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: S5W-32018

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 October 2020

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 (Scotland) Bill]" that he was "committed to considering”; what date each discussion took place, and whether it will publish the minutes of each discussion.

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 Scotland (14 September 2020)
Catholic Church (14 September 2020)
Tackling Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Group [1] (22 September 2020)
Scottish PEN (22 September 2020)
Federation of Scottish Theatre (22 September 2020)
National Union of Journalists (22 September 2020)
Scottish Society of Playwrights (22 September 2020)
Writers’ Guild (22 September 2020)
Scottish Police Federation (22 September 2020)

These engagements informed the development of the policy change to the Bill that I outlined to Parliament on 23 September 2020. Discussion also covered a range of other matters connected with the Bill as well as wider hate crime policy.

Short notes of the meetings will be published by the end of the month and once permission has been received from the organisations in attendance.

[1] .

Question reference: S5F-04468

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to statistics stating that attacks on emergency workers have risen approximately 6% on the previous year and occur at a rate of more than 20 a day.

Question reference: S5W-31917

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 5 October 2020

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 last 10 years.

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 criminal law practitioners. While Scottish Government can provide support to improve the diversity of the legal profession, it has little in the way of legislative powers to direct activity. Any support needs to be carefully managed to ensure that there is no perception of compromising the independence of the legal profession in Scotland. The Scottish Government has encouraged the Law Society to promote greater diversity, for example through more “family friendly” policies and more open recruitment and promotion in firms.

In addition, we are already working jointly with the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Legal Aid Board to identify appropriate ways to support solicitors in responding to changes to their business as a result of the pandemic, and will be working with these stakeholders as part of the reform of legal aid programme.

Question reference: S5O-04658

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for major projects in the north east to drive the area's tourism sector.

Question reference: S5T-02423

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the backlog of court cases could take up to a decade to clear.

Question reference: S5W-31833

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 September 2020

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 facilitate this.

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 the risks posed by such individuals. MAPPA “Responsible Authorities” can, and do, disclose information for the purpose of victim safety-planning and public protection.

In Scotland, disclosure of specific information about a registered sex offender can already take place legally in three ways:

the individual can self-disclose;
a public interest disclosure can be made by police;
and a disclosure can be made by social workers in relation to protection of children and vulnerable adults.

The Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland gives men and women the right to ask Police Scotland about the background of a current or new partner if they are concerned about abusive behaviour.

There are no current plans to routinely make disclosure information available to online dating websites. That does not of course preclude those companies from taking any steps they feel are appropriate to protect users of their services, such as advising them of reasonable precautions they can take to keep themselves safe.

Question reference: S5W-30668

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the data it is using to commence quarantine checks for international arrivals in Scotland was not considered to be of sufficient quality on 22 June 2020.

Access issues resulted in delays to Public Health Scotland (PHS) colleagues being able to access data held by the Home Office. This was resolved by passenger arrival information being provided to PHS by the Home Office. PHS then take a sample of those passengers who are required to quarantine and pass the data to NHS National Services Scotland, which runs the National Contact Tracing Centre. The National Contact Tracing Centre contact a random sample in order to provide public health advice and support.

PHS advised that they first received access to this data on 29 June. The National Contact Tracing Centre began contacting individuals who arrived in the country from 22 June on 7 July. Almost 281,042 travellers have arrived in Scotland since the 22 June.

Although the contacting of individuals started later than planned, all the information governance arrangements between PHS and the Home Office are now in place, as are similar arrangements with Police Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-04614

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2020

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.

Question reference: S5W-31552

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 16 September 2020

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.

Question reference: S5W-31551

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 16 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what methods of delivery it will use to administer the seasonal flu vaccine in 2020.

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 therefore use the delivery model which is most suitable for their local circumstances, whilst maintaining a Covid-safe environment and maximising efficiency.

The seasonal flu vaccination will be administered by injection to adults, with nasal sprays being administered to children aged 2-5 (not yet at school) and primary school children.