- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently in prison beyond their original sentence, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons in each case.
Answer
A prisoner serving a determinate sentence cannot be held beyond the end of that sentence.
If a person is given an indeterminate sentence the judge must, by law, set a punishment part of the sentence. This is the minimum time the person must spend in prison before they can be considered for release into the community by the relevant Parole Board.
As of the morning of the 3rd of April 2023:
- 233 (31%) of the 756 serving a life sentence, and
- 168 (75%) of the 224 serving other indeterminate sentences (i.e. Order of Lifelong Restriction or Imprisonment for Public Protection)
remained in custody beyond the period of the punishment part of their sentence.
SPS do not hold information centrally on the reasons why Parole Boards have not recommended release for these individuals.
Due to the small number of prisoners serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), these have been combined with Orders of Lifelong Restriction (OLR) to prevent the identification of individuals.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the uptake of the National Test Programme has been in 2023 to date.
Answer
The Scottish Government's Preparing For Sustainable Farming (PSF) initiative is helping farmers and crofters across Scotland transition to more sustainable and regenerative farming, including carbon auditing and soil testing. Between 1 January and 17 April 2023 there were 987 PSF claims received.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Culture and Major Events Directorate has had with (a) ScotRail and (b) Transport Scotland, regarding planning for rail services during the Edinburgh festivals in 2023.
Answer
There have been no recent discussions between the Scottish Government Culture and Major Events Directorate (a) ScotRail and (b) Transport Scotland.
However Culture and Major Event Officials, along with relevant transport stakeholders, routinely take part in the multi-agency Events Planning and Operations Group (EPOG) dealing with Summer Events. EPOG is run by the City of Edinburgh Council as the lead planning authority in respect of Summer Events within Edinburgh, such as Edinburgh Festivals.
Outwith Edinburgh, Transport Scotland continue to discuss planning arrangement for major events with transport deliver partners and key stakeholders through quarterly Major Events Planning meetings in addition to regular event specific meetings.
In addition, ScotRail is required under the terms of its grant agreement to use all reasonable endeavours to provide for reallocation of Passenger Carrying Capacity to serve Special Events.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many beavers have been translocated to new river catchments since the announcement by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, in November 2021, of new measures to expand beaver numbers and restore biodiversity.
Answer
Fourteen beavers have been released in the River Teith catchment and seven beavers have been released in the River Leven (Loch Lomond) catchment since November 2021.
NatureScot engagement with local communities is ongoing on the potential translocation of beavers in the River Beauly catchment (Glen Affric) and in the River Spey catchment.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what additional support will be made available to support the construction of social housing when the Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard is introduced.
Answer
When applying for grant assistance at tender stage to deliver homes for social rent, grant applicants are required to self-certify that the amount of funding that they are requesting is the minimum required for a project to be financially viable for their organisation whilst ensuring rent affordability.
The Scottish Government will consider any additional costs associated with improved quality standards for homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and those additional costs will be accounted for in the affordable housing investment benchmarks which determine how a project is appraised.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that some local authorities have been unable to process payments of arrears of pay in March, following the recent agreement of a pay deal for teachers, and reported concerns that this means that some teachers' back pay will be subject to higher tax rates if not processed before the end of the 2022-23 tax year, what guidance it has given to local authorities on whether the tax on teachers' back pay is to be calculated and deducted for the closed year as if the additional pay had been paid at week 53, in accordance with HMRC guidelines.
Answer
Local authorities are responsible for administering their payroll operations and ensuring any tax is paid at the correct rates.
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are responsible for the collection of Scottish Income Tax and all technical guidance relating to the correct tax treatment of earnings. Any teacher who is concerned about this issue should contact their employer and engage with HMRC.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much money it expects to save from the change made to the Small Business Bonus Scheme in the Scottish Budget 2023-24, where the threshold for 100% rates relief will reduce from £15,000 to £12,000.
Answer
The Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) was reformed and eligibility extended in the Scottish Budget 2023-24. In the December 2022 Economic and Fiscal Forecast report, the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that this would reduce the cost of SBBS relief by £53 million in 2023-24, with similar annual savings of between £55 million and £60 million in subsequent years over the 5-year forecast period. This policy costing included the impact of a lower rateable value threshold for 100% relief as well other changes such as the introduction of a taper, and the extension of eligibility for properties with a rateable value up to £20,000.
Acknowledging the impact of the revaluation and of changes to SBBS, the Scottish Budget 2023-24 also included a Small Business Transitional Relief which will limit bill increases for properties that received SBBS relief on the 31st of March 2023 for the next three years. This policy is forecast to save ratepayers £40 million in 2023-24, £39 million in 2024-25 and £33 million in 2025-26.
The net savings to the Scottish Government of these measures combined is £13 million in 2023-24, £18m in 2024-25 and £24m in 2025-26.
- Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding any potential strike action by junior doctors in Scotland.
Answer
On 8 December 2022, the BMA Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC) officially announced their intention to ballot for industrial action. Since this date, the Scottish Government has exchanged correspondence with the BMA on the following dates:
• 12 and 15 December 2022
• 26 January 2023
• 9, 21 and 24 February 2023
• 16 and 17 March 2023
• 5 April 2023
Prior to the BMA SJDC officially confirming their intention to ballot for industrial action, the Scottish Government corresponded with the BMA SJDC on the subject of Junior Doctors pay on:
• 7 October 2022
• 11 and 30 November 2022
• 1 and 7 December 2022
I met with BMA on 11 April 2023 to discuss their concerns around pay and then again on 20 April when we entered into negotiations with Junior Doctors to secure a pay award for 2023-24.
- Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many items of contraband have been detected by the Scottish Prison Service, to date, through the photocopying of prisoners' mail.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. After clarifying the specifics of the question with the member, her response is as follows:
- How many items of contraband have been detected by the photocopying of mail?
- Photocopying of mail does not detect contraband. The process for establishments that have this in place is that original mail items are photocopied and the prisoner is given the copy with the option to destroy the original or have this placed in their property for issue upon release. If during the opening of correspondence an item is suspected to be suspicious then this is sent to security for testing on the rapiscan machine.
- How many items of contraband have been detected by the rapiscan machine since the introduction of this policy?
- Since the introduction of the photocopying of prisoners correspondence 2,677 items have tested positive on the rapiscan machine.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what the average contract for difference (CfD) price is for an operating (a) offshore and (b) onshore wind farm in Scotland.
Answer
The Contracts for Difference scheme is a UK Government mechanism.
Information about all Contracts for Difference strike prices is available in the public domain here: Contracts for Difference - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .
