- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics reportedly showing that the number of sexual misconduct allegations against Police Scotland officers has increased by over 400% in 2022 to date, compared with 2021.
Answer
Bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour of any form cannot be tolerated within society or within policing, and there must be trust in how matters are handled if things go wrong. This includes having robust, clear and transparent mechanisms in place to investigate complaints, misconduct or other issues of concern.
Protecting public confidence in policing in Scotland is fundamental to a healthy democratic society. That is why the Scottish Government commissioned and subsequently accepted the majority of the recommendations from Dame Elish Angiolini’s Independent Review, and outlined its commitment to introduce a Police Complaints and Misconduct Handling Bill later this parliamentary year.
The introduction of this Bill will provide greater transparency around the police complaints process, the standards we expect from officers and further strengthen public confidence in policing. It will build on the improvement work already delivered which includes a new operating model for complaint handling within Police Scotland and the establishment of a Strategic Oversight Board to mainstream equality, diversity and inclusion. This further underlines that unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated in policing in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff absences due to mental health reasons were recorded by (a) 999 and (b) 101 call centre staff, in each year since 2014.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes initiatives being undertaken by Police Scotland to support its workforce through the “Your Wellbeing Matters” programme which covers psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing.
The Scottish Government does not collect information on staff absences due to mental health reasons. Delivery of call handling services and associated staffing issues are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the (a) initial upfront capital and (b) annual ongoing resource cost would be to acquire body-worn cameras for all police officers in Scotland, and whether any supplier quotations or tendering have taken place in order to achieve best value for any such procurement.
Answer
The issue of body-worn cameras is a policy and operational decision for Police Scotland, acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.
Police Scotland have advised they have developed an initial business case for Body Worn Video which has been considered and approved by the SPA Resources Committee. Police Scotland will undertake a full procurement exercise in 2023 which will provide more clarity on costs – both upfront purchase costs and ongoing costs.
The Scottish Government would expect Police Scotland to achieve best value through all its procurement activity.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the candidate selection process that took place in order to appoint a new permanent chair to the board of Ferguson Marine, and whether it provide details of (a) how the post was advertised, (b) how many candidates (i) applied and (ii) were shortlisted and (c) (i) how and (ii) for what reason the final appointment was made.
Answer
Between 14 January 2022 and 17 February 2022 the role of Chair of the Board Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) was publicly advertised. Two candidates applied but were not successful.
Following the unsuccessful public recruitment exercise, a recruitment agency was engaged via the framework agreement with the Crown Commercial Service. Three potential candidates were invited for formal interview. The formal interviews tested strong leadership, change management, knowledge of the Public Sector, governance, analysis and decision making as well as communication, networking, influencing, mediation and conflict resolution skills. A recommendation was made to Ministers based on the ranking at formal interview and a formal offer of appointment was made to the highest ranking candidate assessed against the stated criteria.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest time taken for the the police to attend an incident when required following a 999 call has been in each year since 2014.
Answer
The Scottish Government is grateful to Police Scotland’s call handlers for their continued hard work to ensure that calls to the service are answered as quickly and as safely as possible.
In its 2021 briefing note, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, (HMICS) noted significant progress in Police Scotland’s call handling processes and a commitment to pursue continuous improvement. Furthermore, this year’s HMICS assurance review on the service’s Contact Assessment Model (CAM) highlighted a number of successes in how calls are now triaged by handlers.
The Scottish Government does not collect data on Police Scotland 999 or 101 calls. Delivery of these services is a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA.
Police Scotland publish monthly reports on call handling which are available at: https://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/what-we-do/how-we-are-performing/.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) adults and (b) children have been admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of asthma in NHS (i) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (ii) Ayrshire and Arran in (A) 2011, (B) 2016, (C) 2020, (D) 2021 and (E) 2022 to date.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11872 on 24 November 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport last met with CalMac representatives.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the current (a) timescales, (b) plans and (c) legislative changes it plans to propose to reform the dual role of the Lord Advocate, in their capacity as head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and as a minister in the Scottish Government and its principal legal adviser, in line with its commitments to do so.
Answer
The Programme for Government published in September 2021 covered this Parliamentary session running up to March 2026. Within it, there is a commitment as follows:
'The Scottish Government’s law officers, amongst other roles, act as the head of the independent prosecution service and as members of the Scottish Government. We will consult on whether the prosecution and government functions of the law officers should be separated.'
Work is continuing to progress towards a Scottish Government consultation. Development of the consultation will be informed by an initial phase of expert research, which is currently underway. This research will ensure a detailed baseline understanding of the many distinct roles and functions of the Law Officers and will provide information on how the functions of Law Officers operate in other countries.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Quarterly Fines Report from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answer
The independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has the operational responsibility for the collection of criminal fines in Scotland. On 17 October 2022, SCTS published their latest quarterly fines report. This report is an official statistics publication and uses a rolling three year collection rate which reflects that fines and financial penalties, by their nature, require time to pay. As such, using a full three year period containing both newer and older fines gives a more balanced view of collection rates.
The latest report indicated that the three year collection rate for all fine/penalty types showed improvement for both value and number when the figures as at 19 July 2022 are compared with 17 October 2022. For example, 86% of sheriff court fines were either paid or on track to be paid as at 17 October compared to 85% as at 19 July.
We welcome this improvement and support the efforts of SCTS to collect and enforce fines using all the available tools at their disposal.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times Legionnaires' disease has been detected on the Police Scotland estate in each year since 2013.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information to answer this question. I have asked Police Scotland to write to you providing the information you have requested. However, Police Scotland has reassured me that they conduct regular legionella testing across the Police Estate and if legionella bacteria is detected an immediate mitigation plan is put in place. Police Scotland has confirmed that there have been no cases of Legionnaires disease reported since 2013.
The Member will be aware of the temporary closure of the Scottish Police Collage at Tulliallan from 6 December. This was the result of routine testing and, as a precaution, Police Scotland’s leadership team has decided to temporarily close Tulliallan to allow further investigations and action to be undertaken.
There are no confirmed cases and the risk to individuals remains extremely low. However, Police Scotland has been clear that the safety and wellbeing of officers and staff is paramount. The closure will allow for a full flush of all water systems to be carried out, and further testing done to ensure there is no trace of bacteria remaining. There will be no impact on operational policing as a result of this.
Responsibility for the management of the police estate sits with Police Scotland, which is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority.
