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-07099

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Prison Service staff ending their service before they have used their quota of Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) are compensated financially for these hours and, if not, what savings are made from unclaimed TOIL.

Question reference: S1W-07102

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of officers leave the Scottish Prison Service annually due to (a) retirements through age, (b) ill health and (c) other reasons.

Question reference: S1W-07101

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers in the Scottish Prison Service are on salary levels such that they are eligible for Family Credit.

Question reference: S1W-07100

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what are (a) the establishment of prison officers at each of the Scottish prisons, (b) the numbers of prison officers at each of the Scottish prisons for the last five years and (c) the staff shortage nationally, expressed as a percentage of the establishment for the last five years.

The attached table shows, for prison officers, the establishment and staff in post (SIP) on 1 April, insofar as past data are available. In no year has there been a shortage.

Number of Prison Officers at each Establishment within the Scottish Prison Service for 1996-1997

	1996		1997
	April SIP	Complement	April SIP	Complement
HMP Aberdeen	124		126
HMP Barlinnie	440		473
HMP Castle Huntly	57		58
HMPI Cornton Vale	169		180
HMPYOI Dumfries	134		129
HMP Dungavel	55		57
HMP Edinburgh	370		370
HMP Friarton	43		46
HMP & YOI Glenochil	374		377
HMP Greenock	135		135
HMP Inverness	89		82
HMRI Longriggend	147		145
HMP Low Moss	138		130
HMP Noranside	58		58
HMP Penninghame	28		28
HMP Perth	342		324
HMP Peterhead	198		195
HM Unit Peterhead	19		19
HMYOI Polmont	264		271
HMP Shotts	321		320
HMNIC Shotts	39		35
HM Unit Shotts	25		25
SPS College	35		36
HMP Zeist
Total	3,604	3,547	3,619	3,452

Number of Prison Officers at each Establishment within the Scottish Prison Service for 1998-2000

	1998		1999		2000
	April SIP	Complement	April SIP	Complement	April SIP	Complement
HMP Aberdeen	132	134	136	130	131	130
HMP Barlinnie	495	498	512	496	482	496
HMP Castle Huntly	57	54	53	54	63	54
HMPI Cornton Vale	168	193	196.5	195	189	196
HMPYOI Dumfries	138	126	128	127	127	127
HMP Dungavel	65	66	67	67	56	62
HMP Edinburgh	405	399	399	398	387	403
HMP Friarton	43	41	39	41		*1
HMP & YOI Glenochil	382	386	384	385	380	384
HMP Greenock	139	141	142	146	143	145
HMP Inverness	91	83	86	82	84	77
HMRI Longriggend	139	146	138	141	112	*2
HMP Low Moss	134	128	131	128	120	129
HMP Noranside	56	52	52	52	51	51
HMP Penninghame	31	26	27	26		*3
HMP Perth	333	311	308	313	338	349
HMP Peterhead	207	204	203	203	206	206
HM Unit Peterhead	19	19	14	19		*4
HMYOI Polmont	280	279	279	274	263	279
HMP Shotts	325	318	324	318	354	355
HMNIC Shotts	39	34	35	35		*5
HM Unit Shotts	23	20	20	20		*5
SPS College	30	25	30	25	25	25
HMP Zeist					46	40
Total	3,731	3,683	3,703.5	3,675	3,557	3,508

N.B. The figures above include Residential/Operations/Regimes Officers & Operational First Line Managers

Notes:

*1. HMP Friarton now merged with HMP Perth and figures are included in Perth's.

*2. HMPI Longriggend has been closed.

*3. HMP Penninghame has been closed.

*4. HMNIC Shotts and HM Unit Shotts are now both merged with HMP Shotts and figures are included in HMP Shotts.

Question reference: S1W-07098

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been a moratorium on recruitment for the Scottish Prison Service and, if so, for how long it will operate and until what date.

Question reference: S1W-05005

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been involved in consultations on the environmental effect of the shelling of the Cape Wrath range by the United States Navy.

Question reference: S1W-05477

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 28 April 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to alter accommodation or build new accommodation for any of its existing or proposed departments.

The Scottish Executive has no current plans to build new accommodation. Significant alterations to accommodation are taking place in St Andrew's House, which is being refurbished, and in the fit-out of a new leased building, the Europa Building, in Glasgow. A range of minor accommodation changes take place every year to match office layouts to Departmental requirements.

Option appraisals will also take place on the replacement of temporary accommodation in Stornoway which is approaching the end of it's useful life, and leases which are coming to an end in Perth.

Question reference: S1W-05535

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 5 April 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in order to promote economic development and protect jobs in the Prestwick area, it made any representations to the Department of Trade and Industry or Her Majesty's Treasury requesting them to expedite the authorisation of a repayable launch investment loan to BAE systems for the development of the A3XX aircraft.

Question reference: S1W-05078

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 27 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to address the Committee of Public Accounts' finding in its July 1999 report The NHS in Scotland: making the most of the estate and other issues, that in 1997 29% of NHS buildings in Scotland did not comply with safety and statutory standards.

The Scottish Executive introduced a Safety and Statutory Standards Action Plan in December 1999. The Action Plan was agreed with the Health and Safety Executive. The Action Plan commits the Scottish Executive to the monitoring of compliance. Where there is cause for concern, the Department will carry out an investigation by calling for further information from the body and considering that alongside the body's Property Strategy and any other relevant documentation, e.g. their health and safety action plan. If the Scottish Executive's concerns cannot be satisfactorily addressed, then the Department and/or the NHS body may seek advice from HSE.

NHS in Scotland bodies will be asked shortly to provide details of the performance of their property as at April 2000. This will include compliance with statutory standards. Bodies will also be asked to identify the year on year targets they have agreed and included in their Property Strategies for 2000-2005 for improvements in the performance of their essential building area, including statutory standards.

Based on information provided by NHS Trusts and other NHS in Scotland bodies last year the percentage of essential building area fully compliant with safety and statutory standards has increased from 71% in 1997 to 77% in 1999.

Question reference: S1W-05077

Asked by: Colin Campbell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 27 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been invested in the last two financial years (a) in each NHS Trust and (b) nationally on (i) backlogged maintenance on fabric and services; (ii) medical equipment replacement; (iii) X-ray equipment; (iv) vehicles, including mobile dental units and patient mini-buses; (v) portable equipment for all support services; (vi) IT equipment; (vii) energy conservation measures, and what the total national spending was in each of these categories in 1994-95 and 1995-96.

Retirement through age	1.2%
Ill health	0.5%
Other reasons	8.6%