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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-02685

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a different payment structure for the provision of railway policing to railway operators following the proposed merger of the British Transport Police and Police Scotland.

Question reference: S5F-00218

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2016

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Faculty of Advocates' reported concerns that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is under resourced.

Question reference: S5W-01690

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the pain management budget has been in each NHS board area in each year since 2010.

Question reference: S5W-01692

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it carries out in respect of waiting times for subsequent treatments for chronic pain relief procedures after a patient has had an initial pain relief treatment.

Question reference: S5W-01691

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 August 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest wait has been for patients to receive subsequent pain relief procedures following their initial pain relief treatment in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S5W-01012

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 21 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of figures published in Police Scotland's Management Information Force Report: Quarter 4 2015/16, which show a 3.3% rise since 2014-15, whether it plans to re-evaluate its strategy to tackle the crime of handling a bladed or pointed instrument.

<>The Police Scotland reports make clear these statistics are provisional, based on management information drawn from a live operational database – therefore, the report should not be seen as an indicator of the official trend.

Official recorded crime statistics show that there has been a 67% fall in the number of handling offensive weapon offences between 2006-07 and 2014-15. Between 2013-14 and 2014-15, official recorded crime statistics also show a 13% fall in such offences.

The Scottish Government’s strategy on knife crime is focused on tough enforcement coupled with education and diversion activity to discourage people from carrying knives and other weapons.

Question reference: S5W-01016

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many offenders convicted of crimes or offences related to domestic violence have been electronically tagged in each of the last five years.

The number of people sentenced to a Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLO) by court where a domestic aggravator was recorded as the main offence in each year since 2010-11 are presented in the following table.

Year	Number
2010-11	44
2011-12	53
2012-13	50
2013-14	99
2014-15	110

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Service

Scottish Government statistics show that there has been an increase in the number of RLOs given for proceedings with a domestic aggravator. This may be reflective of more cases reaching the courts as a result of a strengthened emphasis on tackling domestic abuse in Scotland by both Police Scotland and The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Question reference: S5W-01017

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will put in place to address the 5.3 per cent increase in violent crime between 2014-15 and 2015-16 as set out in Police Scotland's Management Information Force Report: Quarter 4 2015/16.

Any incident of violent crime is totally unacceptable and the Scottish Government’s strategy is focused on tough enforcement coupled with education and diversion activity by working with various partners who deliver a number of programmes and initiatives to support people away from offending violent behaviour.

For example, the Scottish Government has put significant investment into the national Violence Reduction Unit which aims to reduce violent crime and behaviour by working with partner agencies to achieve long-term societal and attitudinal change, and, by focusing on enforcement, to contain and manage individuals who carry weapons or who are involved in violent behaviour. The unit also aims to explore best practices and develop sustainable, innovative solutions to the problem of violence.

Whilst the Police Scotland Force report provisionally suggests a small increase in violent crime in 2015-16, the report also advises users to refer to the official statistics on recorded crime for longer term trends.

For overall context, the latest official statistics on recorded crime report a 55% decrease in levels of non-sexual violent crime between 2006-07 and 2014-15, to its lowest level since 1974. This includes a 6% reduction between the latest two years of 2013-14 and 2014-15. Statistics for 2015-16 will be published in September 2016.

Question reference: S5W-01015

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make any supplementary budgetary provision available for the increased use of electronic tag monitoring.

The Scottish Government is committed to moving away from ineffective short term prison sentences towards robust community alternatives. In June 2016 the Scottish Government announced an additional £4 million to support local community justice and voluntary sector partners to increase the use of community sentences as part of the Scottish Government’s drive to reduce reoffending, including strengthening the use of electronic monitoring.

The exact resource implications of extending the current electronic monitoring service and of introducing new technology, such as GPS, are currently being considered.

Question reference: S5W-01014

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much the annual cost is of an electronic tag per offender and whether it anticipates an increase in this cost.

The detail of the electronic monitoring contract, including the breakdown of the pricing schedule, is 'Commercial in Confidence'. The Scottish Government publishes a unit cost for electronic monitoring which can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Publications/costcrimjustscot/costcrimjustdataset.

The resource implications of extending the current electronic monitoring service and introducing new technology, such as GPS, are currently being considered.