Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-28770

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24348 by Mr Jim Wallace on 26 August 2002, whether it receives information from the operators of HM Prison Kilmarnock on staffing.

Question reference: S1W-28776

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27913 by Mr Jim Wallace on 22 August 2002, why the grade of staff is not a relevant consideration for the cost of staff.

Question reference: S1W-27637

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what value of sheriff court fines was outstanding on 31 March 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, in total and broken down by sheriff court.

The information requested is shown in the following tables. The values are the total value of imposed fines which have not yet been paid plus any remaining balance on fines which are being paid by instalments. Not all of this will be due to fines in default as a large proportion could be within their valid payment period.Outstanding Balance of Sheriff Court Fines as at 31 March, 1998-2002 (£s)

Sheriff Court	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Aberdeen	715,614	534,258	457,679	431,656	524,565
Airdrie	334,915	314,660	323,260	340,399	384,256
Alloa	83,285	89,978	79,996	87,803	97,113
Arbroath	132,193	139,521	120,398	115,798	112,063
Ayr	292,726	249,424	238,330	254,193	269,330
Banff	50,604	57,301	45,188	77,973	64,709
Campbeltown	49,700	50,645	44,944	48,201	30,907
Cupar	49,649	40,063	32,478	45,203	42,832
Dingwall	50,205	67,616	60,254	55,253	52,019
Dornoch	24,586	20,671	29,155	27,508	31,985
Dumbarton	241,210	184,739	216,123	201,231	212,324
Dumfries	229,539	244,059	213,127	227,680	200,722
Dundee	378,649	352,420	349,961	372,722	374,870
Dunfermline	352,341	318,609	285,520	258,921	252,694
Dunoon	43,230	34,871	28,690	39,889	41,602
Duns	27,866	22,852	29,290	N/A	59,887
Edinburgh	1,286,803	1,339,710	1,277,953	1,544,831	1,556,178
Elgin	151,612	157,792	198,520	188,274	221,538
Falkirk	352,734	346,135	385,426	402,623	407,634
Forfar	54,865	59,254	58,250	57,802	186,752
Fort william	52,566	49,575	39,828	35,961	42,003
Glasgow	2,041,674	2,026,906	2,178,475	1,926,508	2,053,024
Greenock	181,230	149,364	178,301	182,060	199,091
Haddington	79,123	78,764	91,105	77,317	91,308
Hamilton	717,579	701,142	742,585	641,287	667,649
Inverness	180,068	173,013	165,184	171,331	199,851
Jedburgh	50,275	30,703	40,650	70,461	81,984
Kilmarnock	479,540	582,968	479,524	463,117	509,697
Kirkcaldy	316,731	316,236	264,938	274,792	297,005
Kirkcudbright	71,865	80,268	73,978	55,315	53,293
Kirkwall	35,028	41,943	35,281	38,666	31,349
Lanark	163,839	140,523	127,899	101,119	86,180
Lerwick	63,315	64,390	38,963	30,374	28,062
Linlithgow	366,244	336,171	330,036	350,285	310,300
Lochmaddy	8,290	4,851	2,830	5,572	5,210
Oban	61,514	47,822	47,763	42,568	42,019
Paisley	707,034	693,382	587,053	579,736	577,097
Peebles	11,942	14,480	25,155	15,378	16,907
Perth	228,498	244,627	217,537	229,480	269,293
Peterhead	135,177	112,972	87,377	98,281	109,984
Portree	7,870	9,948	11,258	10,466	5,282
Rothesay	16,106	11,696	7,482	13,919	11,058
Selkirk	27,752	36,025	26,329	35,193	63,733
Stirling	165,007	149,843	109,664	135,943	134,431
Stonehaven	41,795	40,640	35,680	31,380	31,832
Stornoway	72,325	39,245	32,993	43,317	38,204
Stranraer	190,300	170,397	246,409	259,490	246,695
Tain	72,350	85,062	82,548	82,014	90,179
Wick	48,495	47,167	49,566	46,786	117,223
Total	11,495,856	11,104,701	10,830,935	10,826,077	11,533,923

Question reference: S1W-27721

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19366 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 November 2001, whether it will give a breakdown of the table in Appendix 7 to the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2000-01 and the table in Appendix 6 of the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2001-02 on "breaches of discipline committed and punishments awarded in establishments " to show how many times disciplinary action was taken against prisoners in each prison, including HM Prison Kilmarnock, in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

Question reference: S1W-28820

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has held, or now holds, on past political activity of members of its staff and staff of the Scottish Prison Service.

Question reference: S1W-28778

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27874 by Mr Jim Wallace on 22 August 2002, why incidents incurring penalty points under paragraph 2.2(g) of schedule F of the contract for HM Prison Kilmarnock occurring together with incidents incurring penalty points under paragraph 2.2(h) are treated as a single incident when there is no indication in the contract that this will be the case.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:When a prisoner tests positive for more than one substance, the application of multiple disciplinary offences is not in the SPS's view helpful in encouraging individuals to give up drugs. Treating a positive test for more than one substance as a single event for the purposes of applying performance points is consistent with this approach.

Question reference: S1W-28771

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-27013 and S1W-27863 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 July and 21 August 2002 respectively, why performance measure points had to be converted back into number of incidents to answer parliamentary questions if the Scottish Prison Service keeps a record of the number of incidents incurring performance measure points.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Because the answer given to question S1W-27013 referred to an earlier response to question S1W-26061, performance points were converted back to ensure that the details of the number of assaults in each category were correct. Neither the raw data available on each incident nor the overall number of performance points incurred in respect of Schedule F for each period gave the response to the question which was asked.

Question reference: S1W-28777

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27920 by Mr Jim Wallace on 22 August 2002, how incidents in HM Prison Kilmarnock incurring performance points are recorded when there is no Scottish Prison Service controller present in the prison.

Question reference: S1W-28844

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26764 by Cathy Jamieson on 27 June 2002, whether the information requested in respect of 2000-01 is now available.

Information on children residential care for 2000-01 was published on 2 September, and is available via the Scottish Executive website using the link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00191-00.asp. This includes information on children in secure accommodation, namely (a) admissions during 2000-01 by gender, (b) length of stay of residents on 31 March 2001 and (c) length of stay of children discharged from secure accommodation during 2000-01. On 31 March 2001, there were 63 boys and 23 girls in secure accommodation for children. The other information requested is given in the following table.Children Admitted to Secure Units: by Reason for Placement

Reason for Placement (see Codelist Below)	Children Admitted During 2000-01	Children Resident on 31 March 2001
Code 91	0	0
Code 92	1	2
Code 93	7	5
Code 94	69	24
Code 95	72	22
Code 96	25	16
Code 97	31	11
Code 99	13	6
Not known	0	0
Total	218	86

Codelist for placement reasons91. Order made under section 44(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.92. Order made under section 205 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.93. Order made under section 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.94. Order made under section 70(9) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, to which is attached a condition authorising use of Secure Accommodation.95. A Place of Safety Order or Warrant made under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, authorising the use of Secure Accommodation.96. Where committal to a Place of Safety or other temporary detention is made under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.97. The authority of the Director of Social Work and the person in charge of the establishment, pending the convening of a Children's Hearing to consider the case.99. Other.

Question reference: S1W-28821

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what performance indicators the pay of the members of the Scottish Prison Service Board is related to.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The SPS Board, as members of the Senior Civil Service, are set appropriate performance targets following discussion between the individual and their line manager, related to the role the individual performs and are linked to the agency's business aims and objectives including the SPS key performance indicators set out in the SPS Annual Report.