Liam Kerr

22 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the correct figure is for the percentage change in admonishments/discharges from November 2020 to the monthly average in 2019-20, in light of page 23 of the November Justice Analytics Report listing it as an 8% change but the number of admonishments displayed suggesting it should be…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Some of the information published in the Criminal Disposals section of the November 2020 report (available at Justice Analytical Services Coronavirus (COVID-19) Data Report: November 2020 (www.gov.scot) , page 23) contained errors. The number of admonishmen…

10 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 9 December 2020 (Official Report, c.13), whether it will confirm the amount that is being allocated to (a) the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and (b) Police Scotland to cover the "pandemic-related income shortfalls"…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In her statement to Parliament on 9 December 2020, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance announced additional funding to cover pandemic-related income shortfalls. This included: (a) £8.4 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services; and (b) £8.2 millio…

30 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects Restitution Orders for attacks on police officers to be in force.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Restitution Orders are a new financial penalty to be made available to courts, for those convicted of assault on police, under section 90(1) of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. The legislation to introduce the Restitution Fund was laid in parli…

20 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified a COVID-19 testing system for visitors to care homes and, if so, whether it is currently being tested at any care homes in Scotland.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As outlined to Parliament on 25 November, lateral flow devices will be used to offer testing to designated care home visitors on the day of their visit. This will be rolled out to up to 12 early adopter care homes across four Local Authorities by 7 December, …

20 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when COVID-19 testing of visitors to care homes will be available in Scotland, in light of the UK Government currently trialling this in England with the aim to have it functioning by Christmas.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As outlined to Parliament on 25 November, lateral flow devices will be used to offer testing to designated care home visitors on the day of their visit. This will be rolled out to up to 12 early adopter care homes across four Local Authorities by 7 December w…

19 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) victims’ right to review annual report for 2019-20 will be published.

Answer · James Wolffe QC: The COPFS Victims Right to Review Annual Report 2019-20 was published on the COPFS website on 27 November 2020. The Report can be accessed at the following link: https://www.copfs.gov.uk/images/Documents/Statistics/COPFS_Performance/Victims%20Right%20to%20R…

17 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify the methodology of the daily and weekly update statistics published by the Scottish Prison Service regarding prisoners who either have COVID-19 or are self-isolating, in light of the daily update on 17 November 2020 stating that 38 people were self-isolating and t…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: SPS currently publishes a daily update on our website which includes:The number of people who are self-isolating in our prison…

17 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33096 by Humza Yousaf on 16 November 2020, whether it considers that the response from the Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service answered the question asked regarding when the Throughcare programme in prisons, which was suspended in…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The decision by the SPS to suspend their Throughcare Support Service (TSS) is an operational matter, and rightly a decision for SPS management to make – and not for Scottish Ministers to direct. The response from the Interim Chief Executive of the SPS in the …

17 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards have been put in place following the trial of giving police officers Naloxene kits, in light of safety concerns highlighted by the Scottish Police Federation.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Maximising the availability of naloxone, particularly amongst emergency responders, has been a key aspect of the work of Scottish Government and the Drug Death Taskforce in our effort to tackle drug deaths, as such I welcome that Police Scotland have approved…

10 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its actions that are set out in the latest Victims Taskforce meeting papers to discuss further Victim Support Scotland’s points about information sharing on prisoner release to enable safety planning, and on potential improvements to the Victim Notifi…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Lord Advocate and I met with victim support organisations on 28 th July2020 to discuss a number of issues, including the Victim Notification Scheme.A summary of this discussion is captured in a follow-up letter we issued to victim support organisations on…

10 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what appears to be a contradiction between the level 3 COVID-19 guidance under the heading "meeting others indoors (socialising)", which states that “children under the age of 12…do not count towards the total number of people counted in a gathering” and under the…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We can confirm that children under 12 count towards the maximum of two households permitted to meet indoors in a public place. However they do not count towards the total number people permitted to gather indoors. For example a children’s party with ten child…

6 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Throughcare programme in prisons, which was suspended in July 2019, will recommence.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: We recognise the benefits that the Throughcare Support Service (TSS) brought to those in our care and we are committed to expl…

4 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when Part 2 of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 will come into effect, and what the reason is for any delay.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: After the necessary secondary legislation was laid in Parliament, the Scottish Government issued a press release on 24 August 2020 stating Part 2 of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 will come into force on 30 November 2020. This news release pu…

4 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to raise awareness of the paramedic degree pathway.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government ran a multi-platform, multi-media “What did you do today” campaign which featured a Paramedic as well as other Allied Health Professionals, Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare Scientists between November 2019 and January 2020. The camp…

28 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish the papers relating to the meeting of the Victims Taskforce on 9 September 2020.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The papers from the last meeting of the Victims Taskforce, on 9 September 2020, were published on the Scottish Government website on 4 November. These are available at http://www.gov.scot/groups/victims-taskforce/ .

