Questions · Liam McArthur

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases referred the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for investigation in each of the last three years have been overturned by the High Court of Justiciary, also broken down by how many of these cases referred to that court.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table sets out the number of cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary on the grounds that there may have been a miscarriage of justice, the number that were determined in each year and the number of those where the court found that there h…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases have been referred to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for investigation in each of the last three years, also broken down by how many of these cases referred to the High Court of Justiciary.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) investigate alleged miscarriages of justice where an application is made by or on behalf of the person who claims to have suffered a miscarriage of justice. It is not possible for a third party with no con…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings (a) ministers and (b) officials have had with stakeholders to discuss increasing sailings on the Pentland Firth route between Stromness and Scrabster after Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) is introduced on the service.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12547 on 22 November 2017. 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…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase sailings on the Pentland Firth route between Stromness and Scrabster after Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) is introduced on the service.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12547 on 22 November 2017. 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…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the refit period for the MV Hamnavoe will take place; how long it will last, and what plans are in place to provide cover on the Pentland Firth Route.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The MV Hamnavoe, which operates from Scrabster to Stromness on the Pentland Firth is scheduled to undergo her period of scheduled unavailability due to a period of essential dry dock during the first quarter of 2018. The dates of the dry dock are not currentl…

7 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing three return sailings between Stromness and Scrabster between March and October each year.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Three return sailings are already provided on the Scrabster – Stromness service from mid-May to early September, excluding Sundays, to cater for the increased demand over this period. A third sailing is also provided on other particularly busy days throughout…

6 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11962 by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017, whether workstreams will result in the clinical and wellbeing needs of care home residents with neurological conditions being assessed and met.

Answer · Shona Robison: As detailed in S5W-11962, the National Care Home Contract reform process is underway. Part of this work involves developing a set of nationally agreed terms which will better support local processes. The aim is to build a sustainable model for commissioning a…

6 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11956 by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017, whether integration authorities are carrying out comprehensive assessments of people with neurological conditions before they enter care homes and subsequently providing appropriate care and support.

Answer · Shona Robison: Comprehensive assessments, including any specialist assessments for neurological conditions where this has identified as being required, are undertaken prior to people being admitted to care homes and placed there by the relevant local authority/ integration …

6 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with neurological conditions live in nursing or care homes, broken down by homes (a) with no specific Care Inspectorate registration for people with physical or sensory impairment, including neurological conditions, and (b) registered as suitable for people with physical …

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is currently not held centrally. This year changes had been made to the Scottish Care Home Census which will begin to collate data on the numbers of long-stay residents that have a neurological condition from 2017-18. The first publication …

6 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the territorial NHS boards have been consulted as part of the review of their number, structure and regulation, and what the reasons are for this.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12481 on 21 November 2017. 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/parliamentarybusin…

6 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to consider island proofing when reviewing the number, structure and regulation of NHS boards, and whether it will provide an update on the review.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12481 on 21 November 2017. 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…

6 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) meetings and (b) discussions (i) ministers and (ii) officials have had with NHS boards regarding the review to examine their number, structure and regulation, and whether it will publish any (A) minutes and (B) correspondence, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government set out its position on the review of Health Boards in the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan and associated News Release published in December 2016. This stated that there are no plans to reduce the current number of patient-facing …

1 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings and discussions (a) ministers and (b) officials have had with (i) Police Scotland, (ii) the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (iii) other stakeholders in the last year regarding the zero-tolerance policy towards domestic abuse, and whether it will publish any (…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The content of the Joint Protocol on Domestic Abuse is an operational matter for Police Scotland and COPFS. It lies within the Lord Advocate’s independent function as head of the system of prosecution. The Scottish Government had no active role in the develop…

1 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation was carried out before Police Scotland ended its zero-tolerance policy towards domestic abuse.

Answer · James Wolffe QC: The Joint Protocol on Domestic Abuse between Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) sets out the relevant policies and approach taken by COPFS and Police Scotland to tackling domestic abuse. the current Joint Protocol, whic…

1 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment ministers made of the zero-tolerance policy towards domestic abuse before Police Scotland changed its approach to this.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Joint Protocol on Domestic Abuse published in March 2017 relates to operational matters for Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). These are matters for Police Scotland and COPFS rather than the Scottish Government. Th…

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of comments by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs in The Scotsman on 28 October 2017 that the Office of the Public Guardian had seen a "40 per cent increase in submissions for registration over the last two years", what analysis has been undertaken of the cause…

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to register a power of attorney to the Office of the Public Guardian have been made in each of the last 24 months, and for each month what the (a) average and (b) longest length of time for a response was.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the effectiveness of Compass contracts in Scotland for housing asylum seekers; whether it has made representations it has made to the UK Government to ensure that the accommodation provided under these are fit for habitation, and, if so, whether it w…

Answer · Angela Constance: Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Government. This includes the delivery and management of asylum accommodation. I have made representations to the UK Government on a number of issues relating to asylum accommodation, including during my meetings with th…

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of comments in The Sunday Express on 29 October 2017, what its response is to the report that 815,000 people have been recorded on Police Scotland’s vulnerable person database and the Information Commissioner stating that the database was in breach of the Data Protection Act 1…

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12269 on 14 November 2017. 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/parliamentarybusin…

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Police Scotland vulnerable person database will be compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998; what the lifespan is of the database; what will replace it, and what analysis it has carried of whether non-compliance carries any risk.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This is an operational matter for Police Scotland, under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. The Scottish Government understands that Police Scotland is currently developing its weeding and retention policy for the Vulnerable Persons Database, and…

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments by the chief executive of the Refugee Council in The Guardian on 27 October 2017 that asylum seekers arriving in the UK faced living in “squalid, unsafe, slum housing conditions”; what discussions it has had or plans with the Refugee Council about the condition…

Answer · Angela Constance: Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Government. This includes the delivery and management of asylum accommodation. The Scottish Government has not had discussions on this issue with the Refugee Council, which is based in London and focuses on support for r…

24 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update of the progress being made by the Scottish Growth Scheme.

23 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the survey by the Federation of Small Businesses, which reported that 88% of 275 island firms said that they faced challenges that mainland businesses do not, what actions it will take to support such businesses.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In addition to the existing business support available to all rural island businesses Scottish Government is investing millions of pounds over and above core local authority funding to ensure the needs of our island communities and businesses are enabled. Th…

17 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made to make buildings more energy efficient since it was announced that this would be designated as a national infrastructure priority.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) will be the cornerstone of delivering the national infrastructure priority. We are developing Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme. During the initial phases of the Programme we are focusing on delivering existi…

17 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response to the 2016-17 winter mortality statistics, which recorded an excess of 2,720 deaths compared with the warmer months and, in light of these figures, (a) what immediate action it is taking to address (i) the health of older people and (ii) fuel poverty, (b) whether it co…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The causes of winter excess mortality are varied and complex. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving health and to reducing health inequalities. We have made an additional £5 million available to NHS Boards to support winter resilience across…