- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 20 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial provision it has made in 2005-06 in respect of the promotion of a "yes" vote in the referendum on the EU Constitution in light of REGLEG's Declaration of Edinburgh.
Answer
Financial provision for any information activities about the EU Constitutional Treaty will be considered as part of the normal planning process.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is being undertaken to assess the value of tagging juvenile offenders and its effect on reducing antisocial behaviour.
Answer
Intensive Support and Monitoring Services (ISMS) became available as a disposal of the Children’s Hearing System on 1 April 2005. Use of ISMS will be monitored by the Scottish Executive on a quarterly basis. Research will also be undertaken to fully evaluate the first phase, including operational aspects, the financial costs and long-term effectiveness of ISMS.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 20 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will play in complying with REGLEG's Declaration of Edinburgh in respect of promoting a "yes" vote in the forthcoming referendum on the EU Constitution.
Answer
The Scottish Executive will play an appropriate role in informing the public about the EU Constitutional Treaty, as well as about the benefits of EU membership more generally.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 14 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the benefits accrued to Scotland as a consequence of the First Minister's presidency of the Group of Regions with Legislative Powers.
Answer
The First Minister’s Presidency of REGLEG brought a number of important benefits for Scotland.
Firstly, it has enabled Scotland to drive forward the agenda of REGLEG. Under the Scottish Presidency REGLEG lobbied successfully for recognition of an enhanced role for regions in European decision-making. Most importantly, in relation to the subsidiarity principle, the EU Constitution provides for an effective early-warning reflecting a new level of recognition of the role of legislative regions.
Our Presidency has also raised the profile of Scotland as a leading legislative region with an important contribution to make to the European governance debate, not only with other legislative regions but also with the European institutions themselves.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any studies have been carried out in prisons to examine the links between violent crime, antisocial behaviour, diet and nutrition.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
No Scottish study exists that examines the links between violent crime, antisocial behaviour, diet and nutrition.
We are aware of one such study. An article outlining the findings from the study Food provision and the nutritional implications of food choices made by young male adults in a young offenders institution, by Anita Eves and Bernard Gesch published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 16, pp167-179, 2003.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs or antidepressants.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
From Pharmacy records available to SPS in March 2005, there were 1921 prescriptions for medications suitable for treatment of psychosis, and 529 prescriptions for anti-depressant medications to prisoners.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners are being prescribed Ritalin and other similar drugs.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
In March 2005, there were fewer than five prisoners being prescribed Ritalin or similar drugs.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals have been made following the setting of minimum sentences for life prisoners in each of the last four years and, of these, how many have been (a) accepted, (b) rejected and (c) determined.
Answer
The information is set out in the following table:
| | Leave To Appeal | Appeals | |
| Lodged | Leave to Appeal Granted | Leave to Appeal Refused | Pending | Granted | Refused | Abandoned | |
| 2002 | 46 | 38 | 8 | | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2003 | 72 | 60 | 12 | | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 2004 | 39 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2005 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
One hundred and seventeen cases are awaiting a hearing, earlier disposal having been delayed until the outcome of an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost in legal aid has been of appeals against minimum sentences to be served by life prisoners in each of the last four years and what estimates have been made of the legal aid costs of such appeals in each of the next three years.
Answer
The Scottish Legal Aid Board records information which allows the identification of costs for criminal appeals relating to appeals against sentence and appeals against conviction and sentence. Their systems do not specifically identify appeals by life prisoners.
Table 1 sets out the amount the board has spent on appeals against sentence and Appeals against Conviction and Sentence in the last four years:
Table 1
| | 2001-02 £ | 2002-03 £ | 2003-04 £ | 2004-05* £ |
| Leave to Appeal - Sentence | 1,258,188 | 1,216,283 | 1,173,968 | 2,194,920 |
| Leave to Appeal – Conviction and Sentence | 358,063 | 634,258 | 642,294 | 839,625 |
Note: * Data for 2004-05 is for the eleven months to February 2005.
Additionally, Table 2 sets out the amount the board spent on criminal assistance by way of representation (ABWOR) cases for life prisoners who were sentenced before the change in legislation introducing minimum sentences, for hearings at which their minimum sentences were set:
Table 2
| | 2001-02 £ | 2002-03 £ | 2003-04 £ | 2004-05* £ |
| Criminal ABWOR – Life Prisoners | Nil | 44,577 | 64,847 | 65,999 |
Note: * Data for 2004-05 is for the eleven months to February 2005.
Table 3 sets out the estimated future spend on Appeals against Sentence and Appeals against Conviction and Sentence for the next three years:
Table 3
| | 2005-06 £ | 2006-07 £ | 2007-08 £ |
| Leave to Appeal - Sentence | 1,957,000 | 1,828,000 | 1,779,000 |
| Leave to Appeal – Conviction and Sentence | 434,000 | 405,000 | 394,000 |
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male and (b) female life prisoners are currently serving their sentence and what average length of time such prisoners are set to serve.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The available information on prisoners who are currently serving a life sentence is given in the table:
Information on Life Sentenced Prisoners in Custody on 25 March 2005
| | Male prisoners | Female prisoners |
| Number of prisoners | 625 | 16 |
| Average length of punishment part | 13 years | 12 years |
| Minimum length of punishment part | 2.5 years | 6 years |
| Maximum length of punishment part | 30 years | 15 years |
The punishment part of a life sentence is the period imposed by the court at time of sentence which it considers is required for the purposes of retribution and deterrence. The prisoner will spend that minimum time in custody before being considered by the Parole Board for release on life licence. The expiry of the punishment part is not an automatic guarantee of release on licence. The Parole Board will not direct release unless it is satisfied that the prisoner no longer presents an unacceptable risk to the public.
These figures are provisional and may be subject to amendments at a later date. They also do not include any life sentenced prisoners who are being held in the state hospital or any life sentenced prisoners who have been recalled to custody after being released on life licence.
