Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-14628

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 2 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued to local authorities to help maintain and develop robust arrangements for monitoring incidents of violence and antisocial behaviour against school staff, as referred to in Better Behaviour in Scotland's Schools: Policy Update 2004.

In January 2004 I tasked a reviewgroup, headed by Professor Pamela Munn and Mr Jim Martin, formerly of the EIS, toconsider the most effective way to gather information on indiscipline in schools.I made the advice of the group public in October 2004, in the Executive’s policyupdate on Better Behaviour in Scottish Schools.

I am committed to ensuring thatthere is accurate information on the extent of incidents of indiscipline in schools,by a regular national survey of teachers and pupils. I also stated that local authoritiesmust have in place robust arrangements for monitoring incidents of indiscipline.Local authorities use a range of management information systems to record data inschools.

In addition local authorities,as employers, are responsible for meeting the statutory requirements for reportingincidents affecting health and safety at work.

Question reference: S2W-14631

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 2 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education to publish details of the standards of behaviour and attendance achieved across local authorities in its annual inspection report.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate ofEducation (HMIE) produces an annual report in which it reviews its progress in meetingits business objectives. One of its 2003-04 objectives was to report on progressin schools and authorities on implementing Better Behaviour – Better Learning.

On 2 March 2005 the Inspectorateproduced is report A Climate for Learning, in which it comments on the standardsof behaviour in schools observed and reported from school and authority inspectionsup to March 2004. It is intended that HMIE will periodically produce a report whichlooks at progress on Better Behaviour – Better Learning.

The Scottish Executive’s annual statistical publication on Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schoolsreports on school and authority-level attendance.

Question reference: S2W-14629

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 2 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out on the factors affecting teachers' decisions to leave the profession.

Question reference: S2W-14015

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 28 February 2005

Information has been collected on a whole time equivalent basis only since 2000. Before that, information was collected on a head count basis only. The available information is therefore shown in the table on a head count basis up to December 1999 and on a whole time equivalent basis from December 2000 onwards. Before 1975, when police forces were reorganised, information was collated on a national basis by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. Data for each pre-1975 force is not held centrally.

Number of Police Officers in Scotland

Force	31 Dec 1945	31 Dec 1955	31 Dec 1965	31 Dec 1975	31 Dec 1985
Central	n/a	n/a	n/a	483	550
Dumfries and Galloway	n/a	n/a	n/a	278	330
Fife	n/a	n/a	n/a	650	670
Grampian	n/a	n/a	n/a	821	970
Lothian and Borders	n/a	n/a	n/a	2,181	2,394
Northern	n/a	n/a	n/a	572	606
Strathclyde	n/a	n/a	n/a	6,478	6,816
Tayside	n/a	n/a	n/a	913	968
Total	5,862	7,729	10,175	12,376	13,304

Force	31 Dec 1986	31 Dec 1987	31 Dec 1988	31 Dec 1989	31 Dec 1990
Central	549	571	599	619	641
Dumfries and Galloway	338	348	347	348	357
Fife	725	741	751	754	753
Grampian	995	1,017	1,028	1,084	1,138
Lothian and Borders	2,442	2,414	2,397	2,486	2,463
Northern	610	607	615	625	632
Strathclyde	6,769	6,773	6,768	6,887,	6,804
Tayside	1,000	1,005	1,013	1,011	1,053
Total	13,428	13,476	13,518	13,814	13,841

Force	31 Dec 1991	31 Dec 1992	31 Dec 1993	31 Dec 1994	31 Dec 1995
Central	636	649	657	654	659
Dumfries and Galloway	370	387	386	390	392
Fife	775	786	786	789	791
Grampian	1,150	1,194	1,193	1,191	1181
Lothian and Borders	2,522	2,561	2,558	2,556	2536
Northern	633	636	658	643	648
Strathclyde	6,790	6,797	6,823	7,003	7,156
Tayside	1,047	1,084	1,078	1,087	1,116
Total	13,923	14,094	14,139	14,313	14,479

Force	31 Dec 1996	31 Dec 1997	31 Dec 1998	31 Dec 1999
Central	666	693	719	710
Dumfries and Galloway	402	441	446	453
Fife	825	852	841	825
Grampian	1,155	1,195	1,226	1,230
Lothian and Borders	2,661	2,699	2,621	2,581
Northern	636	645	667	658
Strathclyde	7,207	7,377	7,186	7,090
Tayside	1,120	1,148	1,148	1,137
Total	14,672	15,050	14,854	14,684

Force	31 Dec 2000	31 Dec 2001	31 Dec 2002	31 Dec 2003	31 Dec 2004
Central	717	710	728	756	795
Dumfries and Galloway	463	473	469	486	478
Fife	844	886	914	956	987
Grampian	1,237	1,256	1,248	1,311	1,373
Lothian and Borders	2,640	2,618	2,667	2,717	2,785
Northern	647	672	691	676	705
Strathclyde	7,168	7,226	7,294	7,431	7,615
Tayside	1,147	1,154	1,161	1,150	1,169
Total	14,863	14,995	15,170	15,483	15,908

Notes:

1. Sources: Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland Annual Reports in 1945, 1955 and 1965; and Quarterly Strength Return from forces for 1975 onwards.

2. Head count figures were collected up to December 2002. The head count totals for December 2000, December 2001 and December 2002 are 14,948, 15,093 and 15,287 respectively.

Question reference: S2W-14018

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 22 February 2005

The information requested for 1945 to 1975 is given for Scotland in table 1. During 1975, 20 Scottish police forces were reorganised into the eight current police forces. Figures for police force areas comparable with those after 1975 are therefore not available. The requested information for 1985 and 1986 is given in table 2. For the years from 1987, the data has been published annually in the Recorded Crime Statistical Bulletin. Table 3 details the table number and Bib. number for each publication, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Table 1: Number of Offences Recorded by the Police in Scotland in Specified Years, 1945 to 1975

1945	1955	1965	1975¹
75,596	120,979	224,260	293,629

Note: 1. Data for 1975 is incomplete due to local government reorganisation.

Table 2: Number of Offences Recorded by the Police in Scotland by Police Force Area, 1985 and 1986

Police Force Area	1985	1986
All Scotland	338,410	358,533
Central	17,533	18,185
Dumfries and Galloway	14,136	13,171
Fife	20,307	21,210
Grampian	38,275	40,628
Lothian and Borders	46,637	48,034
Northern	19,132	21,782
Strathclyde	153,575	166,361
Tayside	28,815	29,162

Table 3: Bib. Numbers and Table Numbers for Published Statistics for Recorded Offences by Police Force Area, 1987 to 2003

Title	Bib. Number	Table Number
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1987	35176	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1988	35177	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1989	35178	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1990	35179	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1991	35180	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1992	35181	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1993	35182	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1994	35183	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1995	35184	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1996	35185	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1997	24795	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1998	35186	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1999	7079	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2000	13119	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2001	20798	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2002	27678	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2003	33018	4A

Question reference: S2W-14017

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 22 February 2005

The information requested for 1945 to 1975 is given for Scotland in table 1. During 1975, 20 Scottish police forces were reorganised into the eight current police forces. Figures for police force areas comparable with those after 1975 are therefore not available. The requested information for 1985 and 1986 is given in table 2. For the years from 1987, the data has been published annually in the Recorded Crime Statistical Bulletin. Table 3 details the table number and Bib. number for each publication, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Table 1: Number of Crimes Recorded by the Police in Scotland in Specified Years, 1945 to 1975

1945	1955	1965	1975¹
86,075	74,773	140,141	281,485

Note: 1. Data for 1975 is incomplete due to local government reorganisation.

Table 2: Number of Crimes Recorded by the Police by Police Force Area, 1985 and 1986

Police Force	1985	1986
All Scotland	457,899	458,605
Central	19,986	20,295
Dumfries and Galloway	7,132	7,280
Fife	23,186	23,112
Grampian	33,093	37,161
Lothian and Borders	82,519	78,606
Northern	11,888	12,173
Strathclyde	248,448	245,240
Tayside	31,647	34,738

Table 3: Bib. Numbers and Table Numbers for Published Statistics for Recorded Crimes by Police Force Area, 1987 to 2003

Title	Bib. Number	Table Number
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1987	35176	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1988	35177	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1989	35178	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1990	35179	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1991	35180	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1992	35181	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1993	35182	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1994	35183	5
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1995	35184	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1996	35185	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1997	24795	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1998	35186	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 1999	7079	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2000	13119	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2001	20798	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2002	27678	4A
Recorded Crime in Scotland 2003	33018	4A

Question reference: S2W-14003

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by John Scott on 22 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will investigate systems that will improve ventilation of the smoking room at Holyrood for the benefit of smokers and non-smokers alike and, if so, when.

The air change rate in thesmoking room is 32 litres/second/person and is in line with recommended ratesfor smoking rooms as specified by the CIBSE (Chartered Institute of BuildingServices Engineers). Improvements are currently being addressed by RMJM who aredesigning two additional filters, a carbon filter and an electrostatic filter.The carbon filter will reduce the smell of smoke outside the room and theelectrostatic filter will improve air quality within the smoking room.

Question reference: S2W-13858

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated for asylum seeker costs or support to each local authority in each year since 1997.

The Scottish Executive has not allocated any additional resources to local authorities specifically for asylum seeker costs or support. However, over £7 million has been provided since 2001 for projects promoting integration of refugees and asylum seekers.The Home Office is responsible for providing support to asylum seekers. However, from 1999 to 2003 the Scottish Executive paid grants to local authorities, on behalf of the Home Office, to cover support costs of asylum seekers who arrived prior to the establishment of the National Asylum Support Service. The full costs of these grants were reimbursed to the Scottish Executive by the Home Office. The breakdown of the payments is provided in the answer to question S2W-13857 on 9 February 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-13798

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 9 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much International Review of the Health and Economic Impact of the Regulation of Smoking in Public Places cost to produce.

Question reference: S2W-13799

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 9 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much Passive Smoking and Associated Causes of Death in Adults in Scotland cost to produce.

Chamber and committees