23 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the terms of reference for the Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity have not yet been published.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity (ERG) was set up at pace in June 2020, in response to emerging evidence that people from some Minority Ethnic backgrounds may be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, both in terms of adverse health outc…

22 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Prisons Service Annual Report and Accounts 2019-20 will be published.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: SPS’ Annual Report and Accounts were signed on 2 October 2020. Audit Scotland will lay the accounts before Parliament when the…

21 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect teachers in the north east from COVID-19.

19 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its guidance on the changes to regulations for fire and smoke alarms in Scotland, whether the Nest Protect (Battery) device will be classed as a device not meeting the required standard, in light of it meeting other EU and UK standards; if not, whether sellers of the device …

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As Nest do not have a heat alarm product in their range and the device uses replaceable batteries, the Nest Protect (Battery) device will not meet the updated statutory tolerable standard. We will continue to work with retailers and other stakeholders to pro…

13 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on making the desecration of war memorials a specific offence.

Answer · Ash Denham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31292 on 26 August 2020. 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…

7 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which budget stream supports the Victims' Fund, and what the initial source of finance for the Fund was.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Victims’ Fund is supported through Victim Support Scotland’s grant award from the Scottish Government. In 2020-21 this award was for up to £4,708,700. This grant funding originates from the 2020-21 level 3 Victim / Witness Support budget of £18.7 million…

7 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much financial support it plans to provide to the Victims' Fund, in light of Victim Support Scotland’s recent announcement that it requires at least double the amount of investment that was initially put into the Fund in March 2020.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government provided Victim Support Scotland with a grant increase for 2020-21 of £70,000 to enable them to increase the Victims’ Fund from £30,000 to £100,000. Since April, the Fund has supported over 200 individuals…

7 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidelines have been issued around the fitting and procurement of masks to NHS dentists.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: As part of phase 3 of the NHS dental remobilisation plan a dental circular was issued by the Chief Dental Officer (CDO) to NHS Boards and dentists on 7 August. This provided guidance on the requirements for ensuring the supply of enhanced PPE including face m…

7 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the £300,000 committed to the Restorative Justice Action Plan has been spent to date.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Expenditure on Restorative Justice Action Plan activity to date is as follows: 2019-20 £345.89 - SACRO. Stakeholder Workshop, held February 2020. £130,388 - Grant to University of Strathclyde. This is to support a 3 year (2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23), par…

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are provisions in the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Bill that will enable victims of offenders sentenced to less than 18 months to sign up to the Victim Notification Scheme.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The are no provisions in the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Bill that relate to the Victim Notification Scheme. Victims of offenders sentenced to less than 18 months imprisonment are already entitled to know the date of the release or escape of the o…

5 Oct 2020 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to statistics stating that attacks on emergency workers have risen approximately 6% on the previous year and occur at a rate of more than 20 a day.

5 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the most recent Victims Taskforce meeting, which was scheduled to take place on 9 September 2020.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Victims Taskforce last met on 9 September 2020. The agenda covered: minutes of the previous meeting on 10 June 2020 and matters arising; 'victims voices' - feedback on victims experience of the justice system from victim support organisations; an update o…

30 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for major projects in the north east to drive the area's tourism sector.

29 Sep 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it is providing to Police Scotland to address any anticipated rise in police activity resulting from increased government measures to tackle COVID-19, and whether it will report on what impact it considers such increased measures might have on Police Scotland's ability to …

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Police Scotland has been at the front and centre of the response to COVID-19 in Scotland, and continues to work closely with partners including local authorities and the NHS to support the response. We continue to be grateful to both police officers and staff…

28 Sep 2020 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the backlog of court cases could take up to a decade to clear.