Jamie Greene

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to address the reported increase in the untried remand population in prisons.

Answer · Keith Brown: Decisions on whether individuals accused of criminal offences should be remanded in custody are for the independent court to make within the overall legal framework. For anyone held on remand, they can seek a bail review at any time so that their position is …

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland report, Concerns about the care of women with mental ill health in prison in Scotland, what additional (a) financial and (b) other resources it is considering providing for the Scottish Prison Service to help support female inmates’…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government takes seriously the responsibility to ensure those going through the criminal justice system with mental health issues are appropriately supported, treated and cared for, while ensuring their rights are being maintained This is an imp…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it estimates unpaid community work for convicted criminals has had on reoffending rates.

Answer · Keith Brown: The most recent reconviction rates show that 29% of people with a Community Payback Order (CPO) imposed in 2017-18 were reconvicted within a year, which is the lowest rate since they were introduced. These statistics are not typically broken down in regard to…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement tougher sentences for offenders who spit and cough on police officers.

Answer · Keith Brown: Assaults on police officers including by spitting or coughing are despicable and this is especially during times with prevalence of Covid-19 in communities. Deliberately spitting and coughing on police officers is a form of assault and the maximum sentence …

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in how many cases body-worn cameras used by Police Scotland have been used as evidence to secure a conviction.

Answer · Keith Brown: Data is not available at this time on the number of times body worn cameras have been used by Police Scotland as evidence to secure a conviction. Should the decision be made to rollout the use of body worn cameras to other roles across Police Scotland, a ran…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been convicted to date as a result of the implementation of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020, also known as "Finn's law".

Answer · Keith Brown: The offences related to 'Finn’s law' would be reported under Section 19 (1) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. No such charges relating to attacks on service animals have been reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service sinc…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports to the police have been recorded regarding scams and rogue traders targeting people in relation to the installation of new interlinked fire alarms, in light of its recent legislation requiring this.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information. The member may wish to redirect their question to Police Scotland who may have data on specific types of scams and rogue traders.

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to reduce the risk of scammers and rogue traders targeting vulnerable and older people in relation to the installation of new interlinked fire alarms, in light of its recent legislation requiring this, and what assessment it has made of the merits of a public awar…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government will undertake a comprehensive awareness raising campaign which will run across a range of channels including TV, Radio and digital to ensure people are aware of the new legislation and encourage compliance. This will include material …

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is being given to low-income families to assist with the installation of new interlinked fire alarms, in light of its recent legislation requiring this.

Answer · Shona Robison: As a general principle, home owners are responsible for work to their own homes to ensure they meet housing standards. However, recognising that some home owners - particularly older and disabled owners on low incomes - may face difficulty in meeting the new …

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to undertake an awareness campaign to highlight the risk of grass fires to campers and other users of the rural environment, in light of a reported increase in grass fires caused by campers in 2019-20.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government’s public agencies are running promotional campaigns to support responsible enjoyment of the countryside, as part of the wider national visitor management strategy co-ordinated by VisitScotland. This includes messaging which relates to …

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many body-worn cameras Police Scotland currently has access to.

Answer · Keith Brown: Police Scotland have advised that there are currently 256 body worn cameras in use within North East Division and 5 body worn cameras in use within Fife Division. These are in daily use and managed in accordance with Data Protection impact assessments. In ad…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to support policing in local authorities in the rest of Scotland during COP26, when substantial numbers of officers will be transferred to Glasgow for its duration.

Answer · Keith Brown: COP26 will be the biggest international summit the UK has ever hosted, meaning that the policing operation is considerable and will require large deployments of both Police Scotland officers and mutual aid officers brought in from other parts of the UK. Deci…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial resources it has allocated to specifically support the mental health and wellbeing of (a) police officers and (b) Police Scotland support staff in each year since 2016.

Answer · Keith Brown: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The allocation of resources, and the Health and Wellbeing of Police Officers and Police Staff, are matters for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the backlog of digital items in Police Scotland’s possession that are currently awaiting forensic analysis.

Answer · Keith Brown: The forensic analysis of digital items and the management of any backlog are matters for the Chief Constable and Police Scotland. Police Scotland are committed to providing the best possible service to the victims of crime and witnesses and will only examine…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning to roll out body-worn cameras for police officers, in light of comments by Police Scotland that this could lead to a “spike in guilty pleas”.

