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-30344

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported proposals from the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, what its response is to reports that the Metropolitan Police's use of live facial recognition technology produced verifiably correct matches on only 19% of occasions and that this was still "exceeding" its "accuracy expectations".

Question reference: S6W-30346

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland has corresponded with the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner about the reported proposals to deploy live facial recognition technology in Scotland, and, if so, whether this correspondence was undertaken before the Chief Constable outlined the proposals to the media.

Question reference: S6W-30345

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported proposals from the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to deploy live facial recognition systems in Scotland, what its response is to the European Parliament's reported decision to classify the use of real-time biometrics in public spaces as posing an unacceptable risk.

Question reference: S6W-30335

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Professor Angela Daly's reported comments that live facial recognition technology is "not fit for purpose" and is "generally unethical", in light of the reported proposals by the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to deploy the technology in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-30343

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported proposals from the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, what its response is to reports that the use of live facial recognition by South Wales Police has produced 2,833 false alerts, compared with only 72 resultant arrests.

Question reference: S6W-30326

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the live facial recognition systems that Police Scotland's Chief Constable has proposed deploying for law enforcement purposes could be used as evidence in criminal proceedings.

Question reference: S6W-30310

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has spoken to Police Scotland regarding the reported proposals from the Chief Constable to deploy live facial recognition technology for law enforcement purposes.

Question reference: S6W-30338

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported low incidence of violent and criminal behaviour among the public at large, what its understanding is regarding how the risk of base rate neglect will be factored into the use of live facial recognition technology in criminal proceedings, under the reported proposals by Police Scotland's Chief Constable.

Question reference: S6W-30339

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported low incidence of violent and criminal behaviour among the public at large, what its understanding is regarding how the risk of base rate neglect will be factored into the operational use of live facial recognition technology, under the reported proposals by Police Scotland's Chief Constable.

Question reference: S6W-30308

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the potential behavioural impact on officers would be of the reported proposals from the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to deploy live facial recognition technology for law enforcement purposes.