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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: S5O-03346

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to ensure the occupational safety of fishermen.

There is no doubt that commercial sea fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and over the years too many lives have been lost at sea. We need to do all we can, to make it as safe as we can.

Between 2014 and 2020 through EU and Scottish Government funding, approximately £1.2 million has been invested directly in projects aimed at improving safety at sea for Scottish vessels and their crews. This has included grants for refresher safety training and individually issued personal floatation devices.

I have also recently set up the Scottish Fishing Safety Group to support industry efforts to reduce accidents and fatalities across the Scottish fishing fleet - the goal is towards zero deaths annually.

Active fishermen and experts in this field have been invited to put themselves forward to join this group and contribute their knowledge and experience. I expect to announce its membership shortly.

Question reference: S5O-03373

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent analysis recording a fall in serious violent crime over the last decade.

Question reference: S5W-23538

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 May 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Clare Haughey on 31 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on plans for the contactSCOTLAND-BSL service provided to deaf and deafblind British Sign Language (BSL) users.

contactSCOTLAND-BSL is a vital service provided to the deaf and deafblind British Sign Language (BSL) community. It allows deaf and deafblind users to make calls through an on-line interpreter. The Scottish Government will be providing additional funding for contactSCOTLAND-BSL so that from 1 June the service will expand to include calls to private numbers, in addition to public and third sector, and the service hours will increase to 24/7 throughout 365 days a year.

Question reference: S5W-23287

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Clare Haughey on 20 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will be in a position to announce the chairs of the independent reviews of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003 and the delivery of forensic mental health services in Scotland, which were announced in March 2019.

I am delighted to have secured the services of John Scott QC as Chairperson for the review of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. Mr Scott brings extensive experience within the areas of legislation and human rights and will also provide strong leadership in the delivery of an independent, evidence led review.

I am also pleased to announce today the appointment of Derek Barron, Director of Care, Erskine as Chairperson for the review into the delivery of forensic mental health services in Scotland. Mr Barron brings to the role of Chair long-standing experience in mental health nursing across a number of NHS Boards. His experience in providing visible, transformational leadership across services will be instrumental in ensuring delivery of this review that will encompass hospitals, prisons, courts, and the community.

While it will be for the Chairs to determine how the reviews are best taken forward I have been clear that both reviews will be stakeholder driven and evidence led. We want to gather views from as wide a range of people as possible including the voices of those with lived experience so that they can help shape the future direction of our legislation and the services that are provided to those with mental illness.

Question reference: S5O-03264

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports communities in celebrating their heritage.

Question reference: S5W-23112

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 14 May 2019

To ask Scottish Government when the first payments from the Advance Payment Scheme for survivors of childhood abuse in care will be made.

The Advance Payment Scheme opened on 25 April 2019 for those abused in care in Scotland who are either aged 70 or above, or who are terminally ill. Applicants are eligible to apply for a flat rate payment of £10,000, providing tangible recognition of the harm done to them as children

I am pleased to confirm that the first 5 payments have already been processed. Subject to the required appraisal checks, we hope to be able to approve a further 8 applications this week with a further 36 applications currently being considered.

Around 150 calls were taken in the first two weeks of the Advance Payment phone line opening and more than 100 application packs have been sent out. We have put in place a simple, yet robust application process and are focused on helping survivors and their families through the process.

Question reference: S5O-03205

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position on the work of Society Zero, which is a Glasgow-based social enterprise that provides zero waste and plastic-free food, produce and products, and how it supports the establishment of such start-ups.

Question reference: S5W-22322

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent figures for the average Band D Council Tax bill in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales.

The most recent information that the Scottish Government has on the average Band D Council Tax bill in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales is as follows:

(a) The Scottish average Band D council tax for 2019-20 is £1,251.

The latest information for the 2019-20 Scottish average Band D council tax is available at the link below:

https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-Government-Finance/Datasets
CouncilTax/BandDCouncilTax1920

(b) The average Band D council tax set by local authorities in England in 2019-20 will be £1,750.

The latest available information for the 2019-20 English average Band D council tax bill is available at the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data
/file/789613/Council_tax_levels_set_by_local_authorities_in_England_2019-20.pdf

The latest available information for the 2019-20 Welsh average Band D council tax bill is available at the link below:

https://gov.wales/council-tax-levels-april-2019-march-2020 .

Question reference: S5W-22324

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent figures for the number of (a) police officers and (b) prison service staff per 100,000 people in (i) Scotland and (ii) England and Wales.

The most recent comparable figures on the number of (a) police officers and (b) prison service staff per 100,000 population for (i) Scotland and (ii) England and Wales are reported as at the 30 September 2018 in the following tables.

Table (a): Number of full time equivalent police officers per 100,000 population, 30 September 2018

Police Force	Total Number of Police Officers	Number of Police Officers per 100,000 population
Scotland 1	17,147	316
England & Wales 1	122,787	209
Source: Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland, Police workforce England and Wales statistics and Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2017.
1. To ensure comparability the figures exclude officers working for the British Transport Police.

Table (b): Number of full time equivalent prison staff per 100,000 population, 30 September 2018

Prison Service	Total Number of Prison Staff	Number of Prison Staff per 100,000 population
Scotland 1	4,261	79
England & Wales 1,2	39,266	67
Source: Scottish Prison Service Quarterly Submission, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics and Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2017.
1. Includes staff in both operational and non-operational roles.
2. To ensure comparability with Scotland the figures for England and Wales do not include Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service staff working in Probation related functions.

Question reference: S5W-22325

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent figures for the number of (a) court staff and (b) prosecutors per 100,000 people in (i) Scotland and (ii) England and Wales.

The information requested is available online in the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) report. CEPEJ evaluates every two years the functioning of the judicial systems in 47 Council of Europe's Member States. The latest available information, which is for 2016, can be found on the interactive overview page by selecting 'UK - Scotland' and 'UK - England & Wales'. The relevant questions providing this information are Q52 and Q55.

The overview page can be accessed via this link: https://public.tableau.com/profile/cepej#!/vizhome/CEPEJ-Overviewv3_0/Overview

The full report can be accessed via this link: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cepej/dynamic-database-of-european-judicial-systems

CEPEJ will be collecting 2018 data throughout this year for publication in 2020.