Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25422

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) value is of, (b) timescale is for and (c) contract specification is for the small islands ferry contract, and how much has been allocated to the (i) Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service and (ii) Northern Isles Ferry Service in each year from 2007-08 to 2023-24 to date, broken down by spend on (A) new ferries and (B) infrastructure.

The Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP) will see Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd procure up to 10 small vessels across two phases which will serve the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service network. This will provide modern, standardised vessels that are capable of as close to zero emission operation as possible.

Ministers are currently considering the outline business case for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme. An update will be provided in due course, once a decision on investment has been taken.

The spend for new ferries and infrastructure on Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service and Northern Isles Ferry Service in each year from 2007-08 to 2022-23 can be found on the Annual Section 70 reports published here https://www.transport.gov.scot/publications/?q=%22section+70%22 on the Transport Scotland Website.

The year 2023-24 has not yet been finalised, these figures will be available when the report is published, this is expected in the summer of 2024.

Question reference: S6W-25423

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will award a permanent public contract to CalMac for the purposes of procuring and renewing lifeline ferry services.

Question reference: S6O-03115

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, and in light of the Supreme Court ruling that the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence, for what reason its position is that there should not be a referendum at this stage on the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-24728

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request from the UK Government the tax powers necessary to allow the Scottish Government to tax the revenue accrued by large retailers in Scotland through Minimum Unit Pricing.

Question reference: S6W-24727

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding making the revenue accrued by large retailers in Scotland through Minimum Unit Pricing taxable, and for those tax revenues to be hypothecated for alcohol health support measures.

The Scottish Government regularly makes evidence-based representations to the UK Government on reserved tax issues. Alcohol sales are already subject to VAT, whilst any profits made by retailers selling alcohol will be already be subject to Corporation Tax. The Scottish Government, as set out in December’s budget announcement, is exploring the reintroduction of a Public Healthy levy using devolved powers.

Question reference: S6W-24726

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that the UK Government considers making the revenue accrued by large retailers in Scotland through Minimum Unit Pricing taxable, and for those tax revenues to be hypothecated for alcohol health support measures.

The Scottish Government regularly makes evidence-based representations to the UK Government on reserved tax issues. Alcohol sales are already subject to VAT, whilst any profits made by retailers selling alcohol will be already be subject to Corporation Tax. The Scottish Government, as set out in December’s budget announcement, is exploring the reintroduction of a Public Healthy levy using devolved powers.

Question reference: S6W-24640

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact will be of the reported withdrawal of £75,000 of funding for the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award, in light of the programme reportedly leveraging around a further £200,000 annually from other funding sources, supporting over 150 young people from around 60 schools across central Scotland, particularly in the Edinburgh Eastern constituency, and leading to community projects that support over 2,500 people annually.

Our block grant funding for this Budget is derived from the UK Government's spending decisions and has fallen by 1.2% in real terms since 2022-23 – a real terms drop of £0.5 billion. The reality is that the amount Scotland has available to spend is still largely driven by the block grant set by successive UK Governments whose constraint of public expenditure prolongs the austerity felt by public services. We fully recognise that all difficult funding decisions have an impact and while there is significant pressure across all Scottish Government budgets in 2024-25, we have reviewed funding options and have identified budget resource for the Mark Scott Awards for 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-24547

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it expects to publish findings from the review into the operation of minimum unit pricing.

Question reference: S6W-24543

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out regarding any impact that minimum unit pricing has had on the increase in revenue to large retailers who sell alcohol.

The Public Health Scotland final MUP evaluation report (published 27 June 2023) concluded that the evidence on the impact of the post MUP changes in price and sales on revenues of retailers and producers is mixed. The section on “The alcoholic drinks industry in Scotland” in the report by Scottish Ministers on the operation and effect of minimum unit pricing of alcohol (published on 20 September 2023) sets out the impact that minimum unit pricing (MUP) has had on retailers of alcoholic drinks (including large retailers), producers and wholesalers. The report by Scottish Ministers states:

“According to the final evaluation report:

Quantitative analysis of sales data shows an overall increase in the monetary value of off-trade alcohol sales, with increases in sale price compensating for declines in sale volumes for retailers, while the effect on producers’ revenues was negative, but was considered by some, but not all, interviewees to be small. While no participants in the qualitative interviews reported any changes in employment or facilities owing to MUP some reported that individual retailers had been affected adversely, with at least some of the variation likely to be due to the extent to which the products made/sold were affected by MUP. Large retailers did not report any change in revenue or profits due to MUP, but convenience stores were more likely to have noted a decrease in revenue and profits, particularly if they previously relied on high-strength, low-cost alcohol products. There was limited evidence that any potential increase in revenue for retailers had been passed on to producers. While the sales data show an overall increase in revenue from alcohol, it was not possible to determine the impact on profit. Analysis of quantitative data finds little evidence of MUP having material impacts on five key metrics of business performance [the number of enterprises and business units; employment; turnover; gross value added (GVA); and output value] on any of the main sectors of the industry in Scotland. (PHS 2023: 56)”

Question reference: S6W-24618

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns regarding the indefinite detention of some prisoners in Scotland, whether it is reviewing the application of the Order for Lifelong Restriction introduced in 2008, particularly in relation to reported cases where prisoners sentenced for minor offences have been detained for over 15 years without a release date; what measures are in place to ensure that (a) social workers and (b) psychologists involved in any such cases are accountable for their recommendations and decisions regarding such prisoners, and what steps are being taken to ensure (i) transparency of and (ii) accountability for any decisions affecting such prisoners, particularly in light of the reported removal of courses previously offered to work towards release.

Orders for Lifelong Restriction (OLRs) are a long-standing valuable sentencing option for courts to use for the most dangerous offenders. The OLR is an exceptional risk based sentence which is only used by the most senior judges in Scotland in the High Court following a risk assessment process carried out by accredited experts.

In order for the High Court to impose an OLR, they must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the nature of, or the circumstances of the commission of, the offence of which the convicted person has been found guilty - either in the circumstances themselves or as part of a pattern of behaviour - are such as to demonstrate that there is a likelihood that he or she, if at liberty, will seriously endanger the lives, or physical or psychological well-being, of members of the public at large.

Decisions on the release of OLR prisoners are taken by the Parole Board for Scotland. New rules were introduced last year which require that the latest Risk Management Plan (RMP) or the Risk Assessment Report is available to the Board when consideration is made for the release of a person subject to an OLR. The Board will only direct release when they are satisfied that imprisonment is no longer necessary for the protection of the public but in circumstances where their decision differs from the recommendations in the RMP, they must provide a reason for that decision.

The Risk Management Authority (RMA) have a legislative responsibility around the evaluation and approval of RMPs and can make recommendations around the role of social work and psychologists involved in those cases. The RMA have produced evidence-based Standards and Guidelines for Risk Assessment and Management to support criminal justice partners in consistent risk practice. Last year, they also published extensive research into the Order for Lifelong Restriction sentence, a report which is available on their website, and the Scottish Government continues to reflect on these findings.

Professional standards bodies such as the Scottish Social Services Council sets out national standards of conduct and practice that apply to all social service workers and their employers.

Over the last few years, there have been changes to pilot delivery of two new national offender programmes, an expanded Self-Change programme to address intimate partner violence and sexual offending and a redesigned Moving Forward to Change (MF2C) sex offender programme. It is expected that MF2C will support a greater throughput of prisoners through the programme, optimising access to it.

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