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: S6W-03353

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken by the Scottish Prison Service in light of reports of mobile phones that were given to prisoners being hacked and used for criminal activity.

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

A solution was identified with the provider in relation to illicit SIM cards being used in prison issued mobile phones and it is currently being implemented across the prison estate. This solution enables the SPS to blacklist handsets on various network providers rendering the handsets unusable with a non-prison issued SIM. The security measures in place will continue to be monitored by the SPS.

Question reference: S6W-03357

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reported comments from the Scottish Police Federation that victims of crime were considered of lesser importance than the perpetrators of crime during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted our criminal justice system, and others throughout the world, in ways never seen before. Our priority was, and remains, to ensure that our system can operate as effectively as possible for everyone involved in it: victims, witnesses, accused and offenders, and for society as a whole

We have committed an additional £50 million to increase capacity across the justice system as we tackle backlogs built up while public health restrictions are in place. This includes recruitment of additional staff, greater use of digital tools and improved support for victims and witnesses. We continue to work with partners, including victims organisations, the Scottish courts and prosecution services, and the legal profession to identify the best way to deal with the backlog.

We have also taken action to ensure victims have been able to quickly access practical, emotional and financial support. This includes providing an additional £10.75 million since the start of the pandemic to frontline domestic abuse and rape crisis services and awarding £157,000 through the Victim Surcharge Fund to meet the immediate financial needs of the most vulnerable victims.

Furthermore, as part of the early release of a limited number of short-term prisoners in response to the pandemic, we ensured public protection was paramount through a ‘triple lock’ set of restrictions. These included the exclusion from the process of those in prison for the most serious crimes, including sexual offences.

We remain committed to delivering solutions which keep victims at the centre of our decision making, whilst balancing the rights of the accused to ensure a fair justice system for all.

Question reference: S6W-03068

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Victims Taskforce will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-03071

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what sort of behaviour from a child under the age of criminal responsibility would constitute the "significant harm or abuse" necessary for the child to qualify for the Bairns' Hoose criteria, as referred to in its paper Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahaus: Vision, Values and Approach.

It will be a matter for professional judgement for practitioners as to whether the behaviour carried out by the child has caused or is likely to cause “significant harm or abuse” requiring the intervention of a Bairns’ Hoose. It is recognised that children exhibiting or carrying out harmful behaviour are often themselves victims of significant harm and abuse. It is with this in mind that a Bairns’ Hoose is considered the most holistic form of intervention and support for the child to ascertain the circumstances of the harm, whilst at the same time offering therapeutic support to a child who may themselves have been harmed.

There is no legal definition of significant harm or distinction between harm and significant harm. The extent to which harm is significant will relate to the severity or anticipated severity of impact upon a child’s health and development. ‘Harm’ in this context refers to the ill treatment or the impairment of the health or development of the child, including, for example, impairment suffered as a result of seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another. ‘Development’ can mean physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development. ‘Health’ can mean physical or mental health.

Forming a view on the significance of harm and whether or not a child is suitable for a Bairns’ Hoose will be undertaken by an Inter-agency Referral Discussion (IRD). An IRD is a formal process of information sharing, assessment, analysis and decision making following a reported concern about abuse. Placing this decision making forum ahead of any child attending a Bairns’ Hoose is necessary to ensure multi agency professional judgement and decision making informs all decisions relating to investigating harm and subsequent interventions, including whether accessing a Bairns’ Hoose is in the best interests of the child.

Question reference: S6O-00235

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service consultation, Reducing Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals.

Question reference: S6W-03076

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the two groups of children referred to in its paper Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahaus: Vision, Values and Approach, who are eligible for the Bairns’ Hoose, namely those “who have been victims or witnesses to abuse or violence, which has caused or likely to cause significant harm” and “children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse”, will be dealt with in close proximity to one another.

The Scottish Government recognises that children whose behaviour has caused harm will also often be the victims of abuse or neglect. The Bairns’ Hoose will be an environment in which this context can be understood and positive interventions can be made to prevent further harmful behaviour.

A key consideration in the development of Bairns’ Hooses which will be taken into account in the development of the policy will be balancing the rights of victims and those of children whose behaviour has caused harm. We recognise the potential tension between the rights of victims and those of children whose behaviour has caused harm and, as such, addressing issues that may arise due to competing interests will be a fundamental consideration as we develop our plans for a national Bairns’ Hoose model.

Our approach is rights-based in line with the United Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), The Promise and Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) in recognising that all children must receive the right help at the right time.

Question reference: S6W-03070

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what age group applies to the category "children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse" who are one of the eligible groups for the Bairns' Hoose, as stated in the Scottish Government’s paper Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahaus: Vision, Values and Approach.

Question reference: S6O-00210

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has with local government regarding additional support that it can provide in order to maintain local authority services in areas that are required to host or are affected by planned major events.

Question reference: S6F-00284

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that incidents of spitting on police officers increased by 15% in 2020-21, compared with the previous year.

Question reference: S6W-01753

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to reduce the risk of scammers and rogue traders targeting vulnerable and older people in relation to the installation of new interlinked fire alarms, in light of its recent legislation requiring this, and what assessment it has made of the merits of a public awareness campaign on this issue.

The Scottish Government will undertake a comprehensive awareness raising campaign which will run across a range of channels including TV, Radio and digital to ensure people are aware of the new legislation and encourage compliance. This will include material to support third sector stakeholders and messaging on the importance of using reputable tradespeople including signposting to local government Trading Standards.

The Strategic Framework within Scotland’s Scams Prevention, Awareness and Enforcement Strategy, published in 19 March 2021, focusses on prevention, disruption, awareness, education and enforcement. This is intended to help all consumers with practical steps they can take to recognise common scam tactics and avoid the risk posed by this criminal activity.

Further advice can be obtained from consumeradvice.scot which is a free consumer helpline funded by the Scottish Government.