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-30802

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners were housed (a) with one other person in a cell designated for one and (b) with two other persons in a cell designated for two in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S2W-30796

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions in the last five years the publication dates of statistics that it produces have been changed and, in each case, what the subject matter was, what the original and final date of publication were, what the reasons were for the delay in publication and who took the decision to delay.

In accordance with the NationalStatistics Code of Practice (2002), the Chief Statistician has final responsibilityfor determining, pre-announcing and, if necessary, altering the dates of publicationof National Statistics and other relevant statistics produced by the Executive.

Any decision to change a pre-announcedpublication date will be based on a range of professional considerations.

When dates are changed, detailsare placed on the Executive website and key users are notified.

The Executive has no historicalrecord of the occasions on which a pre-announced publication date was changed inthe last five years. However, we are aware of eight occasions in the 2006 calendaryear. The details are shown in the following table:

Table 1: Changes toPre-Announced Publication Dates, Scottish Executive, 2006

Publication Name	Pre-Announced Date	Publication Date	Reason for Change
People Assisted Through Supporting People Funding 2004-2005	31-01-2006	21-02-2006	Delay in receiving and checking data.
Fire Statistics 2004	28-02-2006	16-02-2006	To coincide with publication of UK statistics bulletin.
Operation of Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Quarters ending 30 June and 30 September 2005 (temporary accommodation to 31 December 2005)	29-03-2006	28-03-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.
Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture	15-05-2006	17-05-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.
Firearm Certificate Statistics 2005	19-05-2006	25-05-2006	Delay in receiving data.
Bank Advances to Agriculture	01-08-2006	03-08-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.
Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: National & Local Authority Analyses 2005-06	05-09-2006	26-09-2006	Delay in checking data.
Final Results of the June 2006 Agricultural Census	26-10-2006	25-10-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.

Note: Publications released bythe General Register Office for Scotland and ISD NHS National Services Scotland have not beenincluded.

Question reference: S2W-30884

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded convictions there have been for drug trafficking in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court.

The available information isgiven in the following table.

Persons with a Charge Provedin Scottish Courts for Drug Trafficking^1,2, by Court, 2000-01- 2004-05

Court	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Sheriff Court
Aberdeen	52	47	68	57	88
Airdrie	23	25	31	25	29
Alloa	9	7	17	28	27
Arbroath	5	9	9	12	18
Ayr	27	24	41	40	28
Banff	1	11	7	9	5
Campbeltown	6	4	2	3	2
Cupar	10	10	8	7	8
Dingwall	7	2	6	6	20
Dornoch	-	-	4	1	1
Dumbarton	24	15	23	26	37
Dumfries	16	17	21	6	21
Dundee	32	17	44	27	40
Dunfermline	15	17	23	20	18
Dunoon	4	2	3	5	5
Duns	-	-	2	4	2
Edinburgh	111	103	87	103	189
Elgin	13	10	6	16	15
Falkirk	28	43	43	41	39
Forfar	16	7	7	7	11
Fort William	8	4	8	5	3
Glasgow	253	249	275	327	332
Greenock	38	24	44	43	35
Haddington	2	5	4	7	17
Hamilton	63	74	60	55	83
Inverness	6	28	14	36	41
Jedburgh	4	9	7	9	17
Kilmarnock	42	59	69	103	77
Kirkcaldy	22	23	33	33	43
Kirkcudbright	1	3	1	6	13
Kirkwall	2	4	3	4	4
Lanark	5	9	4	9	4
Lerwick	2	4	7	1	6
Linlithgow	32	14	27	27	56
Lochmaddy	-	1	-	1	1
Oban	10	7	3	5	6
Paisley	30	23	22	25	25
Peebles	5	2	1	2	5
Perth	41	51	52	47	64
Peterhead	5	11	16	13	12
Portree	-	2	3	1	-
Rothesay	1	-	-	-	-
Selkirk	7	3	8	8	10
Stirling	18	29	21	33	30
Stonehaven	3	2	1	-	-
Stornoway	2	2	5	3	5
Stranraer	9	12	22	18	19
Tain	4	7	4	12	10
Wick	4	6	7	3	2
All Sheriff Courts	1,018	1,037	1,173	1,279	1,523
All Courts³	1,331	1,370	1,524	1,623	1,759

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes illegal importation,production and supply of drugs, money laundering and other related offences.

3. Includes High Court convictions.

Question reference: S2W-30801

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent estimate is of the average cost per year of keeping an offender in (a) an adult prison and (b) a young offenders’ institution, broken down by main budget heading.

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

The SPS Annual Report and Accountsfor 2005-2006, copies of which are available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 40385) or via the Scottish Prison Service websiteat www.sps.gov.uk provides information in respectof the expenditure incurred in the Scottish Prison Service. The cost per prisonerplace is not available separately for adult prisons and young offender institutions.

Question reference: S2W-30803

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides there were in prisons classified as overcrowded in each of the last 10 years.

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

Electronic information is onlyavailable for the period since 2001.

Prison	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Aberdeen	1	2		6		1
Barlinnie	2			2	5	5
Dumfries				1
Edinburgh	1	1	1			1
Greenock	1	1
Inverness				1		1
Perth	1	1	6	1	2	1
Total	6	5	7	11	7	9

The prisons identified in thetable have had periods where prisoner numbers have exceeded the design capacityfor those particular prisons.

Question reference: S2W-30805

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were convicted for drug offences in each of the last 10 years.

