged the Law Society to promote greater diversity, for example through more “family friendly” policies and more open recruitment and promotion in firms.

In addition, we are already working jointly with the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Legal Aid Board to identify appropriate ways to support solicitors in responding to changes to their business as a result of the pandemic, and will be working with these stakeholders as part of the reform of legal aid programme.

Question reference: S5O-04658

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for major projects in the north east to drive the area's tourism sector.

Question reference: S5T-02423

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the backlog of court cases could take up to a decade to clear.