Liam McArthur

23 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the due diligence report by Scott-Moncrieff on the staffing and financial outcomes of the efficiency review process of the Scottish Prison Service will be published.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: SPS does not routinely publish such reports, and there are no plans to do so on this occasion.

23 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many visits there have been by mental health specialists at (a) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont and (b) each prison in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Data on the number of visits by mental health specialists to HMYOI Polmont and each prison in Scotland is not held centrally.

23 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many visits there have been by medical practitioners at (a) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont and (b) each prison in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information is not held centrally. NHS standards for health care provision, including primary care, apply to the provision of care within the prison setting. The Scottish Government expects Health boards to act appropriately to meet these standards.

23 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the occupancy rate has been for each prison in Scotland in each year since 2010.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The following table shows the occupancy levels of each establishment when measured against capacity. Both the design capacity and operation…

23 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths there have been at HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont in each year since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Information relating to deaths in custody is published on the SPS website. A link to the website is provided here: http://www.sps.gov.uk/Co…

20 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates ministers have met in the last 12 months to discuss extending the presumption against short sentences of three months, and whether it will publish the minutes of these.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I meet on a regular basis with senior policy officials from the Justice Department to discuss a range of policy issues and this includes work relating to the presumption against short sentences.

20 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the presumption against short sentences of three months, and what action it considers can be taken to strengthen the presumption.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government's position on the current presumption against short sentences of three months or less, and proposals what action could be taken to strengthen that presumption were laid out in the consultation paper "Consultation on Proposals to Streng…

20 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long the average stay in a secure unit has been in each year since 2010.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The average number of days children stayed in Scotland's secure care accommodation in each year since 2010 is shown in the following table. Year Number of days 2010 - 11 124 2011 - 12 116 2012 - 13 131 2013 - 14 116 2014 - 15 133

20 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many offenders under the age of 18 have been placed in either a (a) Scottish Prison Service-managed and (b) private sector-operated prison in each year since 2010.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: 16 and 17 year olds are sentenced to detention in a Young Offenders’ Institution (YOI) and not to imprisonment and as such are not, under no…

20 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the vacancy rate of each secure unit has been in each month since 2010.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government do not hold the information in the format requested. However, information on average vacancies in each year is available. The average vacancies in Scotland’s secure care accommodation since 2010 is detailed in the following table: …

20 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many offenders under the age of 18 have been placed in a secure unit in each year since 2010.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Children can be placed in secure care through the courts (on remand or sentence) or following authorisation through the Children’s Hearings System. Statistics on numbers of children in secure care in Scotland are published annually by the Scottish Government…

19 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05681 by Derek Mackay on 19 January 2017, what information it holds on the progress of human rights improvements in Scotland since 2007, and how this is measured.

Answer · Angela Constance: Information on Scotland’s performance against the full spectrum of international human rights norms is available from a wide variety of sources. These include reports prepared by the Scottish Government, national human rights institutions and civil society …

17 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards implementing HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s recommendations regarding biometric governance.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the right balance is struck between protecting the public and safeguarding the rights of individuals and welcomed HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s (HMICS) review of the use of facial search functio…

13 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05531 by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2017, whether it will consider increasing the presumption against short prison sentences to 12 months.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06094 on 25 January 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/parliamentarybusiness…

12 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what requirement is placed on local authorities by the Scottish Planning Policy to have a land-bank of reserves for construction aggregates, and whether this must be within their own administrative boundaries.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Paragraph 238 of Scottish Planning Policy 2014 states: 'Plans should support the maintenance of a landbank of permitted reserves for construction aggregates of at least ten years at all times in all market areas through the identification of areas of search. …

12 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Police Scotland estate review.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Governance of the Police Service of Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority, as established in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. The Chief Executive, John Foley, can be contacted at The Scottish Police Authority, 1 Pacific Quay, G…

11 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05531 by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2017, whether it will consider increasing the presumption against short prison sentences of less than 12 months.

11 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the rate of reconviction has been of people detained for (a) up to three, (b) between three and six, (c) between six and 12 and (d) more than 12 months since 2011.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The reconviction rate for offenders released from custodial sentences between 2010-11 and 2013-14 are presented below. The rate measures the proportion of offenders who were reconvicted within a year. Reconvictions by Custodial Sentence Length Number of o…

11 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to its consultation on Strengthening the Presumption against Short Sentences.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government remains committed to reducing the unacceptably high rate of imprisonment in Scotland. We have consistently stated that the responses to the 'Consultation on Proposals to Strengthen the Presumption against Short Periods of Imprisonment…

11 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05531 by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2017, what it is doing to reduce the reconviction rate of people who are imprisoned for less than six months but more than three.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Prison Service have a range of programmes available to support the rehabilitation of individuals in custody and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. This includes assistance to deal with substance misuse issues, planning for reintegration on rel…

11 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question SW5-05690 by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2017, how many times Transport Scotland's (a) electric and (b) petrol vehicles have been used by officials in each of the last six months.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland operate five vehicles in their car fleet, two electric (a Renault Fluence and a Nissan Leaf) and three diesel (a Mitsubishi Outlander a Skoda Superb and a Skoda Fabia). Details of the number of times each of the vehicles has been used by of…

10 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent each year from the £20 million fund to tackle violence against women, broken down by programme.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table confirms expenditure from the £20m in 2015-16 and the confirmed sums allocated for 2016-17 and 2017-18. Total expenditure and sums allocated to date total £14.582m from the £20m. Additional allocations will be confirmed over the remainder …

10 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05524 by Angela Constance on 9 January 2017, how it is taking forward its implementation of each of the recommendations.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) report is a contribution to the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Kingdom’s human rights record. An interactive dialogue will be held by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during 2017. The Scottis…

10 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05525 by Angela Constance on 9 January 2017, whether it will publish the proposals that were presented on 31 October 2016.

Answer · Angela Constance: Information about Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP) can be found at: http://www.scottishhumanrights.com/scotlands-national-action-plan/ and http://www.snaprights.info/. The proposals presented on 31 October 2016 were prepared by the Sc…

10 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has introduced to ensure that unlicensed air weapons have been stored with a firearms dealer or another certificate holder since 31 December 2016, and how many such weapons have been recorded.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has, over several months, undertaken a wide-ranging public information campaign to advise people about the new legislation, and about the various deadlines for applications. Targeted media events and news statements in September highli…

10 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers have been working on the air weapon licence project in each of the last 12 months.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Decisions on resourcing are a matter for the Police Service of Scotland. The detailed information requested is not held centrally.

10 Jan 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many air weapon licence applications made (a) between 1 July and 31 October 2016 and (b) since 1 November 2016 have been (i) received, (ii) processed, (iii) approved and (iv) rejected, broken down by Police Scotland region.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested has been provided by Police Scotland and is as follows. (a) I understand that 6,948 applications were received between 1 July and 31 October 2016. Of these 6,520 had been approved and 36 had been refused, at 12 January 2017. The r…

22 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many legal challenges regarding (a) third party rights, (b) intellectual property rights and (c) copyrights it has been involved in, in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government have had no involvement in any legal proceedings regarding third party rights or intellectual property rights (which includes copyright) during the period between 2007 to date. Seven claims relating to intellectual property rights were…

21 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05040 by Michael Matheson on 8 December 2016, on what date it will provide a summary of the discussion.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A summary of the discussion held at the EU Justice summit on 24 November 2016 is now available at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0051/00512728.pdf.

20 Dec 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many interpreters the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service employed in each year since 2007-08, broken down by the language interpreted.

Answer · Michael Matheson: 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 will reply in writing within 20 days.