Parliamentary questions
Liam Kerr
2,171 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's statement and Scottish Government press release on 22 September 2020, which section of which coronavirus regulations excepts "non-cohabiting couples" from the new restriction on gatherings in private dwellings.
Answer · Michael Russell: The current coronavirus regulations define extended household as follows – “extended household” means two households— (a) which have chosen to be treated as a single household for the purpose of— (i) these Regulations, or (ii) the Health Protection (Cor…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what options it has explored regarding the use of exclusion zones for offenders who have been released to ensure that they do not come into contact with their victim, as stated in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Parole Board for Scotland can, and already do, use exclusion zones as part of licence conditions, to help manage the risk that a released prisoner comes into contact with their victim. These exclusion zones can be electronically monitored at present. Last…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has conducted with the Scottish Information Commissioner and the Parole Board for Scotland regarding the publication of reasons for Board decisions to the victims of the offender whose case is being decided, as stated in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We have been working with the Parole Board for Scotland on a procedure for the publication of decision summaries which will be included in the amendments we are making to the Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001. Once that procedure has been agreed it will be s…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on allowing victims and their families to make representations at Parole Board for Scotland meetings, as set out in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Victim Notification Scheme already allows registered victims to make representations to the Parole Board for Scotland. Not all victims make representations and some find it re-traumatising to do so. Opting in to the Scheme is a matter of choice for the vi…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has conducted with the Parole Board for Scotland to update the guidelines on the criteria that boards have to account for when making decisions, specifically relating to the safety and welfare of victims and their families, as stated in Transforming Parole in Scotland: consu…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 determine the factors that may be taken into account by Parole Board members when making a decision to release a prisoner. Work is currently underway to amend the rules to make it clear that the safety and security of a …
23 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 23 September 2020 (Official Report, c.20), whether it will provide a full list of the stakeholders that the cabinet secretary said he had spoken to “to seek their views on the areas of the [Hate Crime and Public Order (Sco…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I met with the following stakeholders to seek their views on the areas of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill that I was considering amending:Faculty of Advocates (04 September 2020)Law Society of Scotland (14 September 2020)Humanist Society Scotl…
21 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports (a) that there has been a reduction in the number of young lawyers wishing to do criminal defence work and (b) highlighting figures that show a decline in the number of registered criminal law firms and criminal lawyers of approximately a quarter in the la…
Answer · Ash Denham: Anecdotally, it is reported that the number of legal trainees in criminal practice has decreased, however this appears to reflect the fall in reported crime over several years, the subsequent fall in cases proceeding to court, and the business models of many …
15 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with its commitment to recruit 850 extra teachers and around 200 additional support staff to help schools deal with the pressures arising from their reopening following the lockdown.
15 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a convicted sex offender using a dating app to organise a date in which he subsequently sexually assaulted someone, what its position is on whether dating websites should be informed about persons on the sex offenders register, and what action it can take to facil…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I cannot comment on the specifics of any individual case, however this Government is committed to doing all that it can to minimise the risks posed by those convicted of sexual offences. Scotland’s Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) manage th…
8 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance it has made available for cultural organisations in the north east since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.
2 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it plans to administer the 2020 seasonal flu vaccine at drive-through centres.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31551 on 16 September 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/parliamentarybusi…
2 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what methods of delivery it will use to administer the seasonal flu vaccine in 2020.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Responsibility for delivering the Seasonal Flu Vaccine in 2020/21 rests with Health Boards and Integration Authorities. This is a change from previous years, where GP practices, took the lead role in providing flu immunisations. NHS Scotland Boards will ther…
2 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning to announce any additional funding for the NHS to tackle winter pressures in 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As in previous years NHS Boards will receive winter funding to support them to put in place the additional resources and capacity required across the whole system to ensure sustainability and resilience over the winter period. Discussions are underway and Boa…
1 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Stonehaven train crash.
27 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24915 by Christina McKelvie on 12 September 2019, whether the remaining £500,000 of the £2 million it committed to provide to encourage victims of domestic or sexual abuse to come forward has now been allocated.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: The additional £500,000 has now been allocated as part of a wider package of measures to sustain projects and support and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, an additional £1.6 million has been allocated to support women and children experiencing dom…
27 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing an independently-chaired group to ensure that the technology used by Police Scotland is done so in an effective and ethical manner.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As I indicated in my letter of 1 September 2020 to the Sub-Committee on Policing, the need to address the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic has meant that some of the work the Scottish Government had hoped to progress over the first part of the ye…
27 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on reviewing the process used to develop and publish the criminal justice bodies’ annual standards of service for victims and witnesses.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: A formal process of engagement on the development of the criminal justice organisations’ annual standards of service for victims and witnesses has been agreed between the organisations and the Victims’ Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland (VOCFS), which…
27 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which parts of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 have been used to strengthen the Home Detention Curfew regime.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Regulations were laid in parliament which commenced a number of legislative provisions contained within the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 on 11 October 2019. Several of these provisions related to Home Detention Curfew (HDC). Specifically, sect…
27 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the use of the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability procurement process.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The DESC procurement process resumed in June after a pause at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic to allow criminal justice partners to respond to the emergency, and to prepare for the conduct of the procurement using electronic means where possible. The i…
26 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates the Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre will be (a) completed and (b) opened.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The construction programme indicates that:The Anchor Centre will be completed in January 2023 and opened in March 2023The Baird Family Hospital will be completed in August 2023 and opened in November 2023.
26 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what investigation it is undertaking into the reported (a) “inaccuracies” in the cost plan and (b) inadequate “co-ordination of the design development process” for the Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: In order to verify the reasons for the variance and to better understand the issues driving the increase in anticipated construction costs, NHS Grampian, with the full support of Scottish Government, jointly commissioned, with Health Facilities Scotland, an i…
26 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the reported £6 million costs associated with the project team for the Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31427 on 7 September 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/parliamentarybusine…
26 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the reported £9 million spent on "advisers" for the Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Since 2014-15, the total amount spent on the project team and professional advisers for the Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre is £6 million which is to be expected for a project of this size and complexity. The following table presents the breakdown of…
26 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to publishing an alternative to the annual GERS report.
24 Aug 2020 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the process and timescale is for it to nominate and appoint the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner.
Answer · Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body): The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner will be appointed by Her Majesty on the nomination of the Scottish Parliament. Under the Parliament’s Standing Orders, a cross-party selection panel will be established. The selection panel will be chaired by the Presidi…
21 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the evidence given to the Justice Committee by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service on 18 August 2020 (Official Report, c.2) regarding the potential positive impact of jury centres in reducing the backlog of solemn cases, whether it will rule out …
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As previously made clear to the Justice Committee in June and in an earlier statement to the Scottish Parliament, Judge-only solemn trials are not being progressed by the Scottish Government.
19 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) proposing to review its Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment Policy in December 2018, an SPS spokesperson stating in May 2019 that the review would commence "in the coming weeks", the SPS stating in August 2019 that it was "committed to r…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Internal consultation in respect of those in custody has already been undertaken with those in our care and staff. It had been intended to start a targeted external consultation (to include those such as MSPs who had expressed specific interest, and others wh…
17 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the most appropriate mechanism for tackling misogynistic hate crime is through secondary, rather than primary, legislation.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill provides for an enabling power for the Scottish Ministers to add sex as a characteristic as part of the framework of statutory aggravations and/or stirring up hatred offences. Under the Bill, secondary legislati…
17 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the working group to consider a standalone offence of misogynistic harassment will be set up; how it will be constituted, and what specific timescales have been establish for it to (a) convene and (b) report.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Working Group will consider how the criminal law deals with misogyny, including whether there are gaps in legislation that could be filled with a standalone offence on misogynistic harassment. The Working Group will also consider whether the characterist…
5 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the annual Scottish Prison Service procurement report for the financial year 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 Procurement Report for 2019-20 is scheduled for publication by the end of August 2020.