Chamber and committees

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.

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Question reference: S5W-31962

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will consider the expressions of interest it has received in developing a new medical school, and when a final decision will be made on its preferred location.

The answer to the former part of Mr Mountain’s question remains unchanged since it was last answered on 31 July. All Programme for Government commitments announced in 2019 (including the one to develop proposals for a new medical school in Scotland) have been suspended while we continue to focus on our response to Covid-19. A revised timetable for taking forward this commitment has not yet been confirmed.

A decision will be made on the location of any new medical school when we are able to revisit and reconsider the 7 proposals that have been received.

Question reference: S5W-31961

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners who live in the Highlands have been accommodated outwith HMP Inverness in each month between March and August 2020.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

As part of our response to the pandemic, and in line with public health advice, Inter Prison Transfers were temporarily suspended in March 2020 and resumed at the end of August 2020.

The following table provided shows the number of occasions when an individual from the Highlands has been accommodated out with HMP Inverness. Please note that where an individual has appeared in multiple establishments within the space of a month, they will be counted multiple times.

Establishment	Jan 2020	Feb 2020	Mar 2020	Apr 2020	May 2020	Jun 2020	Jul 2020	Aug 2020
Total	141	140	132	112	97	92	96	103

Whilst every effort is made to accommodate an individual as closely as possible to their home area, it is sometimes necessary to allocate them to another establishment. There are a number of reasons for this, which include;

where an individual has specific needs which cannot be met within the normal prison of allocation e.g. access to specific programmes or regimes (protection);
when it is necessary for good order/security to locate offenders away from one another;
where the establishment does not accommodate certain categories of offenders e.g. women, young offenders and those committed for a sexual offence;
when the offence has been committed in another Sheriffdom and the individual has received a short custodial sentence; and
where the establishment does not have sufficient space.

Question reference: S5W-31959

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what rehabilitation courses are being run at HMP Inverness; in what ways the delivery of these have been impacted by social distancing measures, and how many prisoners have (a) attended and (b) completed such courses in each month between March and August 2020.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

HMP Inverness did not deliver these activities during the time period identified as group delivery was suspended in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in line with public heath advice.

Offending behaviour programmes are generally delivered to individuals serving longer term sentences. These individuals are not routinely accommodated within HMP Inverness. Where any individual within HMP Inverness is assessed as requiring to complete such work, they are offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative establishment as they will be on a national waiting list for participation in any programme they require.

Whilst HMP Inverness does not deliver offence focussed programmes, the establishment does deliver a number of sessional group activities focussing on substance misuse and relationships.

Question reference: S5W-31960

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30924 by Humza Yousaf on 20 August 2020, whether it will specify the current prison capacity at HMP Inverness that was determined by a dynamic risk assessment.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Capacity is determined through a process of dynamic risk assessment to ensure appropriate accommodation is available for those in our care as well as safe methods of working for our staff.

HMP Inverness has a Design Capacity of 93, this refers to the population level at which the prison is not overcrowded, in that cells are occupied by the number of people intended in their design.

HMP Inverness currently has an Extended Operating Capacity of 120. This refers to the population level at which the prison can go above Design Capacity, but can also still provide a regime, having assessed the risks and resources required.

Question reference: S5O-04627

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether community councils have been able to fully contribute to local government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-31547

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 14 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when physical work on delivering Lot 1 of the R100 high-speed broadband programme will (a) begin and (b) be completed.

The award of the North Lot contract of the Reaching 100% (R100) programme has been on hold pending the resolution of a procurement challenge raised by Gigaclear in December 2019.

Now that a settlement has been agreed and the case has been formally dismissed, we are focused on finalising the R100 North Lot contract award with BT as soon as possible to enable us to progress delivery of access to superfast broadband to people, businesses and communities in some of the most remote parts of Scotland.

We anticipate that the contract will be signed by the end of this calendar year. It is only when there is an agreed contract in place that it will be possible to accurately confirm exactly when physical work will begin. Once contract signature is achieved, work will then be undertaken, as in Lots 2 and 3 previously, to update the speed coverage template for Lot 1, to finalise the intervention area, and to enable survey work at a local level to be undertaken.

Our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS), which will launch later this month, will ensure that everyone who requires a superfast broadband connection by the end of 2021 can have one - including those in the R100 North Lot. In addition, the final build out, under the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme, is underway in Western Isles, Moray and the Highland Council area, ensure continuity of build while R100 moves towards delivery.

Question reference: S5O-04599

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what additional action it is taking to protect apprenticeship schemes in the Highlands and Islands, and how this compares with the rest of Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-31425

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30897 by Fergus Ewing on 20 August 2020, whether the Rural Payments and Services CAP digital platform was able to assess and process all payments without overrides or manual intervention; how many staff were required to process payments in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019 and (d) 2020, and whether the loans are processed via the Rural Payments and Services CAP digital platform, or are processed via a separate digital platform.

The Rural Payments and Services system was designed to require consideration or confirmation from staff under certain conditions. There will always be a proportion of cases that require staff intervention. As with any IT system we continue to make improvements to make Rural Payments and Services more efficient and simple to use and cater for changing circumstances.

The teams that deal with payment processing within Rural Payments and Inspections Division (Area Offices, Scheme Management and Finance) are multi-functional with all team members contributing to payment processing at different times throughout the year as well as carrying out other duties. The total headcount for these teams at April in each of the years were as follows:

2020 - 441

2019 - 454

2018 - 425

2027 - 436

Loans are not processed via the Rural Payments and Services system but are made through a pre-existing payment enabled solution.

Question reference: S5W-30924

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30426 by Humza Yousaf on 21 July 2020, what the maximum capacity of HMP Inverness is when adhering to the latest advice on social-distancing measures.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Prison capacity is determined through a process of dynamic risk assessment this is to ensure appropriate accommodation is available for those in our care as well as safe methods of working for our staff.

Since the easing of some of the COVID restrictions, it is now possible to transfer from any establishment to other parts of the prison estate.

Question reference: S5W-30897

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2020
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 20 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether its IT system for common agricultural payments is fully operational and able to process payments in accordance with the specifications that were set out when it was purchased and, if so, for what reason loans are being issued for basic payment claims that were submitted in May 2020.

The Rural Payments and Services CAP digital platform is operational with a number of routine enhancements currently being prepared in readiness for the 2020 scheme year. For the 2019 scheme year all payment targets have been met or exceeded with just over £447m (over 99%) for pillar 1 and over £84.7m (over 98%) for pillar 2. We are making the offer of loans this year to help aid business cash flow and maintain vital cash flow within the rural economy through the unprecedented and difficult times caused by COVID19 and the continued uncertainties caused by Brexit.