Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-27773

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ruth Charteris on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27346 by Dorothy Bain on 21 May 2024, when the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will complete its work to 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.

COPFS has commenced work in relation to the areas identified in the His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (HMIPS) report and is identifying the necessary work that will require to be undertaken and the resource requirements needed to implement the recommendations.

COPFS has agreed to provide HMIPS with regular updates on the work undertaken in implementing the recommendations contained within the report and anticipate that an update on progress could be provided in 6 months.

Question reference: S6O-03548

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide an update on how it is widening access to its educational services.

Question reference: S6W-27703

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent painkiller overdoses in young people.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in combination with retailers, already limit the sale of paracetamol to a maximum of two packs (containing up to 16 solid dose tablets or capsules) in a retail environment. The aim of these voluntary measures is to balance the need of people for access to pain relief medicines against the dangers for vulnerable individuals and reduce the opportunity for people to purchase, on impulse, excessive quantities of any single analgesic (paracetamol, aspirin, or ibuprofen). A pharmacy may sell larger packs containing up to 32 tablets or capsules under the supervision of a pharmacist; it is illegal to sell more than 100 tablets or capsules of either paracetamol or aspirin in any one retail transaction. Since most packs available for sale are for 16 or 32 dose units, this means that, in practice, 96 is the maximum number that can be sold.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has provided guidelines to community pharmacies on the dispensing and supply of medicines to children and young people. The decision on whether a supply is appropriate is on a case by case basis and will involve considering the individual circumstances. The guidelines apply for both NHS and private prescriptions as well as pharmacy services such as NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27654

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to expand the Fund to Leave scheme across Scotland.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-27630

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many people participating in the Caledonian System have reoffended in each financial year since it was launched.

The Scottish Government assess the effectiveness of the Caledonian System through accreditation and evaluation.

The Caledonian System is delivered to accredited standards and accreditation gives confidence that a programme is designed based on the best available evidence, monitored to make sure it is delivered as intended and evaluated to show the outcomes.

The Scottish Advisory Panel on Offending Reduction (SAPOR) reaccredited the Caledonian System in December 2022 for a further five years. In re-accrediting SAPOR recognised the limitations in data collection for the purposes of evaluation, as a result of disruption to services due to Covid.

Work is underway to improve data collection across the programme, including in what can be said about reconviction rates. Data on reoffending rates for those going through the programme every year since it was launched are not centrally held.

It should be noted that reconviction rates are not necessarily a reliable indicator of programme efficacy as the women being supported are encouraged to recognise abuse, so increased reporting of incidents by women (considered a positive outcome) could drive increased reoffending or reconviction rates.

Question reference: S6W-27651

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to deliver a dedicated women’s officer for every local authority.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-27628

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of the Caledonian System to all local authority areas.

There are 20 local authority areas that currently deliver the Caledonian System, with the most recent area, West Dunbartonshire, starting delivery in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government announced additional investment of £11.4 million for justice social work services for 2024-25 to help build capacity, strengthen and improve services, existing and new, and to support local prioritisation aimed at reducing reoffending.

The Scottish Government wrote to the 12 Local Authorities who currently do not deliver the Caledonian System seeking views on whether in light of the additional sums provided they want to consider roll out of the Caledonian System in their area and wished to access central training and support.

All 12 areas have now responded. The majority of Local Authorities advised that their additional funding was being used for other areas that they considered to be of priority and they would not wish to consider roll out of the Caledonian system at this time. Several areas did note potential interest and will shortly meet the Caledonian National Team in Community Justice Scotland (CJS) to discuss the potential for any further roll out.

We were also made aware that some local authority areas have committed themselves to delivering alternative domestic abuse programmes and therefore have advised that they would not wish to change delivery to the Caledonian System at this time.

Question reference: S6W-27629

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to local authorities to administer the Caledonian System in each financial year since it was launched.

Caledonian Service funding to local authorities is paid through the Section 27 funding for Justice Services (the Men’s Programme) with additional monies for the Women and Children’s Service paid out under separate funding powers.

The following table shows Section 27 funding in previous years:

Year	Men’s Programme (Section 27 Funding)
2010-2011	£1,156,674.00
2011-2012	£1,288,359.00
2012-2013	£1,288,359.00
2013-2014	£1,288,359.00
2014-2015	£1,288,359.00
2015-2016	£1,288,359.00
2016-2017	£1,288,359.00
2017-2018	£1,288,359.00
2018-2019	£1,899,074.00
2019-2020	£2,557,546.00
2020-2021	£2,557,547.00
2021-2022	£2,557,547.00
2022-2023	£2,557,547.00
2023-2024	£2,557,547.00
2024-2025	£2,557,547.00

Funding is also provided to Community Justice Scotland in support of the Caledonian Central Team for training delivered to Caledonian workers to ensure the programme is delivered to accredited standards.

Funding for the women and children’s work is additional to the S27 support, and is paid out under separate grant powers (and is paid to local authorities and third sector providers). The total spend for the Caledonian System for 2023-24, (men, woman and children) was £4,467,666.

Question reference: S6W-27653

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to introduce guidance to encourage (a) local authorities and (b) social housing providers to ensure that domestic abuse victims are prioritised for social housing.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-27655

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to increase the maximum amount that a victim of domestic abuse can receive through the Fund to Leave scheme.

As outlined in my response to S6W-27647 on 31 May 2024, and in my recent letter to Ms Gosal, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further alongside your policy paper which outlines this particular ask. 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 .

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