Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-20755

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the UK Vaping Industry Association’s reported proposal for fines of up to £10,000 to be levied on retailers who sell to under-18s.

The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 set outs the fines that can be levied and these are detailed below:

offence of selling an NCP to a person under 18 - level 4 on the standard scale (£2,500)
Offence of purchasing one on behalf of a person under 18 - level 5 on the standard scale (£5,000)
Offence of purchasing an NCP by a person under 18 - level 1 on the standard scale (£200).

We do not currently have plans, at this time, to revise these fines and any revision would require consultation.

Question reference: S6W-20756

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates smoking cost the Scottish economy in the last year for which figures are available.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the health and economic impacts of smoking, that’s why we want to create a tobacco free Scotland by 2034 and will be publishing our refreshed tobacco action plan in autumn this year which will provide a roadmap as to our we will achieve that goal.

Information on the economic impact of smoking is available on the ASH Scotland website and on ASH website .

Question reference: S6W-20759

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Scotland and other agencies spent on all forms of smoking cessation in the last year for which figures are available.

The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes. It is up to Health Boards to decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome. The published includes £74.1 million for the Outcomes Framework.

Question reference: S6W-20757

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the cost to NHS Scotland of treating diseases caused by smoking was in the last year for which figures are available.

Question reference: S6O-02491

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-20174

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 15 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when Police Scotland will have access to Scottish laboratory facilities that can test if someone has ingested rohypnol or sodium nitrite.

Question reference: S6W-20112

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of police resource is currently allocated to tackling cybercrime.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of police resources that are dedicated to tackling cybercrime.

The police budget has increased by £80 million in 2023-24 bringing the overall budget to over £1.45 billion. The allocation of this budget is a decision for the Chief Constable and Scottish Police Authority, including the allocation of resources to tackle cybercrime.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority work together to ensure the necessary resources and expertise are in place to tackle emerging areas of threat, such as cyber-crime and fraud.

The Scottish Government works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Police Scotland to ensure Scotland is well prepared for cyber threats and would urge all organisations to follow the NCSC’s advice and guidance.

Question reference: S6W-20109

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of all crimes were cybercrimes in the last year for which figures are available.

In 2022-23 there were an estimated 14,890 police recorded cyber-crimes, accounting for 5% of all recorded crime in Scotland. This estimate is based on a review of crime records, whereby a random sample of cases was drawn across Scotland for those types of crime that could in theory involve a cyber-element.

Of these 14,890 estimated cyber-crimes, the most common types were crimes of fraud (57%), sexual crimes (26%) and crimes of threats and extortion (12%).

The estimate of Police recorded cyber-crime does not provide information on the characteristics of all cyber-crime committed in society, as not all these crimes are reported to the police. To better understand cyber-crime committed in Scotland, including those cases not reported to the police, an updated section on fraud and computer misuse has been included in the 2023-24 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey.

Question reference: S6W-20111

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of reported cybercrimes were successfully prosecuted in the last year for which figures are available.

There is no agreed upon definition of cyber-crime and a range of different types of crime may be either cyber-dependent or cyber-enabled. The table below shows people prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts in 2020-21 where the main charge is under either the Computer Misuse Act 1990 or Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, the only charges that are identifiable as cyber-crimes in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland data. Note that data for 2020-21 are effected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and should not be considered indicative of long term trends.

Act	People prosecuted	People convicted	Conviction rate
Computer Misuse Act 1990	1	1	100%
Communications Act 2003, Section 127	387	363	94%
Total	388	364	94%

Question reference: S6W-20110

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much was defrauded through cybercrime in the last year for which figures are available.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Estimates of Police Recorded cybercrime were most recently published in the statistical publication and are based on a review of a sample of recorded crimes which are considered likely to include a cyber element. The amount of money defrauded through cybercrime is not recorded.