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: S2W-32229

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of state-educated people with learning difficulties served prison sentences in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S2W-32215

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) children lived in overcrowded housing in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

The following table 1 shows thepercentage of Scottish households living in overcrowded housing for each healthboard area, and the following table 2 shows the percentage of children in Scotland wholive in overcrowded housing.

Table 1: Percentage of ScottishHouseholds Living in Overcrowded Housing, by Health Board Area

	1999-2000		2001-02		2003-04
	%	Base	%	Base	%	Base
Highland	1%	1,129	2%	1,206	1%	1,167
Grampian	3%	3,043	3%	3,123	2%	3,082
Tayside	3%	2,188	3%	2,275	2%	2,167
Fife	2%	1,894	2%	1,910	2%	2,083
Lothian	3%	4,490	3%	4,392	3%	4,490
Borders	2%	609	2%	642	2%	663
Forth Valley	3%	2,021	2%	1,937	2%	2,016
Argyll and Clyde	5%	2,471	4%	2,468	3%	2,526
Greater Glasgow	5%	4,677	4%	4,863	5%	4,721
Lanarkshire	5%	2,885	4%	2,871	4%	3,021
Ayrshire and Arran	3%	2,172	3%	2,165	2%	2,073
Dumfries and Galloway	2%	878	3%	822	2%	814
Orkney	1%	540	1%	649	2%	665
Shetland	3%	561	2%	624	1%	653
Western Isles	3%	658	3%	643	2%	563

Table 2: Percentage of ScottishChildren Living in Overcrowded Housing, by Health Board Area

	1999-2000		2001-02		2003-004
	%	Base	%	Base	%	Base
Highland	5%	564	8%	593	5%	575
Grampian	9%	1,526	9%	1,481	6%	1,430
Tayside	8%	967	11%	990	8%	814
Fife	7%	939	10%	925	8%	983
Lothian	10%	2,096	9%	2,060	12%	1,961
Borders	7%	298	7%	278	5%	287
Forth Valley	8%	1,045	6%	933	5%	929
Argyll and Clyde	16%	1,196	13%	1,088	12%	1,125
Greater Glasgow	17%	2,232	14%	2,177	17%	2,022
Lanarkshire	14%	1,567	13%	1,560	11%	1,471
Ayrshire and Arran	9%	1,058	10%	1,017	8%	934
Dumfries and Galloway	10%	417	12%	406	4%	341
Orkney	6%	261	4%	269	7%	311
Shetland	7%	379	6%	69	6%	302
Western Isles	11%	294	11%	267	7%	231

Source: The ScottishHousehold Survey, 1999-2004.

Notes:

1. Please interpret changes withcaution as the statistics can fluctuate from year to year because of sampling variability.

2. The results are given fortwo-year sweeps as the survey is not designed to be representative for all sub-Scotlandareas for a single year. In addition, it should be noted that the survey is designedto be representative for local authorities over a two-year period, not for healthboard areas.

3. Figures for 2006 have notyet been published.

4. For the purposes of thisquestion, “overcrowded households” are defined as being households which are belowthe bedroom standard. The calculation of the number of bedrooms required is basedon the assumption that a separate bedroom is required for:

each cohabiting couple;

any other person aged 21 yearsor over;

each pair of young persons of the same sex aged 10 to 20 years, and

each pair of children under 10years (regardless of sex).

Unpaired young persons aged 10to 20 are paired with a child under 10 of the same sex if possible or allocateda separate bedroom. Any unpaired children under 10 are also allocated a separatebedroom.

5. The basenumbers show the size of the population sub-group questioned in the survey (i.e.people examined in each area) but cannot be used to calculate how many respondentsgave a certain answer. The base in table 1 is the number of households, and in table 2 is the number of children in those households.

Question reference: S2W-32197

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many gun crimes were committed in each of the last 10 years with (a) legally registered and (b) illegally held weapons.

Question reference: S2W-32206

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the letter from the Minister for Environment and Rural Development (ref. 2006/0022748), whether advice from the Executive’s Legal and Parliamentary Unit has been received and whether the Minister is in a position to respond substantively to me.

Question reference: S2W-32200

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died after contracting MRSA in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

The information requested isgiven in the following tables.

Deaths whereMRSA was the Underlying Cause of Death

NHS Board of Residence	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Scotland	36	46	39	42	38
Ayrshire and Arran	1	4	2	1
Borders	1	2	1	1	2
Dumfries and Galloway	1			2	1
Fife	2	2	8	2	1
Forth Valley	6	2	1	2
Grampian	3	3	1	1	3
Greater Glasgow and Clyde¹	10	17	11	15	12
Highland¹	1	1	2	1	3
Lanarkshire		3	7	6	9
Lothian	6	10	4	5	4
Orkney
Shetland
Tayside	5	2	2	6	2
Western Isles					1

Argyll and Clyde²	5	4		6	2
Greater Glasgow and Clyde pt.	4	4		6	2
Highland pt.	1
Greater Glasgow²	6	13	11	9	10
Highland²		1	2	1	3

Notes:

1. New NHS board areasincluding parts of former Argyll and Clyde

2. Former NHS board areas(before dissolution of Argyll and Clyde on 1 April 2006).

Deaths where MRSA was Mentioned on the Death Certificate (IncludesCases where MRSA was the Underlying Cause of Death)

NHS Board of Residence	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Scotland	136	155	169	190	212
Ayrshire and Arran	9	11	10	9	10
Borders	6	4	5	2	2
Dumfries and Galloway	6	5	7	8	13
Fife	14	8	22	21	15
Forth Valley	10	8	6	6	6
Grampian	8	11	10	16	10
Greater Glasgow and Clyde¹	24	34	39	44	60
Highland¹	6	6	8	8	15
Lanarkshire	4	14	16	20	25
Lothian	31	41	33	32	35
Orkney		1
Shetland	1	1			1
Tayside	16	11	12	22	16
Western Isles	1		1	2	4
Argyll and Clyde²	9	9	9	12	9
Greater Glasgow and Clyde pt.	6	8	7	10	6
Highland pt.	3	1	2	2	3
Greater Glasgow²	18	26	32	34	54
Highland²	3	5	6	6	12

Notes:

1. New NHS board areas including parts of former Argyll and Clyde.

2. Former NHSboard areas (before dissolution of Argyll and Clyde on1 April 2006).

These data should be treatedwith caution. Recording of HAIs as a cause of death is based on the clinical judgementof individual doctors. Recording of specific causes may be influenced by an increasedpublic and professional awareness of that infection, and increases in reportingmay not reliably indicate true changes in incidence. Note that the data relate toNHS board of residence and not place of death.

The Ministerial HAI Task Forcehas developed a raft of measures, based on evidence and best practice, includingsurveillance, professional guidance, education and training programmes, enhancedreporting and accountability structures

As part of the work of the MinisterialHAI Task Force, we have enhanced monitoring and surveillance measures. Since October2006, reporting of all Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemiashas been mandatory.

Question reference: S2W-32198

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children and young people between the ages of 12 and 20 who required hospital treatment for (a) alcohol and (b) substance misuse were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in each of the last three years.

Information on the number ofpeople aged 12 to 20 who were discharged from Scottish mental hospitals and psychiatricunits with a diagnosis of alcohol or drug misuse from 2000-01 to 2004-05 is setout in the following table.

	Alcohol Misuse					Drugs Misuse
Year	2000- 01	2001- 02	2002- 03^P	2003- 04^P	2004- 05^P	2000- 01	2001- 02	2002 -03^P	2003 -04^P	2004 -05^P
Total Number of Patients	52	49	76	63	66	207	191	210	177	167
Mental Hospitals and Units with no child/adolescent facilities	41	40	71	55	58	180	158	187	154	148
Mental Hospitals and psychiatric units with child/adolescent facilities	11	9	6	8	9	30	34	25	23	20

^PProvisional.

Patients admitted more than oncewithin a year may be counted in more than one facility category in the table. Thus,the sum of numbers in a column may exceed the national total.

Question reference: S2W-32190

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol-related deaths there were in hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

The information requested ispresented in the following table.

Alcohol-RelatedDeaths¹ in Hospitals, Scotland, 1996-2005

1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
562	618	641	705	794	833	864	942	834	871

Source: 1. 1996-99: ICD9codes: 291, 303, 305.0, 425.5, 571.0-571.5, 571.8-571.9, E860. 2000-05: ICD10codes: F10, G31.2, G62.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70, K73, K74 (excludingK74.3-K74.5),K86.0, X45, X65, Y15.

Question reference: S2W-32152

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of credit card fraud were committed in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Question reference: S2W-32151

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many gun-related crimes there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

The number of gun-related crimeor offences by police force area, from 1996-97 to 2005-06 are shown in the followingtable:

Crimes and Offences Recordedby Police in which a Firearm was Alleged to have Been Used, by Police Force

	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Central	29	33	69	42	56	33	22	19	35	17
Dumfries and Galloway	33	22	14	9	14	45	34	22	25	27
Fife	42	23	23	25	21	26	33	12	11	10
Grampian	76	66	66	80	68	72	74	41	33	38
Lothian and Borders	211	189	242	227	225	214	297	329	407	418
Northern	8	9	10	0	0	5	0	0	2	11
Strathclyde	928	637	552	536	522	531	520	452	531	474
Tayside	154	75	75	56	54	77	54	83	92	73
Total	1,481	1,054	1,051	975	960	1,003	1,034	958	1,136	1,068

Question reference: S2W-32145

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many 16-year-olds were recorded as homeless in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

The following table gives thenumber of households assessed as homeless where the main applicant was aged 16.This information is available from 2002-03 onward.

Households Assessedas Homeless with Main Applicant Aged 16: 2002-03 to 2005-06

	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Aberdeen City	50	30	30	30
Aberdeenshire	40	45	35	30
Angus	20	30	20	30
Argyll and Bute	40	40	35	30
Clackmannanshire	15	20	25	25
Dumfries and Galloway	25	35	45	35
Dundee City	25	20	20	20
East Ayrshire	15	25	25	20
East Dunbartonshire	5	5	10	5
East Lothian	15	5	15	30
East Renfrewshire	5	5	15	5
Edinburgh, City of	195	170	165	140
Eilean Siar	5	5	5	5
Falkirk	45	30	25	45
Fife	85	140	110	140
Glasgow City	240	210	245	205
Highland	40	65	60	70
Inverclyde	15	15	20	10
Midlothian	20	25	30	25
Moray	5	15	15	20
North Ayrshire	70	60	35	50
North Lanarkshire	50	50	75	75
Orkney	-	5	5	5
Perth and Kinross	20	25	25	10
Renfrewshire	15	25	20	25
Scottish Borders, The	20	30	20	15
Shetland	10	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	20	15	20	25
South Lanarkshire	65	45	45	45
Stirling	15	20	25	25
West Dunbartonshire	25	25	35	40
West Lothian	70	45	65	60
Scotland	1,295	1,275	1,320	1,295

Source: HL1 returns submittedby local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development Department AnalyticalServices Division (Housing Statistics).

Notes:

1. All assessments in period.

2. Due to small numbers, figureshave been rounded to the nearest five, and may therefore not sum to the Scotland total.

3. Due to the live nature of the data collection system, figures are updated on a continuous basis and the informationpublished here may differ from that published previously.

4. The following symbols areused in the tables:

- nil.

.. missing.