Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 29 January 2025.
Richard Leonard
Labour
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent death by suicide in prison. (S6O-04260)
Angela Constance
Scottish National Party
First, I express my deepest condolences to anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide while they have been in prison. Suicide is preventable and should not happen while people are in the care of the state.
The Scottish Government has accepted Sheriff Collins’s recent fatal accident inquiry findings, which form a comprehensive set of actions to deliver the systemic change that is needed. We and the Scottish Prison Service are committed to delivering the changes that were set out to the Parliament last week. We are prioritising establishing national oversight, overhauling the talk to me strategy, accelerating ligature prevention and improving information sharing between partners.
Richard Leonard
Labour
The prison suicide rate in Scotland is more than twice as high as it is in England and Wales and three and a half times the European median.
Last week, in the wake of the tragic and avoidable deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay, the Cabinet secretary told us that
“the development of suicide prevention technology will be accelerated and, if viable, piloted and reviewed.”—[Official Report, 22 January 2025; c 53.]
We now know that, back in 2019, plans to make cells suicide proof were abandoned by the then Cabinet Secretary for Justice on the grounds of cost.
When the cabinet secretary speaks of “viability”, will she consider viability as measured by the value of human lives rather than the price of prevention technology? Will she think of Katie Allan and William Lindsay? Will it be different this time?
Angela Constance
Scottish National Party
In short, yes, it will be different. I fully accept the determinations made by Sheriff Simon Collins, as I hope that I made clear to Parliament last week when I laid out the immediate and short-term actions that I will pursue. I also gave a commitment to come back to the Parliament in March to give a fuller delivery plan and timescale.
I reassure Mr Leonard that, despite everything that has gone on in the past week in the world of justice, home affairs and resilience with storm Éowyn, I have been following up and pursuing matters with the Prison Service and my officials to ensure that we come good on the commitments that I made to the chamber and to the families of Katie Allan and William Lindsay.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
