Parliamentary questions
Kezia Dugdale
1,684 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Mar 2018 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people do not lose universal credit because of the starter rate of income tax.
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14954 by James Wolffe QC on 1 March 2018, whether the conclusion and results of the review will be reported to the Parliament.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: The protocol being developed by COPFS is designed to support effective consultation between pathologists instructed by the Crown and the Defence. The focussed nature of the protocol is such that reference to other jurisdictions is not relevant. The work has i…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14954 by James Wolffe QC on 1 March 2018, what consideration will be given to the views of victims and witnesses as part of this process and how they are being consulted.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: The protocol being developed by COPFS is designed to support effective consultation between pathologists instructed by the Crown and the Defence. The focussed nature of the protocol is such that reference to other jurisdictions is not relevant. The work has i…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14954 by James Wolffe QC on 1 March 2018, what assessment the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is making of systems and experiences in other UK nations and countries.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: The protocol being developed by COPFS is designed to support effective consultation between pathologists instructed by the Crown and the Defence. The focussed nature of the protocol is such that reference to other jurisdictions is not relevant. The work has i…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of there being no single-site alternative training facilities for the elite athletes who previously used Meadowbank Sports Centre, what steps it can take to mitigate the impact that this might have on their training schedule.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: I am aware of some concerns regarding alternative facilities whilst Meadowbank is under redevelopment. Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Leisure, who manage this facility, have been liaising with all users to help find them an alternative venue. I understand t…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to help meet any increased travel and training costs faced by elite athletes due to the redevelopment of Meadowbank stadium.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: This is an operational matter for Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Leisure, but I have asked the Chief Executive of sportscotland to respond to you to explain what support could be offered to support elite athletes.
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it defines "inclusive growth", and how it ensures that all its agencies use the same definition.
Answer · Keith Brown: Inclusive Growth is growth that combines increased prosperity with greater equity; that creates opportunities for all and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity fairly. Promoting a shared inclusive growth agenda across Scotland is a key objective …
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to establish a commissioner for victims and witnesses.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This issue was considered during the passage of the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 and was not widely supported. We remain of the view that the provision of funding for victim support organisations, which represent and provide frontline services fo…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its forthcoming review of family law will cover adoption and fostering.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Family Law Team will be launching a consultation paper around April 2018 covering a wide range of issues affecting family law such as parental rights and responsibilities, contact and residence and various related matters. The Supreme Court In the matter…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the legal rights of grandparents to have access to their grandchildren.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: In 2006 the Scottish Government published a Charter for Grandchildren which aims to highlight the role of the wider family. It is available at the following link http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/112493/0027333.pdf The Scottish Government plans to launch a c…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to amend the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 to allow for persons over the age of 18 to be legally adopted.
Answer · Maree Todd: The current legislation is designed to protect and safeguard children and provides a range of routes to allow any family composition to permanently claim a child. In Scotland family stability is gained through kinship care orders, permanence orders for foster…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) collects any data regarding the length of time that bodies are retained between death and burial/cremation due to an ongoing criminal investigation.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is responsible for the investigation of deaths where there is an ongoing criminal investigation. COPFS does not collect data regarding the length of time that bodies are retained between the death and burial/crem…
6 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14494 by Aileen Campbell on 28 February 2018, for what reason this information was not published on 16 February 2018.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The grant offers for the Sexual Health and Bloodborne Virus Framework Funding Programme were made by 16 February, but they have not all been formally accepted as yet. We expect to publish a list of the grant awards before the end of the financial year.
