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-18970

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 6 November 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) police officers and (b) civillian staff are currently employed by each police force, expressed per head of population in each police force area.

The number of police officers and civilians in each force at 30 September 2001, expressed per 1,000 population is shown in the following table.

Force	Estimated population	No. of police officers	No. per 1,000 population	No. of support staff	No. per 1,000 population
Central	278,000	719	2.58	273	0.98
Dumfries & Galloway	145,800	474	3.25	269	1.84
Fife	350,400	883	2.51	311	0.88
Grampian	523,400	1,274	2.43	527	1.00
Lothian & Borders	890,500	2,646	2.97	1,033	1.16
Northern	277,700	679	2.97	351	1.26
Strathclyde	2,263,300	7,298	3.22	2,132	0.94
Tayside	385,500	1,164	3.01	504	1.30
Scotland	5,114,600	15,137	2.95	5,400	1.05

Notes: Estimated population at 30 June 2000.Number of police officer and support staff at 30 September 2001.

Question reference: S1W-18971

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 October 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 6 November 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) police vehicles there are and (b) manned police stations there are per square mile, in each police force area.

Question reference: S1W-18662

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 22 October 2001

To ask the Presiding Officer whether there are any plans to provide an enhanced and accessible out of hours IT support service for MSPs.

The IT Helpdesk has new extended opening hours for MSPs during sitting days:Tuesdays until 19.30Wednesdays until 21.30Thursdays until 21.30Further information can be found on SPEIR at http://intranet/speir/Temp/bits.htmThe IT Helpdesk directly resolves most reported problems, such as account lookouts, password problems, email configuration, printer problems, advice on MS Office and Outlook, and remote access guidance.Proposals for further extending cover for members beyond these hours to weekends and during recess, and to include other IT support services, are under active consideration and are being assessed against current budgets.

Question reference: S1W-17542

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 18 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive to whom drug action teams are accountable and whether there are any plans to measure their performance.

Drug Action Teams (DATs) are accountable to the Executive through annual corporate planning arrangements. They are required to report current and planned activity in their area to meet objectives across the four pillars of the drugs strategy and their own local targets, identifying direct spend on drugs issues. Their performance is assessed by the Executive and feedback is given. This year's DAT plans will be published on the Scottish Drug Misuse website: www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org shortly.

Question reference: S1W-17718

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost has been for each local and open prison establishment of the absence of prison officers through sickness in each of the last three years and this year to date.

Question reference: S1W-17732

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 18 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to measure the performance of Drug Action Teams.

Question reference: S1W-17719

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff, broken down by staff category, are currently absent through illness in each local and open prison establishment, giving details of stress-related illnesses or prisoner-related injuries, and what the total figures are for the Scottish Prison Service.

Question reference: S1W-17717

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days have been lost through sickness in each local and open prison establishment, broken down by staff category, giving the totals for each prison and the Scottish Prison Service as a whole, in each of the last three years and this year to date.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive, Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows

The information requested is not held in the format sought. The following data is taken from available material.

There are currently (as at 23 September 2001) 141 staff absent; 28 report mental health conditions including stress and six are absent as a result of assault by prisoners.

Establishment	Average Number of Working Days lost through Illness
	Average no. of working days lost through illness 1998-99	Average no. of working days lost through illness 1999-2000	Average no. of working days lost though Illness 2000-01
Aberdeen	8.2	7.5	10
Barlinnie	14	10.6	11
Castle Huntly	12.6	9.1	10.2
Cornton Vale	14.8	11.8	13
Dungavel	7.5	13.4	-
Dumfries	11.8	13.4	20.3
Edinburgh	9.8	10.3	11.9
Friarton	12.1	13.6	-
Glenochil	14.1	14.3	16
Greenock	7.5	6.4	9.3
Inverness	9.6	6.4	8.8
Longriggend	22.9	14.8	-
Low Moss	16	18.6	11.5
Noranside	5.6	9.4	9.7
Penninghame	11.2	6.3	-
Perth	10.4	7.6	9

Establishment	Average Number of Working Days lost through Illness
	Average no. of working days lost through illness 1998-99	Average no. of working days lost through illness 1999-2000	Average no. of working days lost though Illness 2000-01
Peterhead	8.1	10.6	6.6
Polmont	10.6	12.6	10.9
Shotts	10.6	10.1	9.8
Totals	11.5	10.9	11.2

Establishment	Number of members of staff absent as at 23 September 2001	Number of members of staff absent from work for mental health reasons or staff assault as at 23 September 2001
	Current	Mental Health	Staff Assaults
Aberdeen	13	2	1
Barlinnie	14	-	0
Castle Huntly	2	-	0
Cornton Vale	9	3	2
Dungavel	-	-	-
Dumfries	4	1	1
Edinburgh	1	-	1
Friarton	-	-	-
Glenochil	23	9	1
Greenock	1	-	0
Inverness	6	1	0
Longriggend	-	-	-
Low Moss	9	1	0
Noranside	2	-	0
Penninghame	-	-	-
Perth	19	5	0
Peterhead	6	1	0
Polmont	14	2	0
Shotts	16	3	0
Totals	141*	28	6

* Includes HQ , SPSC and FauldhouseAverage Cost To SPS Caused By Illness

Year	Average cost to the SPS (£ million)
1998-99	5.3
1999-2000	5.6
2000-01	5

Question reference: S1W-18660

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 12 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the UK's response to the European Commission's Green Paper on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy was co-ordinated by it or by Her Majesty's Government and where the official or officials who wrote the final draft is or are based.

Question reference: S1W-18578

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 11 October 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to protect the freshwater pearl mussel and whether any link has been established between the level of such mussel populations and the decline in salmon and sea trout numbers.

The freshwater pearl mussel is protected from killing or exploitation by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In addition to this, the Scottish Executive has identified 18 sites as proposed Special Areas of Conservation under the EC Habitats Directive, where the mussels and their habitat will be subject to protection from deterioration, damage and disturbance. 17 of these sites have been formally submitted to the European Commission, and one is currently the subject of consultation. Freshwater pearl mussels also occur in a number of additional cSACs and Sites of Special Scientific Interest which primarily provide protection for other conservation interests.

No link has been established between the level of freshwater pearl mussel populations and the decline of salmon and sea trout numbers in Scotland.