Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-04287

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on joining the UK Government’s Project ADDER.

The Scottish Government takes a different approach to the UK Government in implementing a public health approach to drug use. This is in line with recommendations of the Scottish Affairs Committee [1] , the Westminster Health and Social Care Committee [2] as well as a significant number of other experts and academics. The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh [3] and the Drug Deaths Taskforce [4] have both released reports in Scotland this year alone calling for a strengthened public health approach to drug use.

In contrast, the priority of Project Adder remains enforcement led. A review of international evidence [5] shows that major policing crackdowns and enforcement operations tend to increase harms to people who use drugs. For example, research from a number of countries has shown that crackdowns are more likely to move drug dealing and usage geographically than to reduce them, increasing crime and discouraging people from carrying clean injecting equipment.

I do welcome those elements of Project ADDER that focus on diversion and recovery, but these are areas that Scotland is already prioritising through our National Mission, having allocated £250 million to improving and saving lives over the course of this Parliament. Work on diversion and recovery is well underway in Scotland and will align with the Project ADDER activity in England and Wales.

Where Adder can add value to the work already underway in Scotland is in the sharing of evidence, helping us to understand what activity can be effective in addressing drug related harms and deaths. To this end our Drug Deaths Taskforce have been engaging as active members of the Project ADDER Partnership Learning Network, sharing lessons learned between Scotland and the targeted ADDER areas.

[1] Scottish Affairs Committee: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201919/cmselect/cmscotaf/44/44.pdf

[2] Health and Social Care Committee: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201919/cmselect/cmhealth/143/143.pdf

[3] The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh: https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/drugs_deaths_in_scotland_report_final_0.pdf

[4] Drug Deaths Taskforce: https://drugdeathstaskforce.scot/media/1248/drug-law-reform-report-sept-6th-21.pdf

[5] Scottish Government: https://www.gov.scot/publications/international-approaches-drug-law-reform/documents/

Question reference: S6W-04302

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Transport will next meet Ferguson Marine, including its senior management and other staff, to discuss the delivery of the ferries for the CalMac fleet that are currently being built.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy has responsibility for Ferguson Marine and the vessels under construction there. I am aware that the Cabinet Secretary currently meets with the yards management on a fortnightly basis to discuss progress, as well as receiving detailed monthly reports.

I currently have no plans to meet with the senior management team at Ferguson Marine in the near future, however I maintain an active interest in the progress at the yard and receive regular reports as a matter of course.

Question reference: S6W-04257

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of hate crime, abuse, attack or assault have been recorded in the last 12 months that were identified as having sexuality as the aggravator or were defined as LGBT+ related crime or offences, and what the overall trends are for such incidents.

The Scottish Government published a study on the characteristics of police recorded Hate Crime in February 2021. The following table shows the number of sexual orientation aggravated hate crimes recorded by Police Scotland from 2014-15 to 2019-20. The table also shows how many of these crimes were assaults (common or serious) and crimes of threatening or abusive behaviour. The number of hate crimes with a sexual orientation aggravation presented below is higher than the figures provided in the aforementioned study. This is because the table also includes hates crime that have multiple aggravations (one of which is sexual orientation).

The study also looked in more detail at the prejudice shown by perpetrators. In the vast majority (94%) of sexual orientation aggravated hate crimes in 2018-19 the perpetrator showed prejudice towards the gay and lesbian community. In over two-thirds (69%) of crimes the words used or actions taken by the perpetrator showed a prejudice towards the gay community, with a further quarter (25%) showing prejudice towards the lesbian community. In 2018-19, the study showed that 39% of sexual orientation aggravated hate crimes had a Police Officer as a victim.

A second study into the characteristics of police recorded hate crime is due to be published in 2022. This will provide the same type of detailed disaggregated data and information on police recorded hate crimes for the year 2020-21.

Year	Sexual Orientation aggravated hate crimes
	Number	Of which were common or serious assault		Of which were threatening or abusive behaviour
	Number	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
2014-15	1,121	126	11%	716	64%
2015-16	1,143	97	8%	818	72%
2016-17	1,177	127	11%	850	72%
2017-18	1,224	141	12%	860	70%
2018-19	1,338	115	9%	990	74%
2019-20	1,501	145	10%	1,110	74%

Question reference: S6W-04251

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many physical, publicly accessible Citizens Advice Scotland offices there currently are; how this number compares with each of the previous five years, and how much funding it has given the organisation in each of these years, including the current year to date.

Citizens Advice Scotland is the membership organisation for independent Citizens Advice Bureaux. At the time of writing, the Scottish Government is aware that there are 59 Bureaux, operating from 76 separate locations across Scotland. Information about historical Citizens Advice Bureaux can be obtained from Citizens Advice Scotland.

The following table outlines the funding provided directly by the Scottish Government to Citizens Advice Scotland between 2016-17 and 2021-22 (so far). It should be noted that the majority of this funding is granted to Citizens Advice Scotland for onward distribution to its member Bureaux.

