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-26040

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are being made to allow young offenders to transfer to the open estate when it is deemed that a young offender is suitable for such transfer.

Question reference: S2W-26041

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the population of each of Scotland’s six cities was in each census year since 1951; what it is in each city now, and what it projects the population will be in each city in each census year up to 2051.

The following table sets outthe information for each of the six cities for all census years back to 1951and for the most recent year for which figures for these areas are available.

Population of Scotland's Cities:Census Years 1951 to 2001 and 2003

City	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2003
Glasgow¹	1,140,841	1,103,026	941,235	754,586	658,379	629,501	630,140
Edinburgh	466,761	468,361	453,584	408,822	400,632	430,082	430,440
Aberdeen	182,729	185,390	182,071	186,757	182,133	184,788	179,480
Dundee²	180,759	186,452	188,542	172,294	157,808	154,674	152,610
Inverness	28,107	29,774	34,839	38,204	40,918	40,949	40,470
Stirling³	26,962	27,551	29,776	36,640	29,768	32,673	32,710

Notes:

1. Includes Rutherglen andCambuslang for all years.

2. Includes Monifieth for allyears.

3. 1981 figure for Stirlingincludes Bannockburn.

Information on futureprojected populations is only available for local authority and NHS board areasand not for the areas in the table.

Question reference: S2W-25793

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder are held in each prison and, of these, how many are aged (i) under 16, (ii) 16 to 18, (iii) 19 to 25, (iv) 26 to 40 and (v) 41 and over.

I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

The information requested isnot available. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) undertakes health assessmentsof all prisoners on first admission into custody, which includes a mentalhealth screen. SPS relies heavily on the provision of information direct fromthe prisoner in terms of past health history or diagnoses. A specificassessment in respect of autistic spectrum disorder is not routinely undertaken.

Question reference: S2W-25985

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 31 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Deputy First Minister will reply to my letters of 26 January 2006 and 16 March 2006 regarding the Business Academy.

Question reference: S2W-26018

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 30 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether individual social workers must declare and register if they have any links to adoption agencies operating in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-26016

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 30 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidences of a child being taken into care have been linked to a parent of that child fabricating or inducing illness in the child, a process commonly referred to as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in each year since 1990.

Under the terms of the Children(Scotland) Act 1995, responsibility for the monitoring of children taken into careis a matter for local authorities. Children may be taken into care on a voluntarybasis and the Scottish Executive does not hold this data. Where it is consideredthat compulsion may be required local authorities may make a referral to the PrincipalReporter. Munchausen syndrome by proxy is not and has never been a ground for referral,as listed in section 52 of the act.

Question reference: S2W-25541

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Colin Boyd on 24 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23974 by Colin Boyd QC on 10 April 2006, whether any material evidence relating to the murder of Marion Ross in Kilmarnock in January 1997 has been misplaced or lost.

Question reference: S2W-25792

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to establish independent advocacy services for patients with autistic spectrum disorder within mental hospitals and how such services are structured to enable advocates to gain access to patients suffering from the disorder to enable those patients to make use of the new tribunals set up under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003places a duty on health boards and local authorities to ensure the provision ofappropriate independent advocacy service for all people with mental disorder includingthose with autistic spectrum disorder. The Scottish Executive is monitoring theprovision of advocacy services for all client group through the current mental healthdelivery indicators.

Question reference: S2W-25791

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder reside in (a) the State Hospital, Carstairs, and (b) mental hospitals in each NHS board area and, of these, how many are aged (i) under 16, (ii) 16 to 18, (iii) 19 to 25, (iv) 26 to 40 and (v) 41 and over.

Question reference: S2W-24579

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 22 May 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-23895 and S2W-23896 by Cathy Jamieson on 20 March 2006, whether “reliable information is readily available only from 1999” indicates that the Scottish Prison Service holds figures for the period prior to 1999 but that these are not as readily available as the figures for the period from 1999 and, if so, whether it will now provide the (a) staffing levels at the headquarters of the Scottish Prison Service and (b) number of prison officers employed, broken down by year between 1990 and 1999.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The only detailed records readilyavailable to us are from 2000 onwards, and previous questions (S2W-23895 and S2W-23896)were answered on that basis.

The only other readily availablesource of information prior to this date are the SPS Annual Reports and Accountsfor 1990 onwards, which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39624, 39625, 39626, 39627,39628, 39629, 39630, 34446).

All answersto written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, thesearch facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.