Douglas Ross

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will put in place to address the 5.3 per cent increase in violent crime between 2014-15 and 2015-16 as set out in Police Scotland's Management Information Force Report: Quarter 4 2015/16.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Any incident of violent crime is totally unacceptable and the Scottish Government’s strategy is focused on tough enforcement coupled with education and diversion activity by working with various partners who deliver a number of programmes and initiatives to s…

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many offenders convicted of crimes or offences related to domestic violence have been electronically tagged in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The number of people sentenced to a Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLO) by court where a domestic aggravator was recorded as the main offence in each year since 2010-11 are presented in the following table. Year Number 2010-11 44 2011-12 53 2012-13 …

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make any supplementary budgetary provision available for the increased use of electronic tag monitoring.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to moving away from ineffective short term prison sentences towards robust community alternatives. In June 2016 the Scottish Government announced an additional £4 million to support local community justice and voluntary se…

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the annual cost is of an electronic tag per offender and whether it anticipates an increase in this cost.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The detail of the electronic monitoring contract, including the breakdown of the pricing schedule, is 'Commercial in Confidence'. The Scottish Government publishes a unit cost for electronic monitoring which can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statisti…

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice’s announcement on 9 June 2016 that more offenders will be subject to electronic tagging, whether there will be a new procurement process for an electronic monitoring service.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The existing electronic monitoring contract between the Scottish Government and G4S Care & Justice Services (UK) Limited commenced in April 2013. This contract has been agreed for a period of five years and will be in place until March 2018. Decisions on futu…

22 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of figures published in Police Scotland's Management Information Force Report: Quarter 4 2015/16, which show a 3.3% rise since 2014-15, whether it plans to re-evaluate its strategy to tackle the crime of handling a bladed or pointed instrument.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Police Scotland reports make clear these statistics are provisional, based on management information drawn from a live operational database – therefore, the report should not be seen as an indicator of the official trend. Official recorded crime statis…

31 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to establish autonomic testing clinics.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Autonomic testing is already available in neurology centres in Scotland. Access to the balance test is currently available in Dundee.

31 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is provided by the NHS for people with dysautonomia.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Dysautonomia is an imprecise diagnosis that describes a long term condition that has a number of underlying conditions. It includes postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (postural tachycardia syndrome; Ehlers Dahnlos syndrome; variants of chronic pain; as…

31 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of dysautonomia being placed on the prescribed list to allow National Services Scotland to commission specialist services for the condition.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Access to specialist assessment for dysautonomia is through existing arrangements with NHS England. National services can arrange referral for clinically appropriate patients. Treatment is usually a guided programme of self-care which would be delivered by th…

31 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with dysautonomia in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: As the majority of cases of dysautonomia are diagnosed in an outpatient or GP setting, the number of people diagnosed with this condition is not held centrally. However, the following table shows the number of continuous inpatient stays with a diagnosis of dy…

30 May 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice prior to and since the publication of his recent book.

23 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to monitor the impact of the 2016-17 National Care Home Contract settlement for any negative consequences.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the quality of care in Scotland and we work closely with COSLA, Scottish Care, Coalition of Care and support Providers in Scotland and other key stakeholders in order to do this. As part of this partnership…

23 May 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what obligations under the 2016-17 National Care Home Contract charitable organisations have to pay the living wage to care staff, and what action it could take if they fail to do so.

Answer · Shona Robison: The 2016-17 National Care Home Contract agreed between COSLA and providers has been amended to require any providers delivering publicly funded care under the contract to pay all care workers a minimum of £8.25 per hour from 1 October 2016. As part of the 2…