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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-25102

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the fire service's Youth Engagement Scheme has replaced the Cadet Scheme.

Question reference: S5W-25104

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available for bail supervision.

Local authorities have flexibility to use the ring-fenced funding for Justice Social Work of just over £100 million, which is protected in the 2019-20 budget, for bail supervision. This includes investment of £1.5 million annually since 2015-16 specifically for the development of bail services and early intervention schemes for women.

From April 2019-20, Scottish Government has made available an additional £550,000 per annum (£1.65 million over 3 years) of funding to bolster existing provision for supervised and supported bail as an alternative to the use of remand.

This funding is intended to double capacity for bail supervision services, but take up of this funding with be subject to the use of this alternative to remand by the judiciary.

Question reference: S5W-25101

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether victim support organisations will have the power to demand changes to criminal justice bodies’ annual standards of service for victims and witnesses.

We are working with all of the criminal justice bodies and the Victims Organisation Collaboration Forum Scotland (VOCFS) which is chaired by Victim Support Scotland, to facilitate engagement on the development of the annual standards of service for victims and witnesses.

This work is overseen by the Victims Taskforce and includes attendance of the justice bodies at VOCFS meetings to discuss progress against the current standards and seek suggestions directly from VOCFS members on key issues the standards should focus on in the following year.

Question reference: S5W-25100

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will invest to upgrade facilities for child witnesses, and over what time period.

At the end of 2018, the Scottish Government committed over two million pounds of capital and associated revenue costs to enable the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to provide new and upgraded state of the art evidence suites to allow children and vulnerable witnesses to give their evidence in criminal trials in a safe, sensitive and secure environment. It is anticipated that the new facilities in Glasgow will be operational from October 2019, in Inverness by March 2020 when the new Justice Centre is due to open, and the upgraded facilities in Edinburgh and Aberdeen by March 2020.

Question reference: S5W-25097

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide detail on the work that it plans to consider the sustainability of policing.

The Scottish Government has included sustainability as one of its draft Strategic Police Priorities. These are the subject of a current consultation, and will set the long term strategic direction for the policing of Scotland and the carrying out of the Scottish Police Authority's (SPA) functions.

The Scottish Government continues to support the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland to deliver financial sustainability. This includes protecting the police revenue budget for the lifetime of this parliament, continuing reform funding to support transformation, and a 52% uplift in the police capital budget in this financial year.

We have also ensured that policing will benefit from being able to reclaim VAT of around £25 million a year, previously paid to the UK Government, bringing Police Scotland into line with every other police service in the UK. We will continue to press the UK Government to repay the £125 million of VAT paid by Police Scotland between 2013 and 2018. The SPA has a three year financial plan in place which outlines how it will eliminate its budget deficit to reach a financially sustainable position.

The Scottish Government has recently agreed to provide an additional £17 million to cover the policing costs of EU exit.

We continue to support and work closely with the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland, including through the spending review process, to ensure we have a modern and responsive police service which supports its workforce and shapes its services around the needs of individuals and communities.

Question reference: S5W-25105

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will commence the sections of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 that deal with the home detention curfew regime.

The Management of Offenders Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 25 June 2019 and received Royal Assent on 30 July 2019. The Scottish Government are currently in discussion with stakeholders, including criminal justice social work, the Police and the Scottish Prison Service, about commencement of the Act. The precise timescale for commencement will be informed by stakeholder readiness. Our intention is that provisions in the Act in relation to Home Detention Curfew (HDC) are likely to be amongst the first provisions commenced. On current planning we would expect commencement of the provisions in relation to HDC before the end of 2019.

Question reference: S5O-03587

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to initiatives in the north east that aim to tackle climate change.

Question reference: S5W-24882

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 17 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when the new cancer unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is scheduled to open.

The Project Team are currently reviewing the design specification, assessing logistical arrangements with their supply chain and confirming timelines for the project. That work continues and results are expected shortly.

The Scottish Government remain fully committed to the Baird Family Hospital and The ANCHOR Centre Project and looks forward to the submission of the Full Business Case to the NHS Capital Investment Group when that work is complete.

Question reference: S5W-25056

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set up a restorative justice stakeholder group and, if so, what its terms of reference are.

Question reference: S5W-25108

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will launch a fire safety campaign for common areas of dwellings.

The Scottish Government is currently planning the fire safety campaign for common areas of high rise domestic buildings. This work, including identifying an appropriate launch date that delivers effective reach and impact, is being informed by the responses to the consultation on Strengthening Fire Safety for Domestic High Rise Buildings that closed on 17 July 2019, and advice from key stakeholders.