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: S1O-03811

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review its contractual arrangements with Premier Prison Service with regard to the running of HM Prison Kilmarnock in light of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland's Report for 2000-01.

Question reference: S1O-03730

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 6 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3640 by Mr Tom McCabe on 28 June 2001, on what date it last discussed the operation of the Scotland Act 1998 with Her Majesty's Government.

Question reference: S1W-17552

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the figures of (a) #35 and (b) #63, as originally set by the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 and revised by the Diligence Against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 as the level of net weekly earnings below which no reduction in respect of earnings arrestments may be made, would be currently if they had been updated in line with (i) average earnings and (ii) prices.

The threshold below which all earnings are exempt from arrestment is set in relation to benefits. The level of £35 per week initially set out in the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 was approximately half way between the short-term supplementary benefit rate for a single person and that for a couple. The 1995 recalculation on the same basis used income support rates, which took the place of supplementary benefits. At current rates of income support the threshold would be £70 per week. The level of the 1987 and 1995 thresholds if they had been based on (i) average earnings and (ii) prices would be as shown in the following table. The Executive has revised the thresholds as part of its on-going diligence review and intends to propose revisions in due course.

	Average Earnings Index¹	Retail Price Index²
£35	£71.09	£58.49
£63	£78.31	£71.96

Source of indices: Office for National Statistics.Notes:1. Not seasonally adjusted.2. All items.

Question reference: S1W-16576

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 24 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether pigeon racing will be classed as a sport and, if so, when.

Question reference: S1W-16661

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current procedures are at HM Prison Kilmarnock for referrals of those involved in attempted suicides or self-harming and, in particular, whether such cases are automatically referred to the mental health nurse at the prison.

Question reference: S1W-16659

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been lodged about the health centre at HM Prison Kilmarnock since it opened and what the source was of each complaint.

Question reference: S1W-16658

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the turnover of medical staff in HM Prison Kilmarnock was in each year since it opened.

Question reference: S1W-16657

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days of sick leave have been taken by medical staff in HM Prison Kilmarnock in each of the last two years.

Question reference: S1W-16656

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of security there have been in the health centre in HM Prison Kilmarnock in each year since it opened.

Question reference: S1W-16655

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many grievances have been lodged against the management of the health centre at HM Prison Kilmarnock since it opened, what the nature of each grievance has been and what the outcome was in each case.