- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12110 by Michael Matheson on 3 November 2017, whether it will provide an update on the (a) status of the consultation and (b) the work that it has carried out with the justice and third sector partners.
Answer
As set out in Programme for Government we want to have restorative justice services widely available across Scotland by 2023 and will publish a Restorative Justice Action Plan by Spring 2019 that will set out how we will deliver this aim.
We are working in collaboration with a range of partners to develop the Action Plan. This has included issuing a questionnaire to Local Authorities, the report from which was published in June 2018
(https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2018/06/
restorative-justice-survey-response-analysis/documents/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1
de8bd55/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1de8bd55/govscot:document ), and holding two stakeholder workshops in November 2018. We are also engaging with members of the Restorative Justice Forum.
Further consultation activity will be undertaken prior to finalising the Action Plan. This will include consulting on an order under section 5(2) of the Victims and Witnesses Act 2014, to prescribe who must have regard to the 'Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice in Scotland'.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12111 by Michael Matheson on 3 November 2017, whether it now holds this data and, if (a) so, whether it will publish the information that was requested, and (b) not, whether it will confirm which agency collates this.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21679 on 1 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-12112 and S5W-12113 by Michael Matheson on 3 November 2017, whether it is now in a position to list the types of restorative justice processes that are available, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) when the availability commenced.
Answer
The following report, which was published in June 2018, details the results from a questionnaire completed by local authorities to establish a baseline of how restorative justice practices are being delivered across Scotland.
(https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2018/06/
restorative-justice-survey-response-analysis/documents/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1
de8bd55/0619124e-706e-4abb-81a4-070e1de8bd55/govscot:document ).
I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21679 on 1 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Denham on 28 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what the change to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's funding was in real terms between 2018-19 to 2019-20.
Answer
In 2018-19 the Scottish Government provided the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) with a total fiscal budget i.e. resource and capital of £296.9 million which included additional spending capacity of £15.5 million. This comprised of £5.5 million extra direct funding and ensuring SFRS was able to benefit in full from being able to recover £10 million in VAT from March 2018.
In 2019-20 SFRS has been allocated a fiscal budget of £302.4 million which includes an additional £5.5 million in support of its transformation programme.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what the criteria are for the Scottish Ministers to release a prisoner on compassionate grounds.
Answer
Release on compassionate grounds generally applies where individuals have a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon, where the prisoner is severely incapacitated or where continued imprisonment would endanger or shorten his or her life expectancy. Release may also be considered where tragic family circumstances are a factor.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the NRAC funding formula for NHS boards.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2019
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Denham on 23 January 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a higher level of fixed penalty notices for more serious antisocial behaviour.
Answer
All the evidence on antisocial behaviour points towards a long-term, sustained reduction in Scotland. For example the nationally representative Scottish Crime and Justice Survey shows that the percentage of adults who think people behave in an antisocial manner in their local area has fallen from 46% in 2008/9 to 29% in 2016/17.
We remain committed to ensuring police and local authorities have the powers and resources to further reduce antisocial behaviour, including investing in prevention and early intervention. Fixed penalty notices are an important tool, forming part of a wide range of powers which enable the police and local authorities to exercise judgement when tackling antisocial behaviour. In our on-going discussions with Police Scotland and local authorities we will explore the benefits of amending fixed penalty notices.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 January 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20569 by Humza Yousaf on 9 January 2019, whether it will confirm if any testing is now carried out in the prison estate for new psychoactive substances, in light of it setting out the then position in response to question S5W-05991 on 24 January 2017.
Answer
I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond.
Testing of suspected Psychoactive Substances, for the purpose of identification, does not take place within the prison estate. Testing is undertaken in Police Scotland laboratories.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 January 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20570 by Humza Yousaf on 9 January 2019, whether it will list the strategic, tactical and technological responses that the Scottish Prison Services uses to reduce drug use in prisons.
Answer
I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond.
SPS has established a Strategic Risk and Threat Group (SRTG) which is responsible for providing an overview of any emerging threats and for the deployment of resources and tactical options. The SRTG is responsible for the management of a national tasking log which supports planned programmes of large scale tactical searching across the estate. There is also an established Technical Support Unit which provides technical support and specialised equipment to support national search operations.
Tactical measures are supported by various technologies, including X-ray machines, body scanners and other equipment which will assist in detecting substances which may have been concealed. SPS also has a number of drug detection dogs to support the recovery of unauthorised substances. We also work closely with Police Scotland and others in intelligence lead activity to support our tactical tasking.
It would be inappropriate to place into the public domain specific detailed information on all the specific strategic, tactical and technological responses that are utilised to reduce drug use in Scottish prisons.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 January 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when it became aware of the reported error in the settlement business case for the departing chief executive of NHS Tayside.
Answer
On 6 December 2018 Audit Scotland Published its 2017-18 audit of NHS Tayside. In the context of that audit process, the Scottish Government became aware that errors has been made in the process of confirming the terms of settlement for the departing chief executive of NHS Tayside. These concern, respectively, the process undertaken for confirming a change to the former chief executive's notice period (from 3 months to 6 months), and an overpayment made to the Scottish Public Pensions Agency following the miscalculation of the former chief executive's notice period as superannuable. The Scottish Government has been assured by the board that in both instances, these errors have been retrospectively rectified.
The audit report confirms that the approach to negotiate a settlement in this case was reasonable. As with all employment matters, it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of individual cases.
