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-19204

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18738 by Kenny MacAskill on 16 December 2008 and his announcement on 24 October 2008 of £1 million additional funding to deliver speedier community penalties, how it will monitor the effectiveness of the additional funding given that information is not held centrally on the average length of time following sentencing before commencement of sentences.

Question reference: S3W-19596

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of a report in the Press and Journal on 7 January 2009, what assessment it makes of the AA’s call for the vehicles of repeat drink-drivers to be confiscated.

In cases where a road traffic offence punishable by imprisonment has been committed, Section 33A of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 provides the courts with the power to make an order for the forfeiture of a vehicle following an application from the prosecutor. The range of penalties for drink driving offences includes imprisonment.

The decision to apply for the forfeiture of a vehicle is a matter for the prosecutor. Sentencing decisions are a matter for the judge, who hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender, and is able to take into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant.

Question reference: S3W-19600

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of drink and drug-drivers caught by police represents repeat offenders.

Question reference: S3W-19588

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, what the reasons are for the Alcohol Awareness Programme not being offered to prisoners at HMP Dumfries or HMP Kilmarnock.

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

The SPS delivers a suite of prisoner programmes and approved activities that address issues or provide awareness pertaining to substance misuse, including alcohol. This suite of interventions is continually evolving to keep pace with current practice and changes in substance abuse trends in the community.

Whilst the approved activity Alcohol Awareness specialises specifically on alcohol, and mainly the physiological effects of alcohol misuse, the other approved activities cover wider substance related awareness and issues, including alcohol.

Currently this suite of substance related interventