- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 June 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether civil servants urged chief constables not to reduce police numbers prior to the outcome of a UK Government spending review in autumn 2010 and, if so, when ministers first became aware of this.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33743 on 1 June 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.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 June 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what planning is underway to ensure that police forces are able to meet future needs despite any required budget reductions.
Answer
The Scottish Government will work closely with the police on the possible impact on policing of any reductions in the Scottish budget. We are committed to a well resourced police service and to the maintenance of front line services across all public services across Scotland.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 June 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the budget deficits facing police forces, what projections it has for the future size of forces across Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to delivering 1,000 additional police officers in our communities by April 2011. Police funding is at a record level - £1.4 billion in 2010-11, including funding specifically for the training, recruitment an salaries of the 1,000 additional officers.
There is now certainty over the stability of the 2010-11 budget and we fully expect police forces to deliver on the 1,000 officers commitment.
Decisions on the future budgets for the police in Scotland will be taken when we know the size of the Westminster cuts and the effect that has on the size of the Scottish Budget.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive when the evaluation of the injury surveillance pilots underway in accident and emergency departments in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Fife and (c) Lanarkshire will take place.
Answer
The Violence Reduction Unit led injury surveillance pilot in NHS Lanarkshire will be evaluated once data has been collected for one year in the three hospitals involved. It is estimated that this will be in June 2011.
The Violence Reduction Unit is also supporting injury surveillance work in Edinburgh and Fife. Best practice for undertaking the work is currently being developed and it will be evaluated in due course, so that successful lessons can be replicated in other parts of Scotland.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 17 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions each prison breached their Assessed Operational Limit in each of the last three years.
Answer
I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The following table gives a breakdown of occasions where an establishment has exceeded their Assessed Operational Limit.
| | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| Aberdeen | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| Addiewell | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barlinnie | 133 | 2 | 0 |
| Cornton Vale | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Dumfries | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| Edinburgh | 102 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenochil | 69 | 0 | 0 |
| Greenock | 68 | 0 | 0 |
| Inverness | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| Kilmarnock | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Open Estate | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perth | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Peterhead | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Polmont | 71 | 119 | 0 |
| Shotts | 158 | 0 | 0 |
Note: 2010-11 figures as of 6 May 2010.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 13 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the highest number of prisoners was in each prison in each of the last three months.
Answer
I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The following table shows the highest population from each establishment over the last three months.
| Establishment | February | March | April |
| Aberdeen | 235 | 233 | 220 |
| Addiewell | 710 | 710 | 711 |
| Barlinnie | 1,386 | 1,439 | 1,438 |
| Cornton Vale | 374 | 380 | 384 |
| Dumfries | 200 | 194 | 208 |
| Edinburgh | 907 | 917 | 927 |
| Glenochil | 672 | 675 | 672 |
| Greenock | 286 | 274 | 284 |
| Inverness | 156 | 139 | 143 |
| Kilmarnock | 548 | 549 | 549 |
| Open Estate | 233 | 235 | 230 |
| Perth | 644 | 677 | 665 |
| Peterhead | 306 | 306 | 306 |
| Polmont | 765 | 750 | 772 |
| Shotts | 538 | 540 | 538 |
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the publication in September 2010 of guidance by the General Medical Council requiring doctors to inform the police whenever they treat a patient who is a victim of a knife attack, the volume of information being shared between hospitals and the police has increased.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Frank Mulholland on 13 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many charges have been reported to the procurators fiscal under section 23 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Answer
The following table shows the number of charges reported to procurators fiscal under section 23 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 in each financial year since the act was implemented in October 2006.
Of the 22 charges reported in 2009-10, 19 are still being prosecuted in court.
| Year | Total |
| 2006-7 | 8 |
| 2007-8 | 2 |
| 2008-9 | 6 |
| 2009-10 | 22 |
| Grand Total | 38 |
Notes:
1. The information for this question has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service''s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency the database will record details only of the amended charge.
2. The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under section 23 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Answer
The Scottish Government Court Proceedings database, which contains details of court results to March 2009, indicates that no persons have been proceeded against or convicted under section 23 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, where this was the main offence.
- Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 April 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, in reference to paragraph 136 of Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol: a Framework for Action, what action has followed the review of current plans and practices for the identification and treatment of offenders with alcohol problems in criminal justice settings.
Answer
A portfolio of three complementary studies has been developed and are funded by Scottish Government to drive forward this commitment. As a result of an initial scoping exercise undertaken, these studies are more extensive than previously outlined in the framework.
The studies have been commissioned by Health Scotland working with the Scottish Government and other key partners such as the Scottish Prison Service. They include mapping of current plans and practice both in the prison and community justice settings. They will identify and recommend good practice as well as conducting primary research into the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering alcohol brief interventions for offenders in the community justice settings of probation and community service.
The Scottish Government plans to hold an event later this year to bring together stakeholders, including those from the Scottish Prison Service, criminal justice social work, and the police to share the emerging findings of these studies and discuss any recommendations.
In addition, the Scottish Government is providing significant funding to a three year pilot in Tayside which focuses on the delivery of healthcare and forensic services to those people in police custody, including those who misuse alcohol, as well as linking people to the services available in the community. As part of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill currently being considered by Parliament, community payback orders are highlighting the opportunities for courts to refer offenders to alcohol services.
