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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-06349

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05681 by Derek Mackay on 19 January 2017, what information it holds on the progress of human rights improvements in Scotland since 2007, and how this is measured.

Information on Scotland’s performance against the full spectrum of international human rights norms is available from a wide variety of sources.

These include reports prepared by the Scottish Government, national human rights institutions and civil society under United Nations and Council of Europe treaties. Information from other sources is also relevant, including public attitudes surveys, parliamentary proceedings, impact assessments, the Equality Budget Statement and reports on the progress made by public authorities to achieve Equality Outcomes.

The Scottish Government is committed to further enhancing the National Performance Framework. Both human rights and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are central to that work.

Question reference: S5W-06562

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06037 by Angela Constance on 25 January 2017, what information it holds on how it is implementing each of the recommendations, and what the active participation in the process entails.

The Scottish Government’s position on matters arising in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will be made public in due course. Views expressed by the Scottish Human Rights Commission contribute directly to the UPR process and are taken into account by the Scottish Government.

Active participation in the UPR includes the contribution of information to the state party report and participation in the interactive dialogue held by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Scottish Government is also committed to working closely with Scottish civil society. The UPR and other treaty reporting processes offer important opportunities to promote debate, exchange views and develop capacity. The Scottish Government hosted a UPR seminar for civil society organisations on
27 October 2016.

Question reference: S5W-06472

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many visits there have been by medical practitioners at (a) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont and (b) each prison in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Question reference: S5W-06442

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the presumption against short sentences of three months, and what action it considers can be taken to strengthen the presumption.

The Scottish Government's position on the current presumption against short sentences of three months or less, and proposals what action could be taken to strengthen that presumption were laid out in the consultation paper "Consultation on Proposals to Strengthen the Presumption against Short Periods of Imprisonment". This consultation paper can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at the following address: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/09/8223

An independent analysis of the responses to the consultation was published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at the following address: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00497741.pdf. As previously noted, these responses will inform our decision on whether or not to increase the length of the presumption, and we continue to discuss how best to take this forward with the relevant stakeholders.

Question reference: S5W-06443

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates ministers have met in the last 12 months to discuss extending the presumption against short sentences of three months, and whether it will publish the minutes of these.

Question reference: S5W-06417

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many offenders under the age of 18 have been placed in either a (a) Scottish Prison Service-managed and (b) private sector-operated prison in each year since 2010.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

16 and 17 year olds are sentenced to detention in a Young Offenders’ Institution (YOI) and not to imprisonment and as such are not, under normal circumstances, detained in a prison.

In recent years, young people on Remand have been held in a prison for a single night prior to movement to either court and liberation, or onwards movement to a Young Offenders Institution.

(a) SPS managed prisons.

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
218	156	75	47	7	11	13	2

Please note that these statistics exclude Polmont & Cornton Vale Young Offender Institutions as they are not Prisons.

(b) Private sector prisons

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
91	68	53	46	0	0	0	0

Question reference: S5W-06415

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 2 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the vacancy rate of each secure unit has been in each month since 2010.

The Scottish Government do not hold the information in the format requested. However, information on average vacancies in each year is available.

The average vacancies in Scotland’s secure care accommodation since 2010 is detailed in the following table:

	2010 - 11	2011 - 12	2012 - 13	2013 - 14	2014 - 15
Edinburgh 12 Beds	7%	5%	5%	8%	6%
Good Shepherd 18 Beds	33%	4%	19%	7%	2%
Kibble 18 Beds	21%	5%	5%	8%	3%
Rossie 18 Beds	33%	14%	22%	41%	22%
St Mary's 24 Beds	27%	8%	21%	20%	9%
St Phillips 24 Beds	6%	Closed 5-8-2011	Service Closed	Service Closed	Service Closed
The Elms 4 Beds	56%	28%	Closed 20-12-2012	Service Closed	Service Closed

The Secure Care Accommodation Scotland website http://www.sanscotland.org/ shows the number of available beds in each of Scotland’s five secure units. The website is managed by the secure care providers and is updated daily.

Question reference: S5W-06416

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 2 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how long the average stay in a secure unit has been in each year since 2010.

Question reference: S5W-06470

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 2 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many visits there have been by mental health specialists at (a) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont and (b) each prison in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Question reference: S5O-00659

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the number of people trained in mental health first aid.

Year	Number of days
2010 - 11	124
2011 - 12	116
2012 - 13	131
2013 - 14	116
2014 - 15	133