Parliamentary questions
James Kelly
833 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Dec 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has met the Chair of the Scottish Police Authority since December 2017, and whether it will publish the minutes.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Since December 2017, I have formally met the former chair of the Scottish Police Authority on a number of occasions. The Scottish Government proactively publishes information on ministerial engagements: https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagement…
11 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how much money has been recovered from private sector justice contracts in each of the last five years, relative to the penalty charges deployed, determined and exercised by the Scottish Prison Service, and to what this revenue has been allocated.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: Over the last 5 financial years SPS has received service credit notes for the values set out in the following table: Service Credits …
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the extension of VISOR vetting to local authority social workers is a proportionate means of fulfilling the obligations of councils to keep the public safe.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: ViSOR (The Violent and Sex Offender Register) is a key tool in the effective management of sex offenders and other persons posing a risk of harm to the public. It provides a cross-UK secure database which facilitates the safe retention and prompt sharing of u…
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the extension of VISOR vetting to local authority social workers is an intrusion into their private life, and whether any assessment was carried out of the process being a potential breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 regarding the right to pr…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26191 on 19 November 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…
5 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it undertook when taking the decision to transfer the vetting of offenders away from Police Scotland and placing it with local authority social workers.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: There has been no transfer of vetting from Police Scotland to local authority social workers and the Scottish Government is not responsible for ViSOR which is a Home Office system. The Home Office are responsible for setting the vetting level required to acce…
30 Oct 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the Good Food Nation Bill.
22 Oct 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to alleviate the impact of the two-child cap on social security benefits in Scotland.
17 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Crown Office last updated it on the status of the investigation into the use of Scottish airports in extraordinary rendition by the United States government.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: The Lord Advocate is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters which occur in Scotland. Where a matter requires investigation, this is undertaken by COPFS on behalf of the Lord Advocate. The Crown provides advice, support and d…
17 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s report into interrogation practices and the use of Scottish airports in extraordinary rendition.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: The Police Scotland investigation is ongoing. It would therefore be inappropriate for the Scottish Government to discuss this matter with the UK Government at this stage.
14 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it plans to ensure that prisoners' rights to direct communication with their solicitor are upheld and protected, in light of the comments in Council of Europe paper, Report to the Government of the United Kingdom on the visit to the United Kingdom carried out by the European C…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government aims to ensure Scotland is a modern, inclusive nation which protects, respects and realises internationally recognised human rights. We actively engage with international human rights monitoring mechanisms and value the expert insight …
30 Sep 2019 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the HMICS report into the Scottish Police Authority, including the finding that it has "no clear vision, strategy or plan in place".
26 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether a new procurement process will be in place for secure care spaces by 2020-21.
Answer · Maree Todd: Scotland Excel commission secure care accommodation on behalf of Scotland’s 32 local authorities and Scottish Ministers. The current contracts with the four independent providers expire on 31 March 2020. Scottish Government officials are in regular contact w…
20 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that incidents of historic child abuse in football are fully investigated and proportionately penalised.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Any allegations are for Police Scotland to investigate, and sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the court – with life imprisonment the maximum penalty for the most serious offences involving the sexual abuse of children. The Scottish Government un…
18 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Social Security Committee’s recommendation that Universal Credit housing element should be paid directly to a landlord by default, with the option for a tenant to opt out.
16 Sep 2019 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Auditor General's comment that “the Scottish Prison Service faces a combination of severe pressures on many fronts; this poses a threat to operational safety, effectiveness and financial sustainability”.
11 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports students in higher education.
14 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more local authorities to consider using their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to alter non-domestic rates.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24768 on 5 September 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…
14 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities are using or are seeking to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to alter business rates in 2019-20.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government will receive provisional outturn figures from councils on the level of any local reliefs awarded for 2019-20 under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 in the summer of 2020. Local authorities are not required to notify the S…
14 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme has been retained by each local authority in each year since 2016-17.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The additional non-domestic rates raised and retained by individual local authorities in 2016-17, as a result of the business rates incentivisation scheme are set out in the following table. The final audited 2017-18 non-domestic rates returns have recently b…
14 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to receive in receipts from the UK Apprenticeship Levy in 2019-20, and how much it has received in each of the last two years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: As announced by Her Majesty's Treasury on 14 November 2016 the Scottish Government's settlement from the Barnett consequentials of the UK Government's Apprenticeship Levy for 2019-20 is £239 million. In 2017-2018 the Scottish Government's settlement from the…
14 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which bodies it has received correspondence from regarding the proposed workplace parking levy.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has received correspondence from the following bodies on the topic of the proposed workplace parking levy: COSLA, Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs), the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), City of Edinburgh Counc…
2 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children supported through the aided places scheme for pupils at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh in each year since 2008 have been from households with an income of (a) under £24,944, (b) between £24,944 and £43,430, (c) between £43,430 and £63,579 (d) between £63,579 and £1…
Answer · John Swinney: As set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual, financial records should normally be retained for six years. The Scottish Government holds the information requested from 2012 onwards. In every year shown in the table below, Scottish Government funding has …
2 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government where the funding for the aided places scheme for pupils at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh is from, and where this can be found in its Budget for 2018-19.
Answer · John Swinney: Funding payments are made by the Scottish Government through the St Mary’s Music School Aided Places Scheme and details can be found at Level 4 of the Scottish Government budget https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/82102.aspx . St Mary’s Music…
2 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children supported through the aided places scheme for pupils at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh in each year since 2008 have been from the 20% (a) most and (b) least deprived areas in Scotland, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held by Scottish Government.
24 Jun 2019 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister for what reason the 2018-19 Scottish budget was underspent by £449 million.
7 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent through the aided places scheme to support pupils at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh in each year since 2008, also broken down by how many pupil placements this has funded.
Answer · John Swinney: The payments made by the Scottish Government through the St Mary’s Music School Aided Places Scheme since the 2007-08 school year are listed in the following table. In every year shown, this funding has supported 51 pupils, comprising 45 instrumentalists (wh…
4 Jun 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the performance of ScotRail services in the Glasgow area.
20 May 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its social security policies take into account the recommendations of the Poverty and Inequality Commission.
14 May 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it is making available to Glasgow City Council to support preparations for a potential no deal Brexit.
8 May 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the food and drink sector in Cambuslang.