Chamber and committees

Local partners have in place their own robust performance management systems to assess the impact of their efforts to reduce antisocial behaviour (ASB). In addition, there are national partner-led approaches such as the Scottish Policing Performance Framework, which collates information on ASB from all police forces.

The Scottish Government focuses its attention on achieving national outcomes rather than monitoring the use of measures within the Act. The effort to achieve these outcomes is captured in the Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) prepared by the 32 Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) in Scotland. Action to reduce ASB is well represented in SOAs.

In publishing Promoting Positive Outcomes, the new antisocial behaviour framework, the Scottish Government committed to provide an annual report to parliament on progress towards implementation. We are collaborating with partners to develop a new voluntary performance framework, aimed at supporting the work of CPPs to achieve national outcomes. Progress on this will be included in the first annual report which is due in the autumn.

The delivery of the Promoting Positive Outcomes Implementation Plan is overseen by the National Community Safety Strategic Group (NCSSG). In addition to Scottish Government there are representatives from COSLA, SOLACE, ACPOS and CFOAS on this group, which meets twice a year.

In addition to this, stakeholders from bodies across the community safety sector participate as and when required; as well as specific groups set up to consider particular issues.

The Scottish Government funds and runs the Scottish Fire Services College at Gullane as a shared services facility for the benefit of staff from all eight of Scotland''s Fire and Rescue Services.

Over the last four years the numbers completing the trainee firefighter programme are as follows:

Year	Whole-Time	Retained
2006-07	113	68
2007-08	97	36
2008-09	264	38
2009-10	115	54

 

Only 10 firefighters commenced but did not complete the trainee firefighter programme over the period.

In addition, 2,282 staff at all levels from the eight Fire and Rescue Services have completed a variety of specialist courses at the college.

Firefighter development also takes place locally within the eight FRSs and is funded by them. Detailed statistical information about local training is not held centrally.

Work towards finalising the priorities and objectives for a revised Fire and Rescue Framework are closely related to ongoing discussions between national and local government on the implications of forthcoming funding adjustments in the public sector. Given the statutory role of the framework, it is important that any new burdens are balanced and achievable and it would be inappropriate to place additional burdens on the Fire and Rescue Services without knowing the future allocation of funding they will receive. Delivery of a revised framework will therefore follow the Spending Review process later this year.

The number of occupied bed days in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where a diagnosis of assault by sharp object is recorded is presented in the following table.

Number of Acute Occupied Bed Days^1,2 in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Connected with Assault by Sharp Object³, Patient Discharged during Year Ending 31 March 2005-09

Financial Years	Total Number of Bed Days
2004-05	2,340
2005-06	1,749
2006-07	2,224
2007-08	2,020
2008-09	2,193

 

For information; the numbers of admissions connected to assault by a sharp object in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was provided in the answer to question S3W-32124 on 15 March 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Additional data and commentary on assault by a sharp object is published as part of ISD''s Unintentional Injuries publication http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5327.html.

The specific criminal justice social work services grant allocations for individual community justice authorities (CJA) for financial years 2006-07 to 2009-10 inclusive are detailed in the following table. I have also included the related information for 2010-11 financial year as requested in S3W-33380 on 6 May 2010.

CJA	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Fife and Forth Valley	£10,038,544	£10,533,070	£11,041,312	£11,488,222	£12,458,101
Glasgow	£16,212,204	£17,679,033	£18,207,076	£18,691,686	£18,690,075
Lanarkshire	£9,288,739	£10,377,750	£11,010,785	£11,652,520	£12,224,353
Lothian and Borders	£12,331,892	£13,554,324	£14,654,012	£14,735,432	£14,329,446
Northern	£9,896,571	£12,014,540	£12,396,403	£12,442,792	£12,797,600
North Strathclyde	£8,757,650	£9,639,241	£10,378,631	£10,899,736	£11,135,700
South West Scotland	£7,177,907	£8,005,536	£8,891,028	£9,333,015	£9,938,891
Tayside	£7,624,314	£8,206,214	£8,269,479	£8,272,956	£8,476,194
Total	£81,327,821	£90,009,708	£94,848,726	£97,516,359	£100,050,360

 

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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

As I said to the Justice Committee on 13 April, the Scottish Government will closely monitor increases in uptake of the planned new community payback order, and we will work with local authorities to assess funding needs.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33381 on 6 May 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Parliament agreed that violent offenders who would fall within the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) must have been convicted on indictment of an offence inferring personal violence and be subject to a Probation Order or subject to statutory supervision on release from prison. In framing the legislation, stakeholders secured an undertaking to ensure that before MAPPA was extended to this group of offenders, the Risk Management Authority would develop an agreed approach to assessing the risk of harm posed by violent offenders. This work is underway.

We have also accepted the recommendations in the report of the Multi-agency Inspection: Assessing and managing offenders who present a high risk of serious harm 2009, which notes that the first priority in relation to violent offenders is to build up the capacity of individual agencies to manage risk more effectively and consistently. We accept that judgment, and are working with the delivery agencies to give them the tools and support they need.

The Multi agency report can be found at:

http://www.swia.gov.uk/swia/files/Assessing_and_managing_offenders_who_present_a_high_risk_of_serious_harm_2009.pdf.

We are working with partners to finalise new National Outcomes and Standards for Criminal Justice Social Work, which will be published later this year.