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-16830

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the recruitment (a) process and (b) timeline for appointing Police Scotland’s next Chief Constable, including any discussions that it has had with the Scottish Police Authority on this matter.

The Scottish Police Authority has launched a recruitment campaign on Friday 31 March 2023, looking for a new Chief Constable to lead the second largest police service in the UK, after Sir Iain Livingstone QPM announced his intention to retire in the summer of 2023 at a meeting of the Authority on 23 February.

The deadline for applications is Friday 28 April. The Authority expects to announce a successful candidate in June 2023. This will be a fixed term appointment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.

The appointment process has been reviewed and approved by the Scottish Police Authority’s People Committee. A Selection Panel has been convened which will be chaired by Martyn Evans, Chair of the Authority and will include Fiona McQueen CBE - Member, SPA, Joe Griffin - Director-General, Scottish Government, Angela Scott - Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council, Independent Member, and Martin Hewitt QPM, Former Chair, National Police Chiefs Council – UK Policing Professional. Craig Naylor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland and Lynn Brown OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority will be advisors to the panel and observe its discussions with candidates.

The appointment is subject to the approval of the Scottish Ministers.

The former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans met with the Chair of the SPA and the Chief Constable on 22 March and they discussed the arrangements for the recruitment campaign, transition plans and timing.

Question reference: S6W-16695

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many drones have been (a) recorded flying in or above Scottish prison estates and (b) seized by prison authorities, in each year for which data is available.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Since January 2022, there have been 20 instances of drone activity being recorded over or inside the prison estate, out of which there were been 6 physical drone recoveries. SPS systems cannot provide information prior to this date as incidents before January 2022 are not categorised to allow this information to be extracted. The rising number of incidents involving drones has now resulted in closer monitoring and recording of these incidents.

Question reference: S6F-02046

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 April 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to new Police Scotland statistics showing that the number of recorded rapes has increased to its highest level in six years.

Question reference: S6W-16590

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to meet and engage with the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) in light of possible strike action by its members, and what discussions it has had with the UK Government on this matter.

We regularly discuss matters relating to the operations of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) with the NLB and the UK Government and have discussed the issue of potential industrial action by NLB employees with both the NLB and UK Government counterparts. As an Arm’s Length Body of the UK Department for Transport, the NLB is responsible for the detailed negotiation of their annual pay remit, and is subject to the pay setting arrangements outlined in the UK Civil Service Pay Guidance.

Question reference: S6W-16217

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects that officer numbers in Police Scotland will be restored to the target of 17,234 officers.

Policing is and will continue to be a priority for the Scottish Government. Scotland has a higher number of officers than at any time during the last administration – and more per head of population than England and Wales (30 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland, compared to 24 officers per 10,000 population in England and Wales).

The recruitment and deployment of officers and staff is a matter for the Chief Constable. However, I note the new operating model based on 16,600 officers, which has been set out by the Chief Constable. It is important the Chief Constable has the flexibility to develop his workforce in a way that responds to the challenges he faces by ensuring the right workforce mix.

Question reference: S6W-16223

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to NatureScot’s Pollinator Strategy - 2022 Progress Report.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that pollinators play in agriculture and horticulture as well as supporting our biodiversity, and that Nature Networks are key to helping pollinators thrive. Enabling land managers to support biodiversity is central to delivering the vision and outcomes set out in our final draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, published in December 2022. The Strategy highlights the need to improve ecological connectivity across Scotland in order to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

We welcome the publication of NatureScot’s Pollinator Strategy 2022 Progress Report, which shows a range of positive work underway across Scotland to deliver the aims of the Pollinator Strategy. The report highlights the strength of partnership working in Scotland and that delivery of the Strategy relies on the shared vision of many partners including NGOs, local authorities, community groups, the scientific community and individuals.

An increasing range of pollinator-friendly projects were reported across Scotland, including the Irvine to Girvan Nectar Network and Pollinators Along the Tweed.

Question reference: S6W-16214

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Police Scotland's tweet of 19 March 2023, which stated that "A new Emergency Alert mobile phone warning service is being trialled in Scotland from today by the Scottish Government", whether it told Police Scotland that the trial of the UK-wide Emergency Alert system was a Scottish Government-initiated trial.

The Scottish Government has been clear in its communication with partners and stakeholders that the Emergency Alerts System is fully funded and owned by the UK Government; and that the Scottish Government has agreed to participate in a trial coordinated by UK Government, recognising that the content of any alerts issued in Scotland is likely to be in relation to devolved matters.

Police Scotland’s tweet of 19 March 2023 included a link to a post on the main Scottish Government account which directed viewers to the dedicated UK Government Emergency Alerts web pages.

The introductory paragraph on those pages states: “Emergency Alerts is a UK government service that will warn you if there’s a danger to life nearby.”

The Scottish Government continues to engage with UK Government and other UK nations, Scottish partners and stakeholders to ensure that the information about the trial is accurate and shared widely.

Question reference: S6W-16974

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any Scottish Government representatives were invited to attend the 2023 Scottish Police Federation Conference in person on 29 March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-17012

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to improving the (a) ease and (b) consistency of public access to Fatal Accident Inquiry records, in light of reports that only the 50 most recent records from 2022 onwards are easily accessible on the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service website, without the use of the search function.

Question reference: S6W-17013

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent changes have been made to the ability of the public to access Fatal Accident Inquiry records, including any related changes made on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website.