Chamber and committees

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply within 20 days.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply within 20 days.

The Primary Care Workforce Survey collected information on GP practices reporting current vacancies at 31 August 2015. It showed that the vacancy rate for responding practices in NHS Fife was 5.6%, and nine of those posts had been vacant for over six months.

The average daily female remand population in Scotland over the past five years is shown in the following table

Source: Scottish Government (2015) Prison statistics and population projections Scotland 2013-14 for data up to 2013-14.

Figures for 2014-15 and 2015-16 are based on administrative data from the Scottish Prison Service PR2 management information system and are compiled on a slightly different basis from those reported in earlier years. This will not affect the observed trend to any great extent.

Scottish Government and Scottish Prison Service data are not held in a way which allows routine identification of the outcome of remand episodes. Earlier analysis carried out by Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services suggests that at least a third of women remanded to prison custody subsequently receive a custodial sentence.

This is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, and the Scottish Police Authority. Police Scotland has advised that written guidance on the operational use of spit hoods is provided via the Scottish Police College Officer Safety Training Manual and all Police Scotland Officers and Special Constables receive training in their use. Any application of a spit hood must meet the Police Scotland criteria for the use of force.

The Scottish Government maintains regular contact with the Scottish Police Authority on a range of financial matters. Any adjustments to policing budgets set through the Budget Act would be undertaken through the normal process of Autumn and Spring Budget Revisions.

The reconviction rate for offenders released from a Young Offenders Institution between 2009-10 and 2013-14 is presented below. The rate measures the proportion of offenders who were reconvicted within a year.

Reconviction rates for those released from a Young Offenders institution, 2009-10 to 2013-14

Source: Scottish Offenders Index

Data on how many people in young offender institutions have mental health problems is not provided to the Scottish Government.

The SPS prisoner survey will identify mental health issues via self-reporting. Prisoners are asked questions on mental health by way of an instrument known as the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). There is a specific young persons report which covers HMYOI Polmont only. http://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Publications/Publication-3908.aspx

Police Scotland have legislative authority, provided for by part ten of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, to seize vehicles for a variety of reasons including antisocial behaviour and road traffic offences. A police officer has authority to seize a vehicle if it is being driven in a manner which is causing, or is likely to cause, alarm, distress, or annoyance; in circumstances where the person has been warned to stop using the vehicle in such a manner; and the officer has reasonable grounds to believe their warning has not been complied with.

The data contained in the following tables, for antisocial behaviour and road traffic offences, can only be provided for the period from 2 February 2015 until 25 August 2016. Historically, the eight legacy police forces each had separate contracts with various vehicle recovery agents to process vehicle recovery. On 2 February 2015, these arrangements were centralised and data for Police Scotland was thereafter compiled in one place.

Antisocial Behaviour seizure figures from 2 February 2015 until 25 August 2016

Road Traffic Offence seizure figures from 2 February 2015 until 25 August 2016

The following table contains information on the number of quad bikes and motorcycles seized in Fife over the past five years due to antisocial behaviour incidents or road traffic offences. However, we cannot provide a breakdown because the vehicle recovery company with whom Fife Constabulary had the recovery contract did not detail the reason for each vehicle uplift. Also, the company did not maintain records of how many seized vehicles were subsequently destroyed.

Vehicle seizures in Fife

A hate crime is defined as being where an offence is committed by a perpetrator motivated by prejudice on the grounds of one or more of the following - race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Scottish Government currently produces official statistics on the number of racist incidents recorded by the police in Scotland, including information on any crimes associated with those incidents. In 2013-14, Police Scotland recorded 4,807 racist incidents. We are currently investigating the feasibility of changing the racist incidents publication into a new and broader product on police recorded hate crime. This would include a race element, and we will inform users as this work progresses.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal produce separate statistics that cover all protected characteristics. Since 2013, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have reported 5180 cases (2013-14), 5428 cases (2014/15) and 5544 cases (2015-16. Further details can be found on the Crown Office website at: http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/publications/equality-and-diversity.