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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-03239

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will bring forward measures to improve the input that victims and their families have into the temporary release process.

Question reference: S5W-22756

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 7 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Prison Service uses mobile detection technology that allows officers to pinpoint mobile phone signals to specific cells.

Question reference: S5O-03196

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to protect the jobs of people employed in the North Sea oil and gas sector as the industry changes.

Question reference: S5O-03176

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it next expects to publish a local government finance circular.

Question reference: S5W-22473

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 24 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22259 by the Lord Advocate on 2 April 2019, whether it will provide details of the improvements to the system of recording and tracking physical evidence; when these were put in place, and how it is monitoring their effectiveness.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has strict processes in place in relation to the handling of physical evidence and how they are stored.

Recent improvements to the system of recording evidence have been made. These are:

Storage areas for CCTV and other multimedia devices separate from other productions have been established;
A manager has been given specific responsibility for the production store in Glasgow. This will be replicated in every office;
Where multiple items are lodged in a case, a new process ensures each individual item is logged and this is periodically audited;
Revised booking in and out processes have been introduced to ensure that items can be tracked;
All staff have been reminded of their responsibilities and refresher training is being carried out.

Question reference: S5O-03140

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to tourism businesses in the north-east.

Question reference: S5W-22378

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the NHS to ensure there are sufficient amounts of medication and other supplies in stock to cover the next six months, and what contingency planning it has carried out to ensure that enough will be in place to cover all foreseeable circumstances.

The UK Government has overall responsibility for EU exit contingency planning and in particular for entry and any customs control at the UK Border. Since August 2018, the UK Government has been leading on plans to secure supplies of medicines, medical devices and clinical consumables in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit from the European Union. Despite the continuing uncertainty around the timing and nature of the UK’s exit from the EU, the Scottish Government has maintained full engagement with NHS Scotland, the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to ensure that patients in Scotland will continue to have access to the medicines and other medical supplies they need, as far as is possible.

Shortages are a routine management issue for the NHS. Manufacturing is often complex, regulation appropriately intense and there are many hundreds of companies involved in an international supply chain. It is normal for the Governments across the UK to be alert to and in many cases be engaged in the active management of significant numbers of supply issues. This is business as usual, and there are established processes in place to respond to and manage the position.

An NHS Scotland Medicines Shortages Response Group, chaired by the Scottish Government’s Chief Pharmaceutical officer and consisting of a range of health professionals that have a Scotland-specific focus, has been established to focus on aspects such as information sharing with NHS England, ensuring that intelligence gathered from Scottish sources is taken into consideration as part of the overall UK position and, to consider what additional or different steps may be required to be taken in Scotland. The expertise of this Group will provide critical information that the Scottish Government can feed in to the UK-wide Medicines Shortages Response Group in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit from the EU. Steps will also be taken to alert our Resilience Hubs, NHS 24 and other public sector partners.

On 28 March 2019 the Scottish Government’s Chief Medical Officer and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer wrote to health professionals across Scotland to offer advice on preparations being made to enable to the NHS to respond to and manage potential medicine shortages, as well as outlining the support that will be given to prescribers and pharmacists. This letter provides an update on advice previously issued by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer in January 2019.

In relation to ensuring supplies of medical devices and clinical consumables (MDCC), the Scottish Government has been working intensely with NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). Arrangements have been made for Scotland's participation in a UK-wide National Supply Distribution Response Centre that, in turn, provides access to dedicated shipment channels. NSS has also undertaken a phased stock build of goods held in its National Distribution Centre in Scotland. Systems are being developed to ensure that adult social care shortages are also fed in where necessary, through a triage centre with Scottish Care and other providers.

Question reference: S5W-22259

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 2 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is taking to avoid losing or destroying video and photographic evidence, in light of reports that this has happened in relation to prosecuting offences committed in football grounds.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service handles over 40,000 pieces of physical evidence every year. There are strict processes in place in relation to the handling of these labelled productions including how they are accounted for and stored.

Following a recent case in Glasgow in which regrettably the evidence could not be located, a number of improvements to the system of recording and tracking physical evidence in Glasgow have been implemented.

Question reference: S5T-01591

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the approval of the Scottish Police Authority budget, in light of reports that capital funding shortfalls have left Police Scotland using patrol cars that are over a decade old.

Question reference: S5W-21913

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent since May 2016 pursuing full integration of the British Transport Police and Police Scotland.

In August 2018, I announced that we would re-examine all options for the devolution of railway policing. Estimated costs therefore apply to work carried out assessing all options for delivering enhanced accountability and a stronger role for the Scottish Police Authority in relation to railway policing – not only integration.

The Scottish Government regularly reprioritises staff in order to meet Programme for Government commitments. Scottish Government official staff costs are part of the existing Safer Communities Directorate staffing costs in place to resource the delivery of this work. As such staffing costs relating to the devolution of railway policing have been absorbed within overall Scottish Government resource planning.

As confirmed in the letter dated 29 May 2018 to the Justice Committee from the Chairs of the Joint Programme Board ( https://www.parliament.scot/S5_JusticeCommittee/Inquiries/BTP-SGandDfT.pdf ), estimated Scottish Government staff costs to financial year end 2017-18 were £310,000. Staff costs for 2018-19 will not be calculated until after the end of the financial year.

I will provide an update to Parliament once the proposed arrangements for devolution have been agreed, and will include more detailed costs at that point.