Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-20254

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol-related admissions there were to each NHS hospital in each year since 1997.

Figures are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Table 1 (Bib. number 37917) shows the combined figures for alcohol-related discharges from general acute and psychiatric hospitals during 1997-98 to 2001-02. Table 2 (Bib. number 37918) provides data for discharges from general acute hospitals only from 1997-98 to 2004-05. Psychiatric discharges are unavailable for 2002-03 to 2004-05.

Question reference: S2W-20365

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists received gross earnings from the NHS of (a) over £500,000, (b) £250,000 to £500,000, (c) £100,000 to £250,000 and (d) £50,000 to £100,000 in each year since 1997.

NHS general dentists’ gross earnings from NHS general dental services:

Number of Dentists Receiving Each Amount in Year Ending March

Amount of Earnings^1,2	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
£500,000 +	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	3
Between £250,000 and £499,999	6	10	13	14	17	14	14	14	18
Between £100,000 and £249,999	473	572	639	662	687	701	755	733	742
Between £50,000 and £99,999	783	723	700	702	676	670	653	656	632

Source: MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

Note:

1. In addition to the payments they receive for registering and treating their patients, NHS general dentists may be entitled to claim other payments (allowances) for their circumstances. The data in the table above exclude such payments.

2. This data refers to earnings for non-salaried general dental practitioners.

Question reference: S2W-19914

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were stopped for not wearing their seat belts in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area, and what type of fine was imposed upon each individual.

The available information is given in the tables. The court proceedings statistics for 2004-05 are scheduled for publication in March 2006.

The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim and there is the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings. Also a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year.

Number of Seat Belt Offences Recorded by the Police, 2000-04

Police Force Area	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Central	2,286	2,581	2,435	2,548	2,547
Dumfries and Galloway	531	282	344	385	349
Fife	3,226	3,012	2,205	2,710	2,552
Grampian	2,645	1,975	1,919	517	513
Lothian and Borders	6,732	7,394	6,679	5,216	5,851
Northern	1,486	1,098	1,407	1,246	1,135
Strathclyde	17,952	22,013	13,552	11,222	10,635
Tayside	1,318	1,647	2,472	4,005	5,837
Scotland	36,176	40,002	31,013	27,849	29,419

Seat belt Offences Resulting in a Fine Imposed by a Scottish Court, 1999-2003

Police Force Area	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003¹
Number of Offences
Central	168	332	272	324	228
Dumfries and Galloway	60	15	4	12	12
Fife	181	172	146	135	207
Grampian	324	280	202	175	135
Lothian and Borders	446	447	320	273	322
Northern	88	93	104	75	68
Strathclyde	1,240	1,134	1,000	1,012	730
Tayside	290	139	118	151	315
Scotland	2,797	2,612	2,166	2,157	2,017
Average Fine Imposed (£)²
Central	39	45	53	59	59
Dumfries and Galloway	82	43	43	63	51
Fife	48	44	47	51	49
Grampian	40	46	50	52	62
Lothian and Borders	45	48	54	59	57
Northern	41	40	47	52	54
Strathclyde	44	44	49	50	52
Tayside	55	51	55	59	58
Scotland	45	46	50	54	55

Notes:

1. Includes estimated data.

2. Excludes fines where value not known.

Question reference: S2W-19951

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were living in poverty in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area in each of the last 30 years.

The information requested is not available.

The official source of low income data for Scotland is the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset available from 1994-95. This is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The sample size of the FRS in Scotland is relatively small and can only be used to provide information for Scotland as a whole.

The following link provides the latest low income headline figures for Scotland (2003-04), together with data for previous years. This was published on 30 March 2005:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/29170611/06123.

A snapshot analysis of Benefits, such as Income Support and Job Seeker’s Allowance, may be used as a proxy for low income poverty by geographical area. Such analyses need careful interpretation, however as changes in the benefits system affect the results over time:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp.

Question reference: S2W-19966

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were convicted of (a) drunkenness, (b) driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs and (c) causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in each year since 1995, broken down by police force area.

The available information is given in the following table. The statistics for 2004-05 are scheduled for publication in March 2006.

Persons with a Charge Proved for Selected Offences¹, by Police Force Area, 1995-2003

Police Force Area	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003²
Drunkenness
Central	59	34	22	12	6	7	2	4	4
Dumfries and Galloway	50	46	21	-	3	-	-	-	1
Fife	40	19	18	8	7	2	5	3	10
Grampian	47	40	39	38	22	22	13	8	17
Lothian and Borders	70	33	51	41	20	18	26	28	22
Northern	289	231	246	224	159	138	104	140	135
Strathclyde	745	690	514	383	246	227	191	184	203
Tayside	13	10	17	19	15	20	30	17	19
Total	1,313	1,103	928	725	478	434	371	384	411
Drunk Driving
Central	397	411	424	383	371	393	298	640	537
Dumfries and Galloway	194	263	214	189	205	166	210	214	234
Fife	492	414	488	424	376	360	369	708	583
Grampian	947	908	948	895	840	784	811	920	1,012
Lothian and Borders	1,272	1,359	1,437	1,366	1,188	1,122	1,171	1,495	1,381
Northern	636	688	645	544	533	499	568	679	715
Strathclyde	3,088	3,432	3,710	2,869	2,830	2,784	2,725	3,430	3,017
Tayside	569	590	653	617	556	583	640	768	801
Total	7,595	8,065	8,519	7,287	6,899	6,691	6,792	8,854	8,280
Death by Careless Driving when Under the Influence of Drink or Drugs
Central	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Fife	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1
Grampian	1	-	2	1	1	-	1	1	-
Northern	-	-	1	1	-	1	-	-	1
Strathclyde	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-
Tayside	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-
Total	2	-	4	3	1	2	3	1	2

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes estimated data.

Question reference: S2W-19959

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were reported missing in each year since 1990, broken down by police force area.

Question reference: S2W-19918

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were fined for offences directly relating to the improper use of (a) disabled vehicle stickers and (b) disabled parking spaces in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S2W-19958

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders in breach of anti-social behaviour orders have (a) been returned to court and (b) received sentences in the last 12 months, broken down by local authority.

The latest available statistics on breaches of anti-social behaviour orders in the year ending March 2004 can be found at sections 5.9 to 5.15 of the relevant publication Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland on the Scottish Executive’s website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/07104508/45091.

More recent statistics, from a survey covering the year ending March 2005, are currently being compiled and are planned for publication towards the end of this year.

Question reference: S2W-19915

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) recorded cases of, (b) prosecutions for and (c) convictions for (i) rape, (ii) assault with intent to rape and (iii) indecent assault took place in each of the last five years.

The available information is given in the following tables. The court proceedings statistics for 2004-05 are scheduled for publication in March 2006.

The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim and there is the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings. Also a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year.

Number of Crimes Recorded by the Police, 2000-04

Crime	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Rape	562	589	745	794	892
Assault with intent to rape	143	164	168	194	215
Indecent assault	1,117	1,154	1,337	1,418	1,455

Number of Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selected Crimes¹, 2000-03

Crime	2000	2001	2002	2003²
Number proceeded against
Rape	51	67	49	83
Assault with intent to rape	23	36	19	26
Indecent assault	99	73	72	101
Number with a charge proved
Rape	28	42	29	44
Assault with intent to rape	15	27	13	18
Indecent assault	66	52	56	82

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes estimated data.

Question reference: S2W-20258

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many healthcare recruitment agencies operating from (a) within and (b) outwith the United Kingdom are registered to comply with the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals.

Chamber and committees