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

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards.

In accordance with relevant legislation, including UK GDPR and UK Employment Law, SPS already undertakes a broad range of suitability and vetting checks on those who apply to work for SPS. These include right to work in the UK, criminal conviction checks and a range of vetting procedures which are undertaken against SPS systems and information sources to assess suitability for employment.

SPS’s pre-employment checks exceed the minimum requirements under the UK Government Baseline Personnel Security Standards, which set the standards for employment within the UK Civil Service.

SPS continually assesses the suitability of its recruitment practices to identify and respond to emerging risks. Where necessary, steps are taken to mitigate these as part of our commitment to maintaining the safety and security of our prisons.

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

Whilst SPS do not require prison officer applicants to complete a specific English language proficiency test as part of its recruitment process; verbal, written and comprehension skills are tested thoroughly throughout this operational recruitment process.

All applicants must successfully undergo and pass a comprehensive period of testing which includes a situational judgement test, cognitive ability test, a group and written exercise (for Residential Officer applicants only), and then finally a values-based job interview.

All offers of employment will however be subject to successful completion of all pre-employment checks, which include enhanced disclosure and right to work in the UK checks.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42112 on 8 December 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42112 on 8 December 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

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

SPS recognise the impact that any restriction of regime can have on those in our care, and that is why all restrictions are applied to support a safe and secure environment for both staff and prisoners.

Regime restrictions are often spontaneous in nature and implemented as a last resort, they can however, on occasion, result in the temporary closure or reduced capacity in some work parties. On extremely rare occasions, access to education services may be affected, this however would never be the norm.

In all instances SPS ensure that all decisions are compliant with the Prison and Young Offenders Rules (Scotland) 2011 and do not limit family contact, either through an in person visit or via contact using in cell telephones.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42112 on 8 December 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

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

SPS recognise the impact that any restriction of regime can have on those in our care, and that is why all restrictions are applied to support a safe and secure environment for both staff and prisoners.

Rather than using quantitative measures such as thresholds, Governors in Charge make a determination based on local factors such as prison stability and staffing levels.

Due to the often-spontaneous nature of regime restrictions, SPS do not routinely formally record instances of regime restrictions, length of restriction or specific reason for restrictions.

In all instances SPS ensure that all decisions are compliant with the Prison and Young Offenders Rules (Scotland) 2011 and do not limit family contact, either through an in person visit or via contact using in cell telephones.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41873 on 27 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41873 on 27 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Ministers are not members of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group and therefore do not attend meetings. However, Ministers are regularly informed on the Group’s discussions and the Minister for Victims and Community Safety and I met with the co-chairs of the Group in October 2025 where we were provided with an update on its priorities, work to date and considerations on group-based child sexual abuse. The Group most recently met on 25 November 2025 and minutes of this meeting will be published on the Scottish Government’s website: https://www.gov.scot/groups/national-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-strategic-group/