The years 2016-17 and 2017-18 include funding provided to Citizens Advice Direct, which from 2018-19 ceased to be a member of Citizens Advice Scotland. It is now known as Advice Direct Scotland and is not funded via Citizens Advice Scotland.

Financial Year	Funding provided from the Scottish Government to Citizens Advice Scotland
2016-17	£4,616,459.34
2017-18	£3,596,662.38
2018-19	£5,907,568.53
2019-20	£8,128,287.18
2020-21	£7,337,609.72
2021-22 (as of 16 November 2021)	£4,445,773.62

Question reference: S6W-04252

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the rates of reoffending have been for adults released from custodial sentence in each year since 2007, broken down by whether reoffending took place (a) within one year of release, (b) between one and two years of release, (c) between two and four years of release and (d) over four years after release.

The following table provides reconviction rates for individuals aged 16 or over, who were released from custody in the stated year and then subsequently reconvicted by a court at least once during the specific follow up period. Reconvictions can be for similar or different types of crimes and offences, compared to the initial conviction.

With this type of cohort-based analysis, sufficient time is required to have passed before reconvictions can be measured. For example, in the latest cohort year available, 2018-19, the number presented in the table represents the proportion of individuals who were reconvicted at least once in 2019-20. Given this time lag, the table presents reconvictions for the four to five year period instead of over four years. When examining a reconviction rate at the four to five year period, the latest cohort year where this analysis can be conducted is 2014-15.

Table 1. Reconviction rates for individuals aged 16 or over released from custody, 2007-08 to 2018-19 cohorts .

Year of release from custody	reconvicted in one year	reconvicted between one and two years	reconvicted between two and four years	reconvicted between four and five years
2007-08	47.3%	14.6%	9.9%	2.4%
2008-09	47.2%	13.4%	9.6%	2.5%
2009-10	46.4%	13.6%	10.3%	2.6%
2010-11	45.6%	14.1%	10.4%	2.5%
2011-12	44.6%	13.8%	11.4%	3.1%
2012-13	44.3%	14.9%	11.1%	2.3%
2013-14	45.1%	14.2%	10.3%	2.2%
2014-15	44.7%	13.9%	10.0%	2.5%
2015-16	43.6%	13.5%	11.5%	-
2016-17	42.4%	13.5%	-	-
2017-18	41.0%	14.7%	-	-
2018-19	43.8%	-	-	-

Source: Reconviction rates in Scotland, 2018-19 cohort

Question reference: S6O-00458

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the amount of heroin seized by Police Scotland has increased by more than 400% since 2016-17.

Question reference: S6W-04303

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) reported incidents of, (b) prosecutions for and (c) convictions for wildlife crime there have been in each of the last five years.

(a) The latest available information for Recorded crime data is for the financial year 2020-21 and is presented in the following table:

Wildlife crime Recorded by Police Scotland, 2016-17 to 2020-21

Financial year	Total
2016-17	231
2017-18	236
2018-19	171
2019-20	198
2020-21	308

Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics Dataset

(b)(c) The latest available information for criminal proceedings is for the financial year 2019-20 and is presented in the following table:

People proceeded against in Scottish courts for wildlife crimes, where main charge, 2015-16 to 2019-20

Financial year	Total prosecuted	Total convicted
2015-16	25	20
2016-17	23	22
2017-18	29	25
2018-19	15	10
2019-20	12	11

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. Recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases which have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only the main charge is counted in these court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings. Crimes and offences alleged to have been committed by children under 16 years old are also generally dealt with through the children’s hearings system rather than through the courts.

Question reference: S6W-04289

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the next round of funding from the Victim Surcharge Fund will be distributed to victims groups.

Question reference: S6W-04305

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided in the current financial year to police divisions that operate in rural areas for the purpose of tackling (a) sheep theft and (b) rural crime.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This year the Scottish Government has increased funding for policing in Scotland by £75.5 million to more than £1.3 billion. The allocation of these resources across policing priorities is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable to determine.

People living in Scotland’s rural areas are less likely to be a victim of crime now than a decade ago, as detailed in the 2019-20 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. Over three-quarters (76%) of those living in rural areas believed that the local crime rate had been stable or fallen in the previous two years.

The Scottish Government will continue to bear down on crime in Scotland, through protecting police budgets as well as through substantial investment in preventative programmes.

Question reference: S6W-04288

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Victim Surcharge Fund is due to open its next round of funding applications from victims groups.

The Victim Surcharge Fund is opened for applications from victim support organisations once sufficient money has accumulated to enable a viable exercise, which in turn is dependent on the number and value of fines imposed by the courts.

The Scottish Government will reopen the Victim Surcharge Fund for applications from victim support organisations to allow funding to be allocated during the 2021-22 financial year.

The funds distributed will depend on the amount that has accumulated in the Fund and the level of successful applications received.

Seòmar agus comataidhean