Answer · Keith Brown: The issue of body-worn cameras is a policy and operational decision for Police Scotland, acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. However, as part of our budget allocation for policing this year, we have provided one-off funding of £500,00…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider increasing investment in mental health facilities to address the reported issues of burnout among Police Scotland staff.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Welfare and Wellbeing of Police Officers, and the allocation of resources, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. Officers and staff can access a range of services to care for their physical and mental h…

21 Jul 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider doubling the maximum sentence for assaults on emergency service workers, including the police force.

Answer · Keith Brown: No-one should be the victim of abuse or violence while at work. Assaults on emergency service workers and police officers are despicable and the Scottish Government fully supports courts having their current extensive powers to deal robustly with perpetrators…

4 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the one-off pro rata £550 payment for personal assistants that it announced on 30 November 2020 will be made available through local authority health and social care partnerships.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: To clarify, the one off pro rata thank you payment for all eligible health and social care staff is £500. We are working at pace with our key stakeholders to establish an effective way to pay Personal Assistants. We will issue further details as soon as this …

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the intensive care bed capacity has been in each week of 2021, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Baseline ICU capacity in Scotland is 173 adult beds providing level 3 care. NHS Boards retain the ability to double their baseline ICU capacity to 360 within one week, treble to 585 in two weeks and, if required, extend this to over 700, subject to staff and …

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many overseas visitors arrived directly into Scottish airports or ports in 2021, broken down by, where available, (a) the stated reason for the visit, (b) how many of the visitors provided evidence of a negative COVID-19 test at the point of arrival, (c) ho…

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on arrivals into the UK are published by the Home Office and can be found here: Immigration statistics, year ending March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). All travellers have to take a COVID-19 test within 72hrs of their departure; evidence has to p…

2 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for a nationally co-ordinated solution, either electronic-based or physical, which will enable members of the public to demonstrate that they have received one or more COVID-19 vaccinations, to assist in scenarios where such evidence will be required to allow access to …

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-00019 on 26 May 2021. The answer is available on the Parliament's website at: Official Report - Parliamentary Business : Scottish Parliament .

1 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding moving driving licence theory tests to an online system.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Driver and vehicle licensing and testing is reserved to the UK government. Matters relating to the delivery mechanism and conduct of the driving theory test are the responsibility of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) although they are required to…

17 May 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it anticipates care home residents will be allowed to be taken for outdoor visits by their designated visitors.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Restrictions on care home visiting have been challenging during the pandemic for residents, their families and staff. On 20 February, the then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport announced the publication of new guidance setting out an expectation that pr…

22 Mar 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister for what reason more than 700 schools have not been inspected in over a decade.

15 Mar 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its roadmap for higher education students to return to university.

8 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of schools not re-opening on a full-time basis until after the Easter holidays, how teachers will be able to gather sufficient evidence to produce estimated grades by the deadline in June 2021.

Answer · John Swinney: The priority at this time should be on learning and teaching to ensure that learners consolidate their learning and have sufficient course coverage prior to assessment. On 16 February, the National Qualifications 2021 Group issued an update to the Alternativ…

8 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35355 by John Swinney on 1 March 2021, what duties there are on school leaders to ensure that (a) the curriculum and (b) teaching is politically neutral.

Answer · John Swinney: School leaders are expected to develop their school level curriculum with cognisance of a range of factors, including the national curriculum framework which is politically neutral in its formulation, local circumstance, the specific needs of their learners a…

8 Mar 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what percentage of clinically vulnerable people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

4 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence of having received a COVID-19 vaccination will be provided to people for the purpose of providing proof, if requested to do so.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: All vaccinations are held on an individual’s medical records. Upon receiving the first vaccination, patients will also be given a reminder leaflet which will be issued with the date of their follow up appointment to receive their second dose. A vaccination c…

22 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will re-enter Scotland in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.

Answer · John Swinney: We are committed to ensuring that the burden placed on schools by central government is appropriate and proportionate. One way of achieving this is by rationalising Scotland's engagement with international surveys like PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS. Whilst PIRLS is a…