- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 4 December 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being listed as the current site owner on its Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey – site register publication, what plans it has to develop the site of the former remand centre car park at Avonhead Road, Upperton.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS sold the former remand institution site at Longriggend and its landholdings on 2 October 2003. The sale included the former remand centre car park and the social club site.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being listed as the current site owner on its Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey – site register publication, what plans it has to develop the site of the former Carnbroe Mains Farm in Bellshill.
Answer
I confirm that the Scottish Government is not the owners of the site of the former Carnbroe Mains Farm in Bellshill.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being listed as the current site owner on its Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey – site register publication, what plans it has to develop the site of the former Braehead Brickworks in Bargeddie.
Answer
I can confirm that the site of the former Braehead Brickworks is within the operational land of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project and is maintained by the project contractor, Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP).
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has made available to public sector bodies, including local authorities, for staff welfare in the last two years; what any such funding has been used for, and how it will assess the outcomes.
Answer
Our Pay Strategy contains wellbeing measures including encouraging employers to standardise to a 35-hour working week and to implement a Right to Disconnect policy. Employers under the Pay Strategy are required to actively look at how they can promote wellbeing in their workplace to support a positive and healthy work-life balance.
Many employers have introduced more flexible working practices. We are also progressing our four-day working week pilot to assess the benefits of a shorter working week to staff.
The Scottish Budget does not designate funding specifically for staff welfare, but annual funding for public bodies is informed by their delivery priorities and commitments, including for pay and conditions.
For Local Government employees, pay and other employment matters are delegated to Local Authorities.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been arrested in relation to violence at railway stations in each year since 2016.
Answer
This information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact British Transport Police who might be able to provide this information.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been admitted to A&E in relation to violence on trains in each year since 2016.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact the British Transport Police.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been convicted of an offence in relation to violence on trains in each year since 2016.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact the British Transport Police.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don on 8 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what objectives it set for the funding it provided to the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum in 2022.
Answer
STAF received £184,200 (2021-22) and £193,200 (2022-23) in core funding via the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund. For both these financial years, the agreed outcomes from this funding were:
- That the wellbeing and success of young people leaving care across Scotland is indistinguishable from that of their peers in the general population.
- That there is a significant and measurable shift in culture and improved understanding by all corporate parents working with young people from a care experienced background leading to improved outcomes
- That young people from a care experienced background are informed and empowered to stay in care longer if that is what they wish in placements that meet their needs.
- That STAF increases its influence on behalf of young people and our stakeholders.
In addition a grant of £27,200 was paid to staff for the financial year 2021-22 through the Children and Young People Summer Programme, the objectives of the grant were:
- Provide targeted opportunities for care leavers and those who support them to reconnect with each other and to explore local outdoor wild spaces;
- Design activities with young people with lived experience to ensure that the programme is relevant to their needs; and
- Provide opportunities that promote and support improving physical and mental health in woodlands and forests with young people participating in activities relevant to the wild spaces they are in.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 8 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been charged with selling cannabis in each year since 2016.
Answer
A total of 13,697 accused were reported to COPFS for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2023 with charge(s) which fall within the Scottish Government Classification of "Drugs – Supply, and where it can be identified that cannabis was the relevant controlled drug.
This can be broken down as follows:
| | | Financial Year Reported | | |
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
| 2,096 | 2,143 | 2,011 | 1,915 | 2,085 | 1,767 | 1,680 |
The information is provided under the caveat that: COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis, and the information within it is structured accordingly.
The numbers were arrived at following an interrogation of relevant charges however a manual review was not conducted to confirm accuracy.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of violence on trains have been reported in each year since 2016.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact the British Transport Police.
Data on crime and anti-social behaviour incidents on the rail network is available on the British Transport Police website: British Transport Police - Crime information for the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales (btp.police.uk) .