- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 23 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the contract that is in place to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) for MV Glen Sannox, once the vessel enters service on 13 January 2025.
Answer
In May 2023 CalMac as operator announced that Molgas Energy Uk Ltd would be the supplier of LNG for the MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa. Please see aside link to the CalMac publication: https://corporate.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/news/calmac-award-of-lng-supply-tender/
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the current operating subsidy for the Caledonian Sleeper is, broken down by (a) route and (b) passenger segment.
Answer
The final subsidy for all Caledonian Sleeper services for the financial year 2024-25 will be known when the accounts for this year have been finalised and published.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it requested any changes to the A96 Corridor Review from earlier drafts.
Answer
As with all projects, Transport Scotland Officials regularly discuss and review draft documents prepared by its technical advisors on an ongoing basis as part of the process to finalise reports prior to seeking Ministerial approval to publish. No changes were made by the Scottish Ministers to the draft outcomes of the A96 Corridor Review that identified an optimal Refined Package of improvements.
The position of the Scottish Government has not changed – the current favoured position is to fully dual the A96, and we are already taking forward the dualling process from Inverness to Nairn, including Nairn Bypass.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what alternative fuels, such as hydrogen- or battery-powered trains, are being considered as interim solutions for the railway network.
Answer
The Scottish Government is considering all sensible alternative fuel options for the development of the Scottish rail network.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases involving human trafficking have been prosecuted by the Aberdeen office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in each year since 2020.
Answer
The following table shows Human Trafficking (HT) charges or any charge with a HT aggravation reported to Procurator Fiscal Office, Aberdeen for the period 1 April 2020-31 March 2024 subsequently marked for court proceedings (prosecuted).
| | | Financial year reported | |
| | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Charges prosecuted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) procurator fiscals and (b) support staff are currently (i) employed by and (ii) based in the Aberdeen office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Answer
COPFS employs 2501 staff comprised of 733 legal staff and 1768 support and administrative staff. As referred to in the answer for S6W-32302 on 9 January 2025 based within the Aberdeen Procurator Fiscal’s Office, there are 37 legal members of staff. In Addition, there are 84 members of support/administration staff. These figures are correct as at 30 November 2024.
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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of corporate crime have been prosecuted by the Aberdeen office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in each of the last five years.
Answer
The following table shows charges reported to Procurator Fiscal Office, Aberdeen for the period 1 April 2019-31 March 2024 subsequently marked for court proceedings (prosecuted) – in cases where the accused is recorded as a company. The table shows the position as at 17 December 2024. It should be noted that a number of charges which have been reported may still be awaiting a marking decision.
| | | Financial Year Reported | | |
| | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Charges prosecuted | 13 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 8 |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to address any resource challenges faced by the Aberdeen office of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in prosecuting cases.
Answer
Allocation of COPFS resources is considered on a national basis to ensure delivery of its priorities: to improve the experiences of women and children within the justice system; to improve communication with its customers and partners and the support offered to the most vulnerable service users; and to achieve quicker conclusions to criminal and death investigations.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many alleged cases of fraud have been referred to the Aberdeen office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in each of the last three years.
Answer
The following table shows cases reported to the Aberdeen Procurator Fiscal’s Office which include at least one charge under the Scottish Government classification of "Fraud" for the period 1 April 2021-31 March 2024
| | Financial Year Reported | |
| | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Total | 119 | 89 | 113 |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
-
Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many criminal cases in the last year have been discontinued by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) due to lack of evidence.
Answer
The following table details the number of criminal cases marked no further action - now insufficient admissible evidence in the financial year 2023-24. The count is by case.
| | 2023-2024 |
No further action - Now Insufficient Evidence | 6,609 |