5 Mar 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14497 by Jeane Freeman on 7 March 2018, whether people in receipt of the increase in care allowance will receive 100% of the benefit after tax.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As confirmed in our response to question S5W-14498 on ?27 February 2018, Carer’s Allowance is a taxable benefit and therefore Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be taxable, as the legal definition of income for tax purposes remains reserved to the UK Governmen…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Sentencing Council plans to publish sentencing guidelines for (a) murder and (b) culpable homicide.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Sentencing Council is an independent body which decides its own business plan. The current plan runs until September 2018 and does not include work in relation to sentencing guidelines for murder or culpable homicide. The Sentencing Council will shortly b…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what means home detention curfew orders are communicated to the families of victims where the offender has received a sentence of four years or less.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: All victims who are registered with the Victim Notification Scheme are entitled to know the date of release of an offender. This inclu…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason prisoners who have failed to comply with a home detention curfew release licence are not automatically excluded from being considered for another, and whether it plans to amend the law in this regard.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In December 2016 the Scottish Parliament made the Home Detention Curfew Licence (Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2016 (SSI 2016/416) to specifically remove the existing prohibition on prisoners who had previously been released on licence and recalled to custody f…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason prisoners with domestic abuse convictions are not automatically excluded from the Home Detention Curfew Scheme, and whether it plans to amend the law in this regard.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme came into force in July 2006 through provisions contained in the Management of Offenders etc (Scotland) Act 2005. The Act requires that the decision to release a prisoner on HDC must be taken having regard to considerati…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Victim Notification Scheme only provides details of an offenders release date, date of death within prison, transfer outwith Scotland, eligibility for temporary release, escape and return to prison, where the sentence is for 18 months or more, and what legislation pre…
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 prescribed the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS), which provided victims of certain prescribed offences with the rights to receive information about an offenders’ progression within prison and eventual release. At this …
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it collects on the number of victims of crimes who have registered with the Victim Notification Scheme and what this represents as a percentage of those eligible.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government do not hold the data requested. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) have advised that as of 5 March 2018, 2418 victims have joined the Victim Notification Scheme. The SPS estimate that this represents around 20 – 30% of the total number…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the Victims' Code for Scotland is communicated to and shared with victims of crime.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Victims Code is available online and in hard copy in a range of languages and formats, with additional languages also available on request. We are also developing an easy read version, which will be available by Summer 2018. As required by section 3C of …
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it collects on the number of victims who have provided statements ahead of sentencing, and what this represents as a percentage of the overall number of cases.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government do not hold the data requested. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) manage the process of informing victims if they are eligible to make a Victim Impact Statement (VIS). COPFS do not collect data on the number of vic…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14146 by Keith Brown on 26 February 2018, how many of the Carillion employees working on the AWPR Aberdeen Roads Limited, both directly or through a labour-only sub-contract through a Carillion subsidiary, have been recruited by other contractors in…
Answer · Keith Brown: Aberdeen Roads Limited has confirmed that, of the 59 Carillion staff on the AWPR site offered a position, 57 individuals accepted positions with Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try who are the remaining contractors on the project. Aberdeen Roads Limited has con…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14149 by Keith Brown on 26 February 2018, when it will publish the results of the survey of business organisations that have been contacted to assess the impact of the liquidation of Carillion.
Answer · Keith Brown: We asked business organisations to survey their members to provide insights or experience of the liquidation of Carillion and to raise awareness of our helplines for businesses and for employees. We were very grateful for their help and the feedback we receiv…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14146 by Keith Brown on 26 February 2018, how many of the Carillion employees working on the AWPR Aberdeen Roads Limited, both directly or through a labour-only sub-contract through a Carillion subsidiary, have been made redundant as a result of the…
Answer · Keith Brown: Aberdeen Roads Limited has confirmed that of the 63 Carillion staff on the AWPR site, 2 individuals were not offered a position. Aberdeen Roads Limited has confirmed that required agency staff are now being contracted through its remaining construction partn…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14146 by Keith Brown on 26 February 2018, how many of the Carillion employees working on Network Rail projects in Scotland, both directly or through a labour-only sub-contract through a Carillion subsidiary, have been made redundant as a result of t…
Answer · Keith Brown: Network Rail has advised that the transition process underway for Carillion’s rail projects in Scotland is expected to conclude in the forthcoming weeks. Network Rail has also advised that at the conclusion of the transition process, the impact on staff eithe…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14146 by Keith Brown on 26 February 2018, how many of the Carillion employees working on Network Rail projects in Scotland, both directly or through a labour-only sub-contract through a Carillion subsidiary, have been recruited by other contractors …
Answer · Keith Brown: Network Rail has advised that the transition process underway for Carillion’s rail projects in Scotland is expected to conclude in the forthcoming weeks. Network Rail has also advised that at the conclusion of the transition process, the impact on staff eithe…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Lord Advocate on 28 February 2018 (Official Report, c.19), whether it considers that any precedent has been set by its decision to pursue an EU continuity bill without a competency certificate from the Presiding Officer.
Answer · Michael Russell: The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill has followed the processes set out in the Scotland Act 1998, as explained by the Presiding Officer in his statement on legislative competence on the Bill and the statement of the Lor…
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it would proceed with a bill for a second independence referendum without it receiving a competency certificate from the Presiding Officer.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The 2013 Scottish Independence Referendum Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament and received a certificate of competence from the Presiding Officer.
28 Feb 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01779 by Michael Matheson on 31 January 2018, when it expects to publish its plans for a single-point of contact model for victim support.
Answer · Michael Matheson: We continue to work with our justice partners and victims’ organisations to explore a ‘single point of contact’ model of victim support. Further details will be available later in the Spring.