Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government and its agencies own a number of farms with dwelling houses on them and we are in the process of collating and updating that information. There are seven dwelling houses at Knocknagael and Balrobert farm.

This information is not held centrally. However, there are two houses on the Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (RPID) estate which are unoccupied. One is located at the Bull Stud and the other is on Shetland, and both have been unoccupied for around two years. The property at the Bull Stud has been vacant due to a reduction in staff on the farm, however, the future use of this property is currently under active consideration. The other property on Shetland has been used over many years to accommodate travelling RPID staff, however, work has been ongoing to upgrade the adjoining properties to provide multi-occupancy facilities and, as a result, one property is now surplus to requirements.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to request information on the operational matters relating to Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This is a reserved matter and the responsibility of the UK Government. These figures are not reported regionally due to national security implications relating to identifying where and how often the powers are utilised.

As in any other operational matter, the normal reporting arrangements for Police Scotland officers would require to be followed where the decision to examine or detain and individual is taken.

An “examining officer” as defined by the Terrorism Act 2000 may make the decision to detain someone under Schedule 7. An “examining officer” is defined as a police constable, an immigration officer, or a customs officer who is designated for the purpose of Schedule 7 by the Secretary of State and the Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

However, only exceptionally would an immigration officer or customs officer exercise functions under the Act. This would include when a police officer is not readily available; or if specifically requested to do so by a police officer of the rank of sergeant or above. In practice in Scotland both the detention and the decision are the responsibility of the police.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold statistics on the number of people detained, charged or convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000 as this is a matter for the UK Government. The figures are not reported regionally due to the national security implications of identifying where and how often the powers are utilised.

As I indicated in my answer to written question S4W-16991 on 19 September 2013, the Home Office recently released the annual statistics on the operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 covering the period to 31 March 2013.

This release includes the total number of people stopped under Schedule 7 in the UK and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-2012-to-2013.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Operational matters, including the investigation of complaints, are a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. Persons who are examined or detained under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 should therefore make any complaints about their treatment to Chief Constable Sir Stephen House in the first instance.

Should the person remain dissatisfied following received a response from Police Scotland they can refer the matter to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) who has responsibility to provide independent scrutiny of the way the police respond to complaints from the public.

Police Service of Scotland officers are not subject to operational direction from the security service or UK Border Agency.

Scottish Government, alongside police officers and MSPs, attended a number of public meetings across Scotland with members of the Muslim community during 2011. These public meetings were organised by the local Muslim communities with the relevant local police forces.

Since then the Scottish Government has met with police colleagues, most recently, the former Strathclyde Police Force, to discuss their contained community engagement strategy which has been taken up across Police Scotland. The Scottish Government will continue to meet with communities on a range of matters where concerns are raised with us.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17457 on 3 October 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.