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

The number of direct sentencedreceptions to prison where the main crime was a drugs crime in each of the lastten financial years are given in the following table:

Year	Male	Female	Total
1996-97	933	58	991
1997-98	955	64	1,019
1998-99	876	84	960
1999-2000	809	70	879
2000-01	763	69	832
2001-02	806	81	887
2002-03	864	85	949
2003-04	867	102	969
2004-05	844	126	970
2005-06	880	125	1,005

Question reference: S2W-30886

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has undertaken, or plans to undertake, to tackle drug misuse in each (a) local authority and (b) NHS board area and how much money has been allocated to each area for this purpose in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Executive providesfunding, through local authorities and health boards, to Alcohol and Drug ActionTeams (ADATs) to tackle drug misuse. It is up to the ADATs to decide how to allocate resourcesaccording to local needs and priorities. Detail of the services and initiativesADATs fund are set out in their annual Corporate Action Plans which are availableat http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/index.htm.

The following table details totalfunding provided, since 1999, to health boards to tackle drug misuse.

NHS Board	1999-2000 (£000)	2000-01 (£000)	2001-02 (£000)	2002-03 (£000)	2003-04 (£000)	2004-05 (£000)	2005-06 (£000)	2006-07 (£000)
Argyll and Clyde	901	984	1,111	1,338	1,388	1,988	2,226	2,226
Ayrshire and Arran	535	609	737	987	987	1,037	1,155	1,155
Borders	96	118	160	162	162	170	189	189
Dumfries and Galloway	96	124	298	258	258	271	482	482
Fife	445	514	698	789	789	829	1,378	1,378
Forth Valley	172	226	462	557	557	585	828	828
Grampian	972	1,085	1,283	1,314	1,314	1,963	2,202	2,202
Greater Glasgow	3,502	3,670	4,387	4,488	4,488	5,488	6,392	6,392
Highland	137	181	300	414	414	435	489	489
Lanarkshire	497	607	862	1,449	1,449	1,522	1,591	1,591
Lothian	2,776	2,922	3,214	3,539	3,539	3,719	4,645	4,645
Orkney	16	20	24	32	32	34	54	54
Shetland	37	42	46	55	55	58	72	72
Tayside	1,151	1,225	1,348	1,483	1,483	1,559	1,965	1,965
Western Isles	20	25	43	87	87	92	101	101
Total	11,352	12,352	14,973	16,952	16,952	19,752	23,769	23,769

The following table details totalfunding provided, since 2001, to local authorities to tackle drug misuse.

Local Authority	2001-02 (£000)	2002-03 (£000)	2003-04 (£000)	2004-05 (£000)
Aberdeen City	282	282	282	282
Aberdeenshire	302	302	302	302
Argyll and Bute	119	119	119	119
Borders	141	141	141	141
Clackmannanshire	65	65	65	65
Dumfries and Galloway	195	195	195	195
East Ayrshire	161	161	161	161
East Dunbartonshire	147	147	147	147
East Lothian	120	120	120	120
East Renfrewshire	119	119	119	119
East Renfrewshire	119	119	119	119
Edinburgh City	600	600	600	600
Falkirk	192	192	192	192
Fife	464	464	464	464
Glasgow City	812	812	812	812
Highland	277	277	277	277
Inverclyde	113	113	113	113
Moray	113	113	113	113
North Ayrshire	185	185	185	185
North Lanarkshire	436	436	436	436
North Lanarkshire	436	436	436	436
Renfrewshire	235	235	235	235
South Ayrshire	152	152	152	152
South Lanarkshire	408	408	408	408
South Lanarkshire	408	408	408	408
Stirling	113	113	113	113
West Dunbartonshire	126	126	126	126
West Dunbartonshire	126	126	126	126
Midlothian	108	108	108	108
West Lothian	205	205	205	205
Orkney	26	26	26	26
Shetland	30	30	30	30
Angus	146	146	146	146
Dundee City	192	192	192	192
Perth and Kinross	178	178	178	178
Western Isles	37	37	37	37
Total	6,800	6,800	6,800	6,800

The following table details fundingprovided to health boards to support the work of ADATs.

NHS Board	1999-2000 (£000)	2000-01 (£000)	2001-02 (£000)	2002-03 (£000)	2003-04 (£000)	2004-05 (£000)	2005-06 (£000)	2006-07 (£000)
Argyll and Clyde	110	110	174	179	179	179	179	179
Ayrshire and Arran	110	110	169	173	173	173	173	173
Borders	80	80	113	115	115	115	115	115
Dumfries and Galloway	80	80	117	120	120	120	120	120
Fife	110	110	167	169	169	169	169	169
Forth Valley	110	110	160	161	161	161	161	161
Grampian	110	110	229	231	231	231	231	231
Greater Glasgow	110	110	221	232	232	232	232	232
Highland	110	110	153	157	157	157	157	157
Lanarkshire	110	110	188	190	190	190	190	190
Lothian	110	110	277	281	281	281	281	281
Orkney	65	65	90	91	91	91	91	91
Shetland	65	65	90	91	91	91	91	91
Tayside	110	110	216	222	222	222	222	222
Western Isles	65	65	90	92	92	92	92	92
Total	1,455	1,455	2,455	2,505	2,505	2,505	2,505	2,505

Question reference: S2W-30942

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-30954

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in Midlothian in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-30963

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in South Ayrshire in each year since 1999.