Parliamentary questions
Russell Findlay
284 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of any (a) internal communications involving (i) ministers and (ii) officials regarding the former First Minister’s appointment of Sheriff Alistair Duff to the Fitness for Judicial Office Tribunal in 2019, in light of the Police Scotland investigation that …
Answer · Angela Constance: Under the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, it is for the First Minister, with the agreement of the Lord President, to select persons to be members of a Fitness for Judicial Office Tribunal. In consultation with the Lord President, and in accordance with the…
10 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take in light of reports of suspected links between the state of Iran and the Al-Mahdi Islamic Centre of Glasgow, including in relation to the £200,000 funding reportedly granted to it by the Scottish Government.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Al-Mahdi Foundation received £372k of Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) grant funding for 2 projects between 2014-2020 to support awareness raising of climate change issues amongst disadvantaged and ethnic minority communities and to make their community build…
10 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of Scottish Prison Service (a) dogs and (b) dog handlers that are trained to detect drugs and other contraband since this information was last provided to the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee on 10 January 2018.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: As of 24 November 2023, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has 15 trained dogs and 9 trained dog handlers. All our dogs are trained to…
8 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Census 2022.
6 Nov 2023 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take in response to reports of widespread violence against police officers and firefighters over the Bonfire Night period.
1 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the impact of crime on poverty.
25 Oct 2023 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the transition of HMP Kilmarnock into public ownership.
17 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much has been spent in total on authorised mobile phones for prisoners to date, and what the total spend is forecast to be.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The total cost for providing prisoners with mobile phones since the roll out in June 2020 and the end of the provision in July 2023 ha…
17 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many breaches of discipline have been recorded by the Scottish Prison Service for a prisoner using an authorised mobile phone in a prison setting, since the introduction of this rule to the present date, broken down by financial year.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The following table shows the number of breaches where an authorised mobile telephone was used in the prison setting up to and includi…
17 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when authorised mobile phones for prisoners are due to be withdrawn by the Scottish Prison Service.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: Prison issue mobile telephones for use by those in our care, were withdrawn from use on 31 July 2023.
17 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many breaches of discipline have been recorded by the Scottish Prison Service for a prisoner possessing an authorised personal communication device that was not provided by the prison governor for use by that prisoner, since the introduction of this rule to the present date, broken d…
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The following table shows the number of breaches of discipline where an individual had in his or her possession, or used, an authorise…
16 Oct 2023 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB), in relation to the notice for a contractor to provide taxi services (Public Contracts Scotland reference FEB471362), how many of the applicants were rejected as a result of, or following, advice provided to the SPCB by Police Scotland.
Answer · Jackson Carlaw MSP (on behalf of the SPCB): The SPCB’s answer to question S6W-16094 explained that, in line with established procurement practice, the SPCB does not publish specific tenderer information which it considers might prejudice fair competition, which could prejudice the commercial interest o…
16 Oct 2023 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, in relation to the notice for a contractor to provide taxi services (Public Contracts Scotland reference FEB471362), how many of the two companies that submitted a quotation completed the required Declaration of Non-Involvement in Serious Organised Crime.
Answer · Jackson Carlaw MSP (on behalf of the SPCB) : The SPCB’s answer to question S6W-16094 explained that, in line with established procurement practice, the SPCB does not publish specific tenderer information which it considers might prejudice fair competition, which could prejudice the commercial interest o…
16 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service expects to develop a system of notifying all victims when it is decided not to prosecute a crime reported by them.
Answer · Dorothy Bain: The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) proactively notifies victims of decisions not to prosecute in all solemn cases and all summary cases within the specified case remit of the COPFS Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service, including Domes…
16 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21089 by Angela Constance on 19 September 2023, in which prisons the 84 body-worn cameras are located.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: Body worn video cameras (BWVC) are currently in place within HMP Kilmarnock and HMP Addiewell. The feasibility of a pilot to test the…
22 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all recorded police warnings classed under "other sexual crimes" in the publication, Criminal proceedings in Scotland statistics, using the Scottish Government Justice Directorate's crime code descriptions, in each period from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics reported 38 recorded police warnings for ‘other sexual crimes’ over 2018-19 to 2020-21. All but one of them relate to breaches of Section 127 (1) of the Communications Act 2003, which has the crime code descript…
20 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of road traffic congestion charging schemes.
14 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the next Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics are due to be published.
Answer · Angela Constance: Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2021-22 statistical bulletin will be published on 24 October 2023. 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 f…
11 Sep 2023 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Police Scotland has issued more than 100,000 recorded police warnings over the past five years.
6 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any prison officers at HMP Kilmarnock who are equipped with body-worn cameras will retain these following the planned nationalisation of the prison in March 2024.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: Serco who currently operates HMP Kilmarnock are not contractually obliged to install Body Worn Video Cameras (BWVCs). There are curren…
6 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to roll out body-worn video cameras to all prison officers working across the Scottish Prison Service estate.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21088 on 21 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availa…
6 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prison officers are equipped with body-worn video cameras across the Scottish Prison Service estate.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: There is a total of 84 body worn cameras available across the SPS estate.
14 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in response to reported incidences of fire-raising of vehicles belonging to prison service staff.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19957 on 7 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available …
14 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many reported incidences of fire-raising of vehicles within the (a) Scottish Prison Service estate and (b) estate of Scotland's two privately operated prisons there have been in each of the last five years.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: In each five years, there have been a total of 8 incidences of fire-raising of vehicles, shown in the following table: Scottish Pris…
13 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many reported cases of rape in each of the last five years have been subject to a diversion from prosecution.
Answer · Dorothy Bain: 1. Diversion is a process by which prosecutors are able to refer a case to social work or other identified agency as a means of addressing the underlying causes of offending when this is deemed the most appropriate course of action. 2. Such intervention ca…
13 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many reported cases of sexual offending, other than rape, in each of the last five years have been subject to a diversion from prosecution.
Answer · Dorothy Bain: COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than …
13 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08446 by Keith Brown on 20 May 2022, when the cost consultation exercise in relation to taking HMP Kilmarnock back into public ownership will be completed.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is developing the operating cost of HMP Kilmarnock post transfer, with initial outcomes expected by the end of September 2023, and final submissions being provided within the usual budget planning process at the end of the ca…
13 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of Serco’s contract to run HMP Kilmarnock has been over the period that it has been active; what the cost has been in each financial year, and what the projected cost is for the 2023-24 financial year.
Answer · Angela Constance: Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd (KPSL) are contractually responsible for the design, construction, management and finance of the services at HMP Kilmarnock. KPSL subcontract this requirement to Serco Justice and Immigration. The costs to provide the service, …
13 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £540.8 million combined revenue and capital expenditure that it plans to spend on the Scottish Prison Service, broken down by each individual prison.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The following table provides a breakdown of the £540.8 million combined revenue and capital expenditure broken down into prisons: SPS…
13 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08446 by Keith Brown on 20 May 2022, whether it plans to take HMP Kilmarnock back into public ownership regardless of the cost consultation exercise that it is carrying out.
Answer · Angela Constance: The 25-year contract for HMP Kilmarnock under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for a privately constructed and operationally managed prison expires on 16 March 2024. The decision to bring HMP Kilmarnock into public management and ownership and not to tend…