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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-16875

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 7 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted under section 5(1) of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 in each year.

Information on the number of people charged is not held centrally. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have provided the following table.

People reported to COPFS with at least one charge under Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 S5(1), 2010-11 to 2016-17

		Financial Year Reported
2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
0	12	16	20	31	23	35

Source: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Information on people convicted in Scottish courts is provided in the following table.

People convicted of offences under the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 S5(1), where main charge, 2010-11 to 2016-17

Financial Year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Total convictions	-	-	4	4	9	6	9

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Please note these two data sources are not directly comparable. As Criminal Proceedings statistics only measure the main charge in a case it would be expected that the COPFS figures would be higher. There will also be timing differences since the COPFS figures are based on the year of the report to COPFS, while the Criminal Proceedings figures are based on year of disposal.

Question reference: S5O-02215

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in delivering the expansion of early learning and childcare.

Question reference: S5W-16826

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 6 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S5O-02087 by Jeane Freeman on 16 May 2018 (Official Report, c. 1), when it asked the experience panels to consider (a) merging all forms of adult disability benefits into a disability assistance allowance and (b) offering a choice of a mobility component within attendance allowance, and what progress is being made with this.

Work with Experience Panel members with lived experience of disability benefits began in June 2017 with an Experience-Panel wide research programme. Following this a disability benefit specific session started in November 2017 and is ongoing. This involves a combination of surveys, individual meetings and group sessions on a wide range of issues affecting disability benefits.

Over the next six months, we will be asking Experience Panel members more explicitly for their views on Attendance Allowance and on a mobility component for disability benefits, to inform our approach in Scotland in the future.

Question reference: S5W-16713

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines "frontline police officer", and what changes there have been to this definition since January 2007.

Question reference: S5W-16714

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) frontline and (b) non-frontline police officers there have been in each quarter since January 2007.

This information is not held centrally.

Police Scotland publish sub-national police officer numbers on a quarterly basis in parallel with the Scottish Government’s Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics. A link to Police Scotland’s latest sub-national officer numbers publication, for the fourth quarter of 2017-18, is as follows alongside a link to the latest Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics:

http://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/212520/police-scotland-officer-numbers-q42018?view=Standard

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PublicationPoliceStrength/POQS2018Q1

Question reference: S5W-16712

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the total number of police officers is falling, whether it is taking action to ensure that the number of frontline officers is protected.

Question reference: S5W-16424

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendation in the Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales that "any police officer (or staff equivalent) who wants to progress to the Chief Officer cadre must first be required to have operational policing experience in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse, and achieve accreditation in the role of the police service in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse", whether it will implement such a policy for the position of the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-16160

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the European Court of Justice judgement, Ville de Nivelles v Rudy Matzak, Case C-518/15, will be on (a) employment practices, (b) terms and conditions and (c) pay for (i) retained firefighters, (ii) on-call carers and (iii) other workers who may be affected.

The legal case in question related to a Belgian fire-fighter's on-call period and counting such periods as working time under the Working Time Directive. As the ruling related to a specific set of circumstances in place for that person it does not follow that the same opinion would be reached for the different circumstances in place in Scotland for (i) retained fire-fighters, (ii) on-call carers or (iii) other workers. Clarity would only be reached on the counting of stand-by or ‎on-call time as working time if a specific set of circumstances was examined by a UK court or employment tribunal.

Having reached clarity on the counting of on-call time as working time there would be a separate consideration on possible impacts on (a) employment practices (b) terms and conditions of service and (c) pay.

Question reference: S5W-16193

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how student support eligibility is assessed for young migrants who have moved to Scotland, including those who have "limited leave to remain" status.

Access to Higher Education student support in Scotland is assessed by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) and is determined based on an applicant’s residency status, as laid out in The Students’ Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2007/153/contents/made .

These regulations make provision for various categories of student to access tuition fee and living-cost support, including, in some cases, those with Limited Leave to Remain.

Question reference: S5W-16159

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 10 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to discuss with (a) its agencies, (b) local government, (c) other public sector employers and (d) private sector employers regarding the impact of the European Court of Justice judgement, Ville de Nivelles v Rudy Matzak, Case C-518/15.