Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-03546

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent children and young people from overdosing on over-the-counter medication.

Question reference: S6W-27704

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many overdoses from painkillers in those under the age of 18 were recorded in the financial year 2023-24, and, of these, how many instances resulted in death.

Drug-related hospital stats are published by Public Health Scotland and can be found at. Drug-related hospital statistics - Scotland 2022 to 2023 - Drug-related hospital statistics - Publications - Public Health Scotland Breakdowns are available by ‘drug type’, but are not specific to different painkillers, and are not cross tabulated with age.

National Records of Scotland also publish an annual official statistics report on Drug-related Deaths in Scotland. The most recent publication was released on 22 August 2023 and can be found at Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2022 | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) . Within Table SUB2 ( Additional Data | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) of the additional data tables published alongside the main report there is a breakdown of drug poisoning deaths by year and by substance, including specifically those drugs which were implicated or potentially contributed to the cause of death. National Records of Scotland does not publish an age breakdown of this data.

Question reference: S6W-27396

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the Rural Housing Fund in each year since its introduction.

Question reference: S6W-27393

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been built through the Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17.

The number of homes completed through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17, broken down by rural (mainland) and islands is provided in the following table. There are over 80 housing units currently on-site which are expected to complete in 2024-25 through the fund. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community organisations and others to deliver affordable homes, while complementing the delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords. Between 2016-17 and 2022-23 the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of more than 10,000 affordable homes in rural and island areas.

Rural (mainland) and Island Homes	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24*	Total Homes
Rural	2	21	1	35	16	41	36	6	158
Island	-	4	-	5	4	12	8	15	48
Total Homes	2	25	1	40	20	53	44	21	206
*This includes provisional programme management information for 2023-24 and could be subject to change

Question reference: S6W-27394

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the Islands Housing Fund in each year since its introduction.

A breakdown of spend from the main Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since the funds were launched in 2016-17, broken down by rural (mainland) and Islands is provided in the following table. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community organisations and other eligible applicants while complementing the significant delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords in rural and island areas.

Rural (mainland) and Island Spend	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24*	Total Spend
Rural	0.074	0.961	1.451	2.142	3.062	2.392	1.458	2.412	13.952
Island	0.027	0.100	0.200	0.681	1.855	2.401	2.625	4.268	12.157
Total Spend	0.101	1.061	1.651	2.823	4.917	4.793	4.083	6.680	26.109
*This includes provisional programme management information for 2023-24 and could be subject to change

Question reference: S6W-27395

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been built through the Rural Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17.

Question reference: S6W-27444

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is ensuring that statutory aggravations in relation to domestic abuses cases are applied where appropriate.

This question relates to a recommendation in the report on HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS)’s inspection of the prosecution of summary domestic abuse cases which was instructed by the Lord Advocate and was published on 17 April 2024.

The relevant recommendation is:

Recommendation 3

COPFS should ensure that statutory aggravations are applied where appropriate. This could be done via additional training and guidance, as well as quality assurance and feedback to staff.

The Lord Advocate has accepted this recommendation.

COPFS is commencing work in relation to the areas identified in the HMIPS report and will provide updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report in due course.

Question reference: S6W-27445

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that domestic abuse cases are progressed efficiently through the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

This question relates to recommendations in the report on HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS)’s inspection of the prosecution of summary domestic abuse cases which was instructed by the Lord Advocate and was published on 17 April 2024.

The relevant recommendations are:

Recommendation 6

COPFS should ensure that domestic abuse cases at summary level are prepared effectively. This will require that:

(a) new information is brought to the attention of deputes and acted on promptly

(b) deputes are available to deal with urgent and unexpected queries as they arise

(c) the tasking of reporting officers is followed up timeously

(d) action is taken to address any risks to the efficient progression of the case

(e) deputes have sufficient time to address issues during their case preparation.

Recommendation 11

As well as monitoring the domestic abuse waiting period, COPFS should work with its partners to monitor the overall journey time for domestic abuse cases. This monitoring should lead to action to address any barriers to progressing cases efficiently.

The Lord Advocate has accepted these recommendations.

COPFS is commencing work in relation to the areas identified in the HMIPS report and will provide updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report in due course.

Question reference: S6W-27346

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service provides clear guidance to staff on when a domestic abuse victim should be informed of a decision to discontinue a case, and of their right to request a review of that decision.

This question relates to a recommendation in the report on HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS)’s inspection of the prosecution of summary domestic abuse cases which was instructed by the Lord Advocate and was published on 17 April 2024.

The relevant recommendation is:

Recommendation 9

COPFS should provide clear guidance to staff on when a domestic abuse victim should be informed of a decision to discontinue a case and of their right to request a review of that decision.

The Lord Advocate has accepted this recommendation.

COPFS is commencing work in relation to the areas identified in the HMIPS report and will provide updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report in due course.

Question reference: S6W-27344

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is reviewing and streamlining the content of its domestic abuse training for its staff.

This question relates to a recommendation in the report on HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS)’s inspection of the prosecution of summary domestic abuse cases which was instructed by the Lord Advocate and was published on 17 April 2024.

The relevant recommendation is:

“Recommendation 1

With regard to training of staff, COPFS should:

(a) review and streamline the content of its domestic abuse training taking into account the target audience [...]”

The Lord Advocate has accepted this recommendation.

COPFS is commencing work in relation to the areas identified in the HMIPS report and will provide updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report in due course.

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