Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the right balance is struck between protecting the public and safeguarding the rights of individuals and welcomed HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s (HMICS) review of the use of facial search functionality. Scottish Government officials are continuing to discuss how best to implement the recommendations with the Scottish Police Authority, Police Scotland and HMICS.

Governance of the Police Service of Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority, as established in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. The Chief Executive, John Foley, can be contacted at The Scottish Police Authority, 1 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ.

The Scottish Government would encourage all members to participate in local engagement activity being led by local divisional commanders in relevant areas.

The reconviction rate for offenders released from custodial sentences between 2010-11 and 2013-14 are presented below. The rate measures the proportion of offenders who were reconvicted within a year.

Reconvictions by Custodial Sentence Length

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) report is a contribution to the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Kingdom’s human rights record. An interactive dialogue will be held by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during 2017. The Scottish Government is actively participating in that process.

The Scottish Government’s position on matters raised by SHRC, and others, in the context of the UPR will be made public in due course, as will our response to recommendations made by the UNHRC following the interactive dialogue.

The Scottish Prison Service have a range of programmes available to support the rehabilitation of individuals in custody and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. This includes assistance to deal with substance misuse issues, planning for reintegration on release and making referrals to appropriate support agencies in the community and offering individual throughcare support to those that wish it.

Short-term custodial sentences, in particular those of less than six months, offer limited opportunity for rehabilitation. That is why this Government is committed to reducing the use of short-term custodial sentences in favour of robust community sentences, like Community Payback Orders, which are focused on tackling the underlying causes of offending behaviour whilst also requiring individuals to pay back to their communities for the damage caused by their crimes.

The Scottish Government remains committed to reducing the unacceptably high rate of imprisonment in Scotland.

We have consistently stated that the responses to the 'Consultation on Proposals to Strengthen the Presumption against Short Periods of Imprisonment' would inform our decision on whether or not to increase the length of the presumption. An independent analysis of these responses was published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at the following address:

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00497741.pdf

Whilst it is the case that the majority of respondents were in favour of an extension, many of the same respondents raised a number of concerns relating to the implementation and potential consequences of such an extension. Just as it was right that we consulted on this important issue, it is only right that we take the time to ensure that these concerns can be properly addressed. We continue to discuss how best to take this forward with the relevant stakeholders.

The proposal to strengthen the presumption is only one part of our on-going and wide-ranging work designed to reduce the use of short-term imprisonment through the delivery of effective, community sentences that promote rehabilitation.

Transport Scotland operate five vehicles in their car fleet, two electric (a Renault Fluence and a Nissan Leaf) and three diesel (a Mitsubishi Outlander a Skoda Superb and a Skoda Fabia). Details of the number of times each of the vehicles has been used by officials in the last six months are provided in the following table:

*Due to the Nissan Leaf being fitted with a telemetry system, the “journeys” for that vehicle are based on the number of days the vehicle was in use, whereas the vehicle log books were used for all other vehicles in the fleet.

The following table confirms expenditure from the £20m in 2015-16 and the confirmed sums allocated for 2016-17 and 2017-18. Total expenditure and sums allocated to date total £14.582m from the £20m. Additional allocations will be confirmed over the remainder of the funding period to March 2018.

* break down not available to add to year end totals

The Scottish Government has, over several months, undertaken a wide-ranging public information campaign to advise people about the new legislation, and about the various deadlines for applications. Targeted media events and news statements in September highlighted the fact that people should apply for an air weapon certificate before 31 October 2016 to ensure they could keep their guns in their possession until their application has been processed.

For those who applied for a certificate after 31 October, a further news release on
19 December reminded people to ensure their air weapons are stored safely, with a registered firearms dealer or another certificate holder, until they receive a decision on their application. The advice also appeared on Scottish Government and Police Scotland websites. In addition, Police Scotland contacted applicants directly to provide advice on the actions they must take.

The onus is on individuals to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the new licensing regime in terms of using and possessing air weapons, including the safe storage of weapons. Failure to comply with those requirements is an offence and could, on conviction, lead to a fine or imprisonment, or both.

There is no central record of stored, unlicensed air weapons.

The information requested has been provided by Police Scotland and is as follows.

(a) I understand that 6,948 applications were received between 1 July and
31 October 2016. Of these 6,520 had been approved and 36 had been refused, at 12 January 2017. The remaining 392 applications were still in progress at that date.

(b) 5,436 further applications were received between 1 November and 31 December 2016. Police Scotland are processing these as quickly as possible.