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: S2W-25661

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 12 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people travelled by bus on the A85 Perth to Crieff/Comrie route in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S2W-24718

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 27 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many diversion from prosecution schemes are operating, broken down by local authority area.

The Executive provides fundingof over £1 million per year to local authorities in Scotland to supportschemes designed to divert accused persons to social work and other social workagencies. In line with national guidance, these schemes, which currently operatein all local authority areas, target one or more particular type of accused (femaleaccused, accused of a young age, accused with mental illness, drug or alcohol misusingaccused).

Question reference: S2W-24719

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 27 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diverted into diversion from prosecution schemes in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

The available information ondiversions from prosecution to social work interventions is given in the followingtable.

Number of Criminal Justice SocialWork Diversion from Prosecution Cases Commenced, by Local Authority, 2001-02 to2004-05

Local Authority	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Aberdeen City	20	34	50	30
Aberdeenshire	28	30	26	40
Angus	7	45	20	31
Argyll and Bute	7	5	3	6
Clackmannanshire	12	19	18	19
Dumfries and Galloway	34	33	-	20
Dundee City	-	79	35	6
East Ayrshire	15	8	3	2
East Dunbartonshire	3	13	12	1
East Lothian	22	6	23	32
East Renfrewshire	1	-	2	3
Edinburgh, City of	101	81	248	271
Eilean Siar	3	-	5	2
Falkirk	6	52	117	52
Fife	61	68	80	30
Glasgow City	43	42	128	25
Highland	14	25	71	13
Inverclyde	21	14	14	6
Midlothian¹	-	-	-	-
Moray	15	22	-	4
North Ayrshire	15	9	7	30
North Lanarkshire	72	41	93	104
Orkney Islands	10	6	7	13
Perth and Kinross	95	65	46	2
Renfrewshire	39	20	17	11
Scottish Borders	20	9	19	37
Shetland Islands	3	10	2	12
South Ayrshire	10	14	9	8
South Lanarkshire	82	134	126	111
Stirling	6	24	41	37
West Dunbartonshire	21	30	16	10
West Lothian	90	77	102	96
Scotland	876	1,015	1,340	1,064

Note: 1. Midlothian buyinto Edinburgh for this service since there is no sheriff court in theirauthority.

Question reference: S2W-24717

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring the effectiveness of guidance to police officers to involve an appropriate adult to provide support and assurance for victims, witnesses or accused persons who have a mental health problem.

The Scottish Executive is representedon the Scottish Appropriate Adult Network, along with several other organisations,including the police and appropriate adult scheme co-ordinators. This group is takingforward the 72 recommendations of Dr Lindsay Thomson’s report into Appropriate AdultSchemes, and this includes updating the guidance. A summary of the research findingscan be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/crf78-00.asp.

Question reference: S2W-24716

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what training is given to police officers to help them identify and deal with people with mental health issues in the course of their duties.

It is important that all policeofficers have a basic understanding of mental health law and how it relates to themas officers and society as a whole. Each force has its own internal equal opportunityawareness training to assist staff involved in community liaison or community safetyroles. This training is augmented by training at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan,which provides a wider understanding of mental health law, the appropriate adultscheme and the complex issues surrounding the policing of a diverse society.

Question reference: S2W-24438

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been detained by the police under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 since the Act came into force, broken down by police force; with what offences they were charged; what average length of time they were held under the Act, and how many were held in (a) prison, (b) hospital and (c) other secure accommodation.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003 came into effect on 5October 2005. Police do not have the power to detain people underthis legislation and, where persons are charged and receive a mental health disposalthey will not end up in prison. The MentalWelfare Commission for Scotland, which has a duty to monitor the operation of the2003 act, is notified of all orders made under the act and may be able to providefurther information.

Question reference: S2W-24439

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 30 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to public bodies in respect of the recruitment of people with mental health problems.

Question reference: S2W-24440

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 30 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it and public bodies monitor the recruitment of people with mental health problems.

The Scottish Executive participatesin the Positive about Disabled People scheme. Staff and applicants to the Scottish Executive are invited to self-declare any disability, physical or mental,that they may have both during the recruitment process and in the workplace. the Executive monitors those applicants and staff who have self-declared a disabilitythroughout the recruitment process and their career.

The recruitment of people withmental health problems by public bodies is not currently monitored by the ScottishExecutive. It is for individual public bodies to monitor their own recruitment practicesin accordance with employment law.

Question reference: S2W-24204

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 27 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided for expanding research and development in dental laboratories in each year since 1995.

Question reference: S2W-24213

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 27 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many units of dental activity were carried out by dental laboratories in Scotland in each year since 1995.