Question reference: S5W-33359
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 18 November 2020
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 December 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify the methodology of the daily and weekly update statistics published by the Scottish Prison Service regarding prisoners who either have COVID-19 or are self-isolating, in light of the daily update on 17 November 2020 stating that 38 people were self-isolating and the weekly update published on 13 November 2020 stating that 591 people were self-isolating.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS currently publishes a daily update on our website which includes:
- The number of people who are self-isolating in our prisons;
- The number of prisons that this total is held across; and
- The number of people in our care who have tested positive for COVID-19.
SPS also publishes a weekly update of this data. This is published on a Monday, and details the position of the previous Friday. This data is broken down to establishment level. Information on the impact of COVID on staffing levels is also provided as part of this weekly update.
The reason for the difference in the figures is because a large number of people were self-isolating as a precautionary measure at HMP Barlinnie on Friday 13 November came out of isolation over the weekend and therefore the number on Monday 17 November was significantly reduced.