- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff absences due to mental health reasons were recorded by (a) 999 and (b) 101 call centre staff, in each year since 2014.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes initiatives being undertaken by Police Scotland to support its workforce through the “Your Wellbeing Matters” programme which covers psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing.
The Scottish Government does not collect information on staff absences due to mental health reasons. Delivery of call handling services and associated staffing issues are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many drink-driving (a) incidents, (b) charges, and (c) convictions there have been in each year since 2014.
Answer
The latest available information is provided in the following tables.
(a) N umber of offences related to drink/drugs driving, recorded by the police 2014-15 to 2021-22.
| | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Driving motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs | 450 | 540 | 653 | 719 | 771 | 742 | 897 | 883 |
In charge of motor vehicle while unfit through drink/drugs | 54 | 71 | 123 | 137 | 148 | 159 | 138 | 147 |
Driving motor vehicle with blood alcohol content above prescribed limit | 3,161 | 3,239 | 3,465 | 3,262 | 3,201 | 3,275 | 2,756 | 2,972 |
In charge of motor vehicle while blood alcohol content above limit | 390 | 364 | 331 | 333 | 333 | 324 | 255 | 299 |
Failure to provide breath specimen at roadside | 477 | 509 | 569 | 602 | 591 | 630 | 637 | 592 |
Failure to provide breath, blood or urine specimen at police station | 686 | 735 | 776 | 810 | 803 | 848 | 923 | 906 |
Driving motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug above prescribed limit | - | - | - | - | - | 573 | 2,336 | 1,886 |
In charge of motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug above prescribed limit | - | - | - | - | - | 43 | 155 | 88 |
Total | 5,218 | 5,458 | 5,917 | 5,863 | 5,847 | 6,594 | 8,097 | 7,773 |
(b) Driving under the influence charges reported to COPFS, 2014-15 to 2021-22.
2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
5,434 | 5,486 | 5,884 | 5,770 | 5,840 | 5,990 | 6,272 | 7,120 |
Source: COPFS.
(c) The latest available information on the number of people convicted for ‘driving under the influence’ is published in the ‘Criminal Proceedings in Scotland – 2020-21' statistical bulletin, table 4(b).
A breakdown of the various crime types that make up this category is provided in the following table, please note that we are unable to separate alcohol offences from drug related offences in some crime groups.
People convicted of offences related to driving under the influence, where main crime, by crime type, 2014-15 to 2020-21.
| | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
Driving motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug above | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 119 |
Driving motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs | 203 | 196 | 239 | 255 | 315 | 304 | 145 |
Driving mv with blood alcohol content above prescribed limit | 2,791 | 2,654 | 2,746 | 2,734 | 2,548 | 2,460 | 1,535 |
Failure to provide breath, blood or urine specimen at police station | 382 | 406 | 352 | 368 | 404 | 368 | 231 |
Failure to provide breath specimen at the roadside | 55 | 48 | 51 | 53 | 42 | 43 | 16 |
In charge of motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
In charge of motor vehicle while unfit through drink/drugs | 26 | 31 | 34 | 48 | 34 | 44 | 26 |
In charge of mv while blood alcohol content above limit | 224 | 202 | 212 | 202 | 209 | 179 | 107 |
Total convicted | 3,681 | 3,537 | 3,634 | 3,660 | 3,552 | 3,402 | 2,185 |
Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database
Please note:
Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be indicative of long term trends.
The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest time taken for the the police to attend an incident when required following a 999 call has been in each year since 2014.
Answer
The Scottish Government is grateful to Police Scotland’s call handlers for their continued hard work to ensure that calls to the service are answered as quickly and as safely as possible.
In its 2021 briefing note, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, (HMICS) noted significant progress in Police Scotland’s call handling processes and a commitment to pursue continuous improvement. Furthermore, this year’s HMICS assurance review on the service’s Contact Assessment Model (CAM) highlighted a number of successes in how calls are now triaged by handlers.
The Scottish Government does not collect data on Police Scotland 999 or 101 calls. Delivery of these services is a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA.
Police Scotland publish monthly reports on call handling which are available at:
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the identified comparative cost is per prisoner per annum for each of Scotland's custodial institutions, including young offender institutions, women's prisons, institutions operated directly by the Scottish Prison Service and any outsourced to a contracting party.
Answer
The calculated annual average cost per prisoner place within SPS is published in the SPS Annual Report and Accounts each year. For 2021-22 the annual average cost per prisoner place, which excludes capital charges, exceptional payments and the cost of the Court Custody and Prisoner Escort contracts, was £41,858 (2020-21 £39,350).
SPS do not currently calculate the average cost per prisoner place at an individual establishment level therefore this level of detail is not available.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics reportedly showing that the number of sexual misconduct allegations against Police Scotland officers has increased by over 400% in 2022 to date, compared with 2021.
Answer
Bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour of any form cannot be tolerated within society or within policing, and there must be trust in how matters are handled if things go wrong. This includes having robust, clear and transparent mechanisms in place to investigate complaints, misconduct or other issues of concern.
Protecting public confidence in policing in Scotland is fundamental to a healthy democratic society. That is why the Scottish Government commissioned and subsequently accepted the majority of the recommendations from Dame Elish Angiolini’s Independent Review, and outlined its commitment to introduce a Police Complaints and Misconduct Handling Bill later this parliamentary year.
The introduction of this Bill will provide greater transparency around the police complaints process, the standards we expect from officers and further strengthen public confidence in policing. It will build on the improvement work already delivered which includes a new operating model for complaint handling within Police Scotland and the establishment of a Strategic Oversight Board to mainstream equality, diversity and inclusion. This further underlines that unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated in policing in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed in (a) 999 and (b) 101 call centres in each year since 2013.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to working closely with Police Scotland to support delivery of the Joint Policing Strategy. The findings of the HMICS review of Strategic Workforce Planning, published this year showed that the focus needs to rightly be on capacity and capability.
The data requested are not held centrally by the Scottish Government as the recruitment and deployment of police officers and staff in Scotland is a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA. It is important that he has the flexibility to develop his workforce in a way that responds to the challenges he faces by ensuring the right workforce mix.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) adults and (b) children have been admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of asthma in NHS (i) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (ii) Ayrshire and Arran in (A) 2011, (B) 2016, (C) 2020, (D) 2021 and (E) 2022 to date.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11872 on 24 November 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport last met with CalMac representatives.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the current (a) timescales, (b) plans and (c) legislative changes it plans to propose to reform the dual role of the Lord Advocate, in their capacity as head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and as a minister in the Scottish Government and its principal legal adviser, in line with its commitments to do so.
Answer
The Programme for Government published in September 2021 covered this Parliamentary session running up to March 2026. Within it, there is a commitment as follows:
'The Scottish Government’s law officers, amongst other roles, act as the head of the independent prosecution service and as members of the Scottish Government. We will consult on whether the prosecution and government functions of the law officers should be separated.'
Work is continuing to progress towards a Scottish Government consultation. Development of the consultation will be informed by an initial phase of expert research, which is currently underway. This research will ensure a detailed baseline understanding of the many distinct roles and functions of the Law Officers and will provide information on how the functions of Law Officers operate in other countries.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much its Justice Directorate has spent on external management consultants in (a) 2012 and (b) each year since 2016.
Answer
The Justice portfolio has spent a total of £301,853.07 on external management consultants in 2012 and 2016-2019. This data relates to direct spend by the Scottish Government and does not include expenditure on consultancy services by public bodies. There was no spend on management consultancy services in the years 2020-2022. A breakdown of these costs is provided in the following table:
Year | Total | Business area |
2012 | £216,511.61 | Police and Fire policy |
2016 | £3,904.60 | Digital evidence sharing capability |
2017 | £26,973.46 | Digital evidence sharing capability Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) job evaluation |
| |
£2,000 |
2018 | £51,168 | Roadmap for transformation of the criminal justice sector |
2019 | £5,200 | Independent Review into Police Complaints |
