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: S4O-01824

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when a Scottish passport system will be in place if Scotland separates from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Question reference: S4W-12487

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the hourly wage is for working prisoners at each prison.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

“The SPS does not pay prisoners on an hourly basis, therefore it is not possible to provide an hourly wage rate for working prisoners in each prison.

Wages are paid to prisoners dependent on the type of work and the level of training and skills required carrying out the task. There are no set hours that are required to work to receive this weekly wage.

Wages paid to prisoners are the same across the SPS for the same task in all public sector establishments. Wage payments range from £5 per week for unemployed to £18 per week (plus £3 for prisoners in open conditions).”

Question reference: S4W-12210

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 30 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reassess its anti-poverty policies in light of the UK Government’s welfare reform policies.

The Scottish Government’s approach is to tackle the long term drivers of poverty through early intervention and prevention. Our Solidarity target reflects the importance we attach to reducing income inequality, something which the UK Government's policies risk exacerbating. We have serious concerns that welfare reform will impact on the most vulnerable in society and our plans for mitigation, such as the Scottish Welfare Fund, look to help those in poverty who might suffer the most.

Question reference: S4W-12230

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 29 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of prisoners is released without accommodation.

Question reference: S4W-12209

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many looked-after children are taking part in programmes aimed at getting them into employment.

Question reference: S4W-12228

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of offenders who carry out a community payback order has gone on to reoffend.

Re-offending rates cannot be measured directly, as not all offences result in prosecution and conviction. Instead, reconviction rates are used as a proxy measure of the rate of re-offending. Information about the percentage of offenders who received these orders in 2010-11, and have gone on to be reconvicted, will be published in the statistical bulletin Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2010-11 Cohort in summer 2013.

The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statistics publications are pre-announced, and the up to date list of future publications can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Search/Forthcoming.

Question reference: S4W-12227

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many community payback orders have been issued.

Question reference: S4W-12226

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of prisoners are attending education programmes.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The number of prisoners attending education in the Scottish Prison Service varies from day to day. A snapshot of prisoners attending education for November 2012 shows that 34.6% of the population attend education.

In addition to this other prisoners will be undertaking addiction work, visits, work and other activities.

Question reference: S4W-12208

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what programmes are available to support looked-after children into employment.

In December 2011 the Scottish Government announced that £1.5 million was to be invested over three financial years in an Employer Recruitment Incentive for 1000 targeted young people. 80 targeted young people will be supported in 2012-13; 460 in 2013-14; and 460 in 2014-15.

This incentive, of £1500 per individual, is offered through Skills Development Scotland and has been specifically designed to:

Encourage employers to assist the transition of young people who have a background as a care leaver, ex-young offender or young carer into sustainable employment; and support these targeted young people with the transition into sustainable employment.

Question reference: S4W-12234

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether offenders' families are involved in reviews of (a) sentencing, (b) care in custody and (c) other aspects of offenders' care.

In relation to reviews of sentencing, following a person's conviction, the court will decide on an appropriate sentence within the overall legal framework provided by Parliament. The court has wide discretion to consider what an appropriate sentence should be for specific cases and will take into account a range of relevant factors such as the circumstances of the offender including their family circumstances. Any offender can seek to appeal against their sentence and it will for the Appeal Court to consider the merits of the appeal. There is also an exceptional process by which an offender can seek to have the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) refer their case back to court for a further appeal. An offenders' family can of course assist in helping appeals and applications to the SCCRC, but they do not have a formal role in these processes.

In relation to the review of the care of offenders in custody the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) actively encourages offenders and their families to contribute to the prisons Integrated Case Management process for those subject to post release supervision and to attend their annual case conference. The SPS also invites families, with the offenders’ approval, to the Act2Care case conference as part of its Suicide Risk Management Strategy where the offender is at risk of suicide or self harm.

In addition, community-based social workers regularly meet with families in their home to consider the supports and services required and to take account of their views on a possible return to the family home when offenders are being considered for any form of release.