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I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

1. 147; and

2. 133

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The total number of liberations from SPS custody in 2020 are as follows:

1. 8,187; and

2. 6,179

Electronic monitoring provides an important function in monitoring those at various points in the justice system, including for those on release from prison (for HDC or as part of a parole licence), or those on a community order (e.g. Restriction of Liberty Order).

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across all services within the justice system including within courts and prisons. The number of electronically monitored orders made during this period reflects this.

In response to the specific questions:

(a) the number of all electronically monitored orders (in practice court orders and licences) made between 1 January 2020 and 3 December 2020 is 3569.

A breakdown of the total orders received is 3160 court orders, 390 release from prison (24 of which were released to Scotland from a prison in England or Wales). Additionally 19 orders were imposed by the Children’s Hearing panel.

(b) the number of orders made between 23 March 2020 and 3 December 2020 is 2389.

A breakdown of the total orders received is 2047 court orders, 326 release from prison (18 of which were released to Scotland from a prison in England or Wales). Additionally 16 orders were imposed by the Children’s Hearing panel.

The available information is provided by calendar month and shows that the number of community orders (CPOs and DTTOs) issued during 2020 was (a) 7,635 to the end of October and (b) 3,674 from April to the end of October.

Data source: Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service Management Information

Currently there is one trainee environmental health officer who has been seconded to an NHS Test and Protect team. Local authorities are responsible for decisions around the secondment of their staff.

Covid-19 has put us all in an unprecedented, challenging situation, and the current pandemic has had a significant impact on the delivery of dental services.

As a result of the pandemic we have had to defer our work to extend free NHS dental care to care experienced 18-26 year olds. However we are still dedicated to delivering this commitment and can confirm this will be taken forward as part of recovery and remobilisation programme for NHS dentistry.

Work to better understand and support care-experienced young people with their housing costs through Discretionary Housing payments was paused as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. However, care experienced young people remain eligible for discretionary housing payments (DHPs) if they are in receipt of qualifying benefits.

We have provided Who Cares? Scotland with £106,754 to maintain the helpline established as a response to COVID 19 and deliver an advertising campaign to promote discretionary housing payments. The helpline provides care experienced young people with advice and helps eligible individuals make an application for a DHP.

Official statistics on applications for, and awards, of Job Start Payment were published on 9 November 2020 and can be accessed on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/job-start-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-september-2020

Levels set out in our new Strategic Framework ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/ ), are likely to be necessary until we are in a position to move into Phase 4 of our route map. To do this the virus must effectively have ceased to be a significant issue in Scotland. That might be because, for example, an effective vaccine had been developed and used on sufficient scale in Scotland and/or we have an effective treatment available across Scotland that essentially removed the health risk from the virus and/or transmission is so low that we are confident that the virus can be controlled without the restrictions of Phase 3.

We would encourage the landlord Highlands & Islands Enterprise to discuss this proactively with BiFab Board of Directors and management, who are the current leaseholders of the yard.