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: S3W-22817

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 May 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many retailers were prosecuted for selling alcohol to underage customers in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008, broken down by (i) police force and (ii) local authority area and showing the fines in each case.

The available information is given in the following tables. The data held centrally cannot be broken down between shop owners and licensed drinking establishments.

Persons Proceeded Against for Selling Alcohol to Underage Persons¹, by Police Force Area, 2005-06 to 2007-08

Police Force Area	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Central	7	8	10
Dumfries and Galloway	6	-	2
Fife	-	5	3
Grampian	3	8	9
Lothian and Borders	12	16	22
Northern	2	4	3
Strathclyde	41	45	54
Tayside	1	2	8
Scotland	72	88	111

Note: 1. Where the main offence is under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 Sections 67, 68(1) and 68(7).

Persons Proceeded Against for Selling Alcohol to Underage Persons¹, by Approximate Local Authority Area² , 2005-06 - 2007-08

Local Authority Area	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Aberdeen City	3	8	2
Aberdeenshire	-	-	6
Angus	-	2	5
Argyll and Bute	-	-	-
Clackmannanshire	1	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	6	-	2
Dundee City	-	-	3
East Ayrshire	4	3	5
East Dunbartonshire	-	-	-
East Lothian	2	1	2
East Renfrewshire	-	-	2
Edinburgh, City of	5	9	4
Eilean Siar	-	-	-
Falkirk	4	4	9
Fife	-	5	3
Glasgow City	7	10	5
Highland	2	3	2
Inverclyde	-	-	5
Midlothian	1	4	4
Moray	-	-	1
North Ayrshire	1	3	4
North Lanarkshire	2	7	6
Orkney Islands	-	1	-
Perth and Kinross	1	-	-
Renfrewshire	-	5	12
Scottish Borders	4	1	6
Shetland Islands	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	9	9	8
South Lanarkshire	17	6	4
Stirling	2	4	1
West Dunbartonshire	1	2	3
West Lothian	-	1	6
Not Known	-	-	1
Scotland	72	88	111

Note:

1. Where the main offence is under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 Sections 67, 68(1) and 68(7).

2. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Four local authority areas, namely East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

Persons Fined for Selling Alcohol to Underage Persons¹, by Fine Amount, 2005-06 to 2007-08.

Fine Amount (£)	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
40	-	1	-
50	2	3	-
60	-	1	4
70	-	1	1
75	-	-	1
80	2	1	-
100	10	2	1
120	1	-	1
130	-	1	-
135	-	-	2
140	-	2	-
150	4	4	3
200	2	9	5
225	-	2	-
240	-	-	1
250	3	5	3
270	-	1	-
300	1	1	9
320	-	-	1
350	-	-	4
375	-	-	2
400	-	1	3
450	1	-	-
500	-	3	4
600	-	1	1
650	-	-	1
1,000	-	-	2
Total	26	39	49

Note: 1. Where the main offence is under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 Sections 67, 68(1) and 68(7).

Question reference: S3W-23050

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 May 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of alleged racism have been recorded in prisons in each of the last five years, broken down by institution.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The following table shows all recorded prisoner related racial incidents from the last five years broken down by Establishments. This data is as of 21 April 2009.

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Aberdeen	0	0	0	1	0
Barlinnie	0	2	0	2	1
Cornton Vale	0	0	0	4	0
Edinburgh	0	0	0	1	1
Kilmarnock	0	1	0	4	1
Perth	0	0	0	1	0

Question reference: S3W-23245

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 May 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to continue with the Fairer Scotland Fund after 2010-11.

Question reference: S3W-22816

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 30 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoner-on-prisoner assaults there were in each prison in each of the last five years.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The following table illustrates the total number of prisoner on prisoner assaults broken down by year and establishment. The data is as of 22 April 2009.

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Aberdeen	15	33	35	20	51	12
Addiewell	0	0	0	0	0	32
Barlinnie	50	57	64	63	67	19
Castle Huntly	0	0	3	0	0	0
Cornton Vale	8	33	27	39	50	13
Dumfries	14	27	23	35	18	8
Edinburgh	57	54	86	67	84	23
Glenochil Prison	18	16	16	20	34	7
Greenock	43	23	28	25	34	11
Inverness	3	21	17	21	20	5
Kilmarnock	36	42	41	53	68	13
Low Moss	23	30	18	12	0	0
Noranside	2	2	0	0	0	0
Open Estate	0	0	0	1	2	0
Perth	103	62	39	59	68	18
Peterhead	2	4	12	16	14	3
Polmont	184	179	151	145	130	56
Shotts	11	16	16	11	11	7

Question reference: S3W-23246

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 30 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget was for the Fairer Scotland Fund in each of the last three years and how it was spent.

The Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was introduced in 2008-09. Over the period 2008-11, all 32 Community Planning Partnerships will receive an allocation from an annual budget of £145 million based on relative levels of multiple deprivation.

The fund is invested by local authorities and their community planning partners in activities which will drive achievement of local priority outcomes linked to tackling poverty and improving employability, outlined in single outcome agreements.

In keeping with the concordat between national and local government, individual investments are a matter for local decision by each partnership.

Question reference: S3W-23094

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 20 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults by prisoners on prison officers were recorded in each (a) prison and (b) young offenders institution in each year since 1999.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The information requested regarding Prisoner on Staff assaults is available from calendar year 2001 and is detailed in the following table. The data is as of 21 April 2009.

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Aberdeen	19	17	15	4	4	9	2	7	0
Addiewell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19
Barlinnie	20	24	29	21	17	23	26	29	4
Castle Huntly	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Cornton Vale	9	10	8	11	16	20	27	36	20
Dumfries	3	2	3	5	5	1	2	2	3
Edinburgh	7	27	19	26	30	19	11	12	2
Glenochil Prison	3	5	12	2	6	4	9	2	2
Glenochil YOI	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greenock	6	6	3	8	6	7	1	0	0
Inverness	2	0	1	5	4	2	4	2	0
Kilmarnock	19	36	61	18	26	19	17	17	1
Low Moss	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0
Noranside	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth	3	7	8	13	14	11	13	9	5
Peterhead	0	5	3	3	3	2	2	3	0
Polmont	11	23	26	29	26	15	13	6	2
Shotts	6	17	13	11	9	9	2	11	1

Question reference: S3W-23095

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 20 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been admitted to hospital for injuries from (a) assault by a blunt object, (b) assault by a sharp object and (c) gun shots in each the last 10 years.

The following table shows the number of children admitted to hospital as a result of an injury caused by (a) assault by blunt object, (b) assault by sharp object and (c) gun shot.

Number of hospital admissions¹ as a result of assault by blunt object, assault by sharp object and firearm discharge; for children aged 0 to 16; for year of discharge ending 31 March 1999 to 2008:

Year of Discharge	Assault by blunt Object	Assault by sharp Object	Assault by Firearm Discharge	Accidental Firearm Discharge	Intentional Self Harm by Firearm Discharge	Firearm Discharge of Undetermined Intent
1998-99	60	77	*	28	-	*
1999-2000	51	81	*	42	*	*
2000-01	69	83	6	39	*	-
2001-02	60	102	*	38	-	-
2002-03	62	136	5	29	-	*
2003-04	50	88	*	37	-	-
2004-05	67	82	*	22	-	*
2005-06	47	94	*	19	-	-
2006-07	54	96	*	10	-	-
2007-08	43	84	*	6	-	-

Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01).

Notes:

- Zero value

*Value one to four.

1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-23052

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of self-harm by young offenders have (a) been reported and (b) required hospital treatment in each of the last five years, broken down by institution.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The following information is all reported instances of attempted and/or planned self harm as well as actual self harm relating to Young Offenders. It is not possible to disaggregate the information. The SPS does not record whether hospital treatment was required.

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Aberdeen	0	1	1	0	4
Cornton Vale	0	0	2	10	21
Dumfries	0	1	0	4	0
Edinburgh	0	0	0	3	2
Greenock	0	0	1	0	2
Inverness	0	0	3	1	0
Kilmarnock	0	1	0	8	4
Perth	0	0	0	0	2
Polmont	0	2	2	6	3

Question reference: S3W-23051

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of self-harm by prisoners have (a) been reported and (b) required hospital treatment in each of the last five years, broken down by institution.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The following information is all reported instances of attempted and/or planned self harm as well as actual self harm. It is not possible to disaggregate the information. The SPS does not record whether hospital treatment was required.

Establishment	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Aberdeen	9	16	15	16	21
Addiewell	0	0	0	0	1
Barlinnie	9	12	20	10	15
Castle Huntly	0	0	1	2	0
Cornton Vale	7	12	12	50	64
Dumfries	9	3	5	7	10
Edinburgh	9	4	6	8	9
Glenochil	0	5	4	9	7
Greenock	7	4	6	4	5
Inverness	2	4	20	16	5
Kilmarnock	25	40	59	41	38
Low Moss	1	1	0	0	0
Noranside	2	0	0	1	0
Open Estate	0	0	0	0	0
Perth	3	14	13	17	22
Peterhead	1	0	4	14	4
Polmont	4	11	7	8	12
Shotts	3	4	3	2	0

Question reference: S3W-23096

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 20 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been admitted to hospital for injuries that occurred at school from (a) assault by a blunt object, (b) assault by a sharp object and (c) gun shots in each of the last 10 years.