Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-26182

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out into the effectiveness of current arrangements for ensuring that address and contact details for Air Discount Scheme members are kept up to date.

It is a requirement under the terms and conditions of the scheme for members to inform us if they change address. Whenever a member phones the ADS Admin Team they are asked to confirm their address. If we receive an application from an address where someone with a different surname is already registered we write to that member asking if they are still living at that address. If we receive no response then the member is removed from the system. When the scheme is renewed, we write to all scheme members. Where letters are returned marked that the addressee has gone away, they are removed from the system. We are content that these arrangements are effective.

Question reference: S5W-26045

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the occupancy rate is of the separation and reintegration units operational in Scottish prisons, broken down by institution.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

On 30 October 2019 there were 121 people in our care temporarily residing in SPS’ Separation and Reintegration Units (SRUs).

Prison	SRU Capacity	Population	Percentage Capacity
Addiewell	11	11	100%
Barlinnie	15	12	80%
Cornton Vale	4	4	100%
Edinburgh	14	12	86%
Glenochil	14	11	78%
Grampian	10	9	90%
Inverness	2	2	100%
Kilmarnock	14	14	100%
Low Moss	12	11	92%
Perth	14	13	93%
Polmont	12	8	66%
Shotts	14	14	100%
Total	136	121	89%

There are no SRUs at HMP Castle Huntly, HMP Dumfries or HMP Greenock.

Question reference: S5O-03775

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Destination Orkney and Orkney Islands Council about the future needs of the tourism sector.

Question reference: S5W-26057

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest time spent on remand by individuals was in in each year since 2014-15.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information at present. As stated in the answer to S5W-20884 on 30 January 2019, the Scottish Government are currently working with the Scottish Prison Service to develop a shared approach to publishing the data captured by the operational database (as well as the range of historical data held) and making more data and information accessible to users. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at .

Question reference: S5W-26047

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of hours per day convicted prisoners were engaged in purposeful activity (a) across the prison estate and (b) in each penal establishment in 2018-19, also broken down by month.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS publishes the average number of Purposeful Activity (PA) Hours per week, per convicted prisoner, as part of our Key Performance Indicators as reported in our Annual Report and Accounts.

In 2018-19 the average number of PA hours undertaken per convicted person in our care, per week, was 20 hours.

SPS does not publish figures in relation to the number of PA hours undertaken on a daily basis. The number of PA hours available for delivery fluctuate over the course of a working week and generally reduces at weekends.

Average PA hours by prison, per week, per convicted person in SPS care for 2018-19 is detailed in table 1, below:

Purposeful Activity Hours per Prison 2018-19
Prison	April	May	June	July	August	September	October
Barlinnie	18	16	15	15	15	14	14
Cornton Vale	17	20	22	20	18	19	18
Dumfries	18	20	20	21	18	17	18
Edinburgh	10	13	11	12	13	10	12
Glenochil	19	18	17	17	17	16	18
Grampian	30	29	26	24	25	23	26
Greenock	22	24	22	21	21	21	20
Inverness	26	27	23	30	25	27	24
Low Moss	23	25	23	23	25	22	23
Open Estate	23	24	22	23	25	22	24
Perth	20	21	19	18	18	17	19
Polmont	21	23	22	22	23	20	22
Shotts	23	22	23	26	26	25	26
Average per month	21	22	20	21	21	19	21

Purposeful Activity Hours per Prison 2018-19
Establishment	November	December	January	February	March	Annual average PA hours
Barlinnie	14	12	12	13	12	14
Cornton Vale	19	17	19	23	19	19
Dumfries	16	14	16	19	15	18
Edinburgh	13	11	14	14	13	12
Glenochil	18	14	17	16	16	17
Grampian	25	22	24	26	23	25
Greenock	19	15	16	21	22	20
Inverness	24	22	25	25	22	25
Low Moss	23	19	21	22	21	23
Open Estate	22	13	20	22	22	22
Perth	18	16	15	16	16	18
Polmont	22	18	20	22	19	21
Shotts	27	24	25	27	25	25
Average per month	20	17	19	20	19	20

HMP Addiewell and HMP Kilmarnock have differing contractual requirements for delivery of PA hours, which are detailed within each contract, by the service provider.

HMP Addiewell is required to offer a minimum 6 hours a day on a Monday to Friday basis, with a minimum of 40 PA hours per week over a rolling 7 day period for all people in custody, including those who are untried and civil prisoners.

HMP Kilmarnock is required to ensure that all convicted people in their care achieve 35 hours a week PA, with a minimum of 7 hours a day for a 5 day working week.

Question reference: S5W-26050

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture that in Scotland's prisons “in practice, recreation time was the exception rather than the norm. Overall, remand prisoners were getting, at best, two hours unlocked from their cells per day.”

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The quote provided was made specifically in relation to HMP Barlinnie, not the wider SPS estate.

On Friday 1 November 2019 HMP Barlinnie was operating at 144% capacity. HMP Barlinnie has been routinely operating significantly above its intended capacity for some time and this has had a notable impact upon the operation of the prison.

Where any prison routinely operates above capacity then this inevitably impacts upon the ability to provide an enhanced regime. HMP Barlinnie’s building design also inhibits open association and in order to ensure the safety of all those in our care, out of cell activity therefore requires more structured delivery than at other prisons.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture’s (CPT) report highlighted that in other Scottish prisons visited, people held on remand were provided with opportunity for out of cell activity which exceeded two hours per day.

Question reference: S5W-26056

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions periods of remand have exceeded 110 days in each year since 2007-08.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information at present. As stated in the answer to S5W-20884 on 30 January 2019, the Scottish Government are currently working with the Scottish Prison Service to develop a shared approach to publishing the data captured by the operational database (as well as the range of historical data held) and making more data and information accessible to users.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

Question reference: S5W-26053

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the finding by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) that there has been a considerable deterioration in the presence of GPs in Scottish prisons, how many GPs have (a) been employed to work in or (b) attended prisons in each year since 2012-13.

Question reference: S5W-26054

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the finding by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) that there has been a considerable deterioration in the number of psychiatric sessions available to people in Scottish prisons since 2012, how many sessions there have been in each year since 2012-13.

Question reference: S5W-26055

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which prisons have officials qualified to administer first aid overnight.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Emergency Response Training is compulsory for all SPS operational staff. This training provides staff with the skill to perform immediate care, until the arrival of medical help, to aid any person, or persons, who become injured or suddenly ill. All prisons are operationally staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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