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: S4W-30317

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 17 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many drug users have become abstinent since the publication of The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland's Drug Problem in 2008.

It is not possible to say how many people have become abstinent since the publication of The Road to Recovery. Moving forward, we are currently working closely with Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland, national commissioned organisations, Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and services to develop a new data collection system (the drug and alcohol information system (DAISy)) which will collect and report on drug and alcohol treatment and outcomes information, including abstinence.

It is important to note, however, that recovery for some individuals is not the same as abstinence. The Road to Recovery set out the importance of developing a system of care which ensured that individuals were offered a treatment and recovery package that best met their needs and aspirations. To that end, we can report that for the last full year of data available (April 2014 to March 2015) 20,801 drug treatments were started for 16,915 people.

Question reference: S4W-30316

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 17 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what selection criteria were used for appointing each member of the Partnership for Action on Drugs in Scotland and to whom they will be accountable.

The work of the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission (DSDC) was concluded in November 2014. Since then, Scottish Government officials have been working closely with key stakeholders, including members of the former DSDC and other legacy groups, to develop a new Partnership for Action on Drugs in Scotland (PADS) group which will work collaboratively to lead and guide the sector going forward. This group was officially launched at its first meeting on 19 January 2016.

Consideration of membership for the PADS group reflected on the need to strike a balance between building on established sector wide expertise as well as incorporating new individuals who can bring a missing or fresh perspective. Where possible we sought to address equalities considerations and actively consider how those with lived experience can be engaged in the work.

PADS is directly accountable to the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs.

Question reference: S4O-05651

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2016
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that its drugs strategy, The Road to Recovery, is working effectively.

Question reference: S4W-29310

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 28 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Drug Strategy Delivery Commission was abolished and whether it plans to replace it.

Scottish Government officials, members of the Drug Strategy Delivery Commission (DSDC) and other stakeholders reviewed the functions of the commission as well as those of the other groups which made up the drugs advisory landscape at that time. A joint decision was taken that the original work of the DSDC had been concluded and that a new approach was required going forward.

The work of the DSDC was concluded in November 2014. Since then, Scottish Government officials have been working closely with key stakeholders to develop a new ‘Partnership for Action on Drugs in Scotland’ (PADS) group which will work collaboratively with us, while also leading and guiding the sector going forward. This group was officially launched at its first meeting on Tuesday 19 January 2016.

The PADS group will also oversee and direct three new groups which will focus on building recovery-centred communities and tackling stigma (led by Celia Tennant, Chief Executive of Inspiring Scotland); quality and consistency of service planning and delivery (led by Colin Sloey, Director of Strategic Planning and Performance and Deputy Chief Executive in NHS Lanarkshire and Chair of Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership); and minimising wider harms identified from problem drug use and to reduce drug-related deaths (led by Roy Robertson, Professor of Addiction Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and GP at Muirhouse Medical Group in Edinburgh).

Question reference: S4O-05503

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport last met the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Question reference: S4W-28923

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 20 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the Scottish Football Association has spent the funding that it has received under the proceeds of crime legislation in each year since 2008-09.

Details are provided in the following table. Information on each of the activities funded is available at

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/policies/community-engagement/cashback/CashBack-Initiatives.

	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16**
Soccer One/Two/Three	107,700	142,152	178,525	0	0	0	0	0
Street Football*	105,900	105,900	105,900	105,900	105,900	105,900	32,000	20,650
Midnight Leagues	103,000	103,000	103,000
Girls and Women's	99,000	71,975	99,000	107,335	213,000	213,000	213,000	94,625
Volunteer Development	84,156	342,059	342,059	335,495	243,718	259,985	240,179	116,890
Football Equity	0	0	0	2,873	151,273	182,080	171,318	79,953
School of Football	10,475	62,236	173,860	99,698	42,550	112,461	274,576	58,771
CashBack 7's	0	0	0	0	32,525	32,012	32,000	8,000
Management	10,415	36,343	36,343	36,343	36,343	36,343	52,870	31,435

*From 2011-12 street football and midnight leagues strands are reported in one line.

**Figures for 2015-16 are for the six months April to September 2015.

Question reference: S4W-29006

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many areas for improvement Healthcare Improvement Scotland has highlighted to each NHS board as part of its Older People in Acute Hospitals inspection programme in each year since 2012-13, broken down by (a) hospital inspected and (b) improvement category.

Question reference: S4W-28924

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many times it has underspent its budget since 2008-09; what the underspend was in each year, and how much of it was subsequently spent.

The cash underspend against HM Treasury Scottish budgets for each financial year since 2008-09 is provided in the following table. The underspend in each year has been carried forward in full to support expenditure plans in subsequent years.

	£ million
2014-15*	204
2013-14	176
2012-13	179
2011-12	179
2010-11	12
2009-10	119
2008-09	124

*Provisional outturn – the final outturn position will be confirmed with HM Treasury in January 2016.

Question reference: S4W-28915

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of people who received a drug treatment and testing order in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14 was drug free on completion of the order.

Drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs) are a high tariff disposal aimed at individuals with entrenched drug misuse problems who offend as a result of their addiction and would otherwise be facing a custodial sentence.

The aim of the DTTO is to reduce or eliminate an individual’s dependency or propensity to misuse drugs and thereby achieve reductions in drug-related offending. Orders last between six months and three years and combine drug treatment and a regular testing regime with four weekly reviews by sentencers. Individuals made subject to a DTTO are required to display significant levels of co-operation and compliance during what is a highly intensive and invasive community disposal.

Information on the number of people who were drug-free on completion of a DTTO is not held centrally.

However, the Scottish Government does collect information on the reconviction rates of those completing DTTOs within one year of completion of the order. Since 2002-03 the overall reconviction rate per 100 individuals completing DTTOs has fallen by nearly 18%.

The Scottish Government also collects information on the percentage of DTTOs which were successfully completed or discharged early and this shows that since 2002-03 this percentage has increased by nearly 13%.

The Scottish Government also collects information on the percentage of DTTOs which were revoked due to breach and this shows that since 2003-04 (the first year this information was collected) this has decreased by 45%.

Question reference: S4W-28913

Asked by: Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has (a) made or (b) received of the cost of problem drug use as defined on page 12 of its drug strategy paper, The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland's Drug Problem.

The Scottish Government published the research paper Assessing the Scale and Impact of Illicit Drug Markets in Scotland in 2009. This paper provided estimates of the size and value of the illicit drugs market as well as estimates of the economic and social cost of illicit drug use in Scotland for the year 2006.

The research paper estimated the total economic and social cost of illicit drug use in Scotland to be just under £3.5 billion in 2006 (using Treasury GDP deflators to present the figures in 2014-15 prices this would equate to £4.2 billion). Costs associated with problem drug use accounted for 96% of the total cost and this equated to just under £61,000 (for 2014-15 prices this would equate to £73,000) per problem drug user. Recreational drug use accounted for 4% of the total estimated cost equating to £134 (for 2014-15 prices this would equate to £160) per user.

The paper estimated that the costs to the criminal justice system per year for problem drug users not in treatment, was £12,713 (estimated at £15,200 for 2014-15 prices), reducing to £6,524 (estimated at £7,800 for 2014-15 prices) after one year in treatment, then £1,536 (estimated at £1,800 for 2014-15 prices) after being in treatment for more than one year. The estimated costs to the health service per year for individuals not in treatment was £3,005 (estimated at £3,600 for 2014-15 prices), reducing to £1,536 (estimated at £1,800 for 2014-15 prices) after one year in treatment then £1,173 (estimated at £1,400 for 2014-15 prices) after being in treatment for more than one year.

This is the most recent information the Scottish Government has on this topic.