Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to my answer to the question S6W-12401 on 7 December 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 

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.

Comprehensive data on the number of people accessing alcohol treatment services are not available.

Scottish Government is working to make alcohol treatment services more accessible to those who need them. An important part of this is by tackling stigma, to that end we will be publishing a Stigma Action Plan in early 2023.

We recognise the importance of residential rehabilitation being available to everybody who wants it - and for whom it is deemed to be clinically appropriate - at the time that they ask for it in every part of the country. That is why we have made £100 million available towards residential rehabilitation services and associated aftercare over this parliamentary term.

Alcohol treatment targets are being developed alongside stage two of the drugs targets implementation in 2024. This will ensure that people with problematic alcohol use continue to receive the same quality of care as those with problematic drug use.

Zero Waste Scotland sourced this information from SEPA’s waste data tool ( Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk) , to which their researchers applied a compositional analysis to provide the detail found in the table.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body currently maintains the following types of insurance that extend to MSPs: 

• Employers’ liability
• Public / Products Liability
• Travel and personal injury
  

There is currently no provision for Members in respect of professional indemnity insurance and there are no current proposals to expand the existing suite of insurance provision. If any such proposals were to be made, consideration would need to be given to the guidance on insurance set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and budget implications generally. In place of insurance, the SPCB approved the Legal Advice Scheme. This Scheme allows the SPCB’s Legal Services function to provide advice to Members subject to certain conditions and exclusions, either directly or through supporting the provision of advice by People Services or Standards Clerks. This covers legal disputes, claims or actions raised against Members when acting in their parliamentary or constituency role; advice in relation to employment of Members’ staff; and advice in relation to Code of Conduct issues.

The Justice portfolio has spent a total of £301,853.07 on external management consultants in 2012 and 2016-2019. This data relates to direct spend by the Scottish Government and does not include expenditure on consultancy services by public bodies. There was no spend on management consultancy services in the years 2020-2022. A breakdown of these costs is provided in the following table:

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.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with COSLA to find a way forward on the introduction of a Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers.

This will improve consistency and transparency for looked-after children, their families and their carers across Scotland.

There are no social care postgraduate degrees.

The Scottish Government is in the process of replacing and upgrading security equipment across its estate as part of a multi-year improvement programme.

All existing CCTV kit and equipment, including Hikvision and other companies’ products, are being replaced with a new integrated system to improve and future-proof the security of the Scottish Government estate.