Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-05537

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by the Lord Advocate on 9 December 2016 that "there continue to be systemic aspects of the criminal justice system, which cause difficulties for victims."

The support and protection of victims and witnesses is a key priority for the criminal justice system in Scotland and must always be balanced with the protection of the fundamental rights of the accused.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is committed to working with other agencies in the criminal justice system to improve the service which is provided across the system to all those who come into contact with the criminal courts, whether as victims, witnesses or accused persons.

The Scottish Government has already implemented a number of changes which increase the engagement of all parts of the system with victims, including the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014, the Victim’s Rights (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and the commitments in the Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses and the Victims’ Code for Scotland, and further work is in hand to address some of the systemic issues which have been identified such as churn in the summary criminal courts and the adversarial nature of the trial process.

The Evidence and Procedure Review aims to improve the experience of those who come into contact with the criminal justice system by reducing the impact of churn in the summary courts and changing the way in which the evidence of children and other vulnerable witnesses is dealt with in court through the increased use of pre-recorded evidence.

A report by the former Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson QC, who has carried out a review into the needs of victims, will be published shortly and the recommendations will be considered by all parts of the criminal justice system through the work of the Justice Board.

Question reference: S5W-05775

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 10 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to close any fire stations.

Question reference: S5W-05772

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 10 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many fire engines have been removed from service due to staff unavailability in the last year; what review it has carried out of this, and how it plans to reduce the number.

Question reference: S5O-00531

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the tourism sector in the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S5W-05437

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 20 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the reported number of secondary appliances taken “off the run” due to staffing shortages in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service provides a vital service in keeping communities across Scotland safe. Through the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016, the Scottish Government sets out its expectations of the SFRS, including prioritising its use of resources to ensure an appropriate response to incidents across Scotland to support improved outcomes for communities.

Decisions on resource allocation, including staff and fire appliances are operational matters for the SFRS.

The SFRS has worked closely with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) to achieve the right level of staffing across the service to meet the needs of a modern Fire and Rescue Service.

Question reference: S5W-05436

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 20 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the sustainability of rural fire stations.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has a statutory duty to ensure that there are adequate arrangements in place for the carrying out of its functions in each local authority area.

The Scottish Government’s Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016, calls for community fire stations to be used by the SFRS and other public services as locations where the development of community skills and capacities can be supported in order to help those in communities become more resilient and self-supporting in the future.

Local plans set out how the SFRS intends to discharge its duties, demonstrating that its operational arrangements for each area are adequate and proportionate to the local risk profile.

The SFRS has an ongoing campaign to recruit retained duty system firefighters.

Question reference: S5W-05403

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the Scottish Police Authority and its committees carry out their functions in ways that are proportionate, accountable and transparent and consistent with principles of good governance, as required by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (‘the 2012 Act’) requires the SPA to ‘try to carry out its functions in a way which is proportionate, accountable and transparent and which is consistent with any principle of good governance which appears to it to constitute best practice’ (Section 2(2)(3) of the 2012 Act). It is for the SPA regulate its own procedures and to demonstrate compliance with the principles and requirements set out in the 2012 Act.

Question reference: S5O-00478

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Press and Journal campaign, Keep Highlands and Islands Enterprise Local.

Question reference: S5W-04869

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the average length of time is for patients leaving brain injury rehabilitation wards to wait for outpatient neuropsychological rehabilitation in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S5W-04868

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners assessed with brain injury were given release conditional on attending neuropsychological rehabilitation in each of the last five years.

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

The Parole Unit database for the release of prisoners on compassionate grounds shows that there were no prisoners released on those grounds to attend neuropsychological rehabilitation in the last 5 years.

This information is available on the Scottish Government Website.

Any information on prisoners who attended a neuropsychological rehabilitation service as an out-patient would be held by the individual NHS Health Board.

Tell us your views

Seòmar agus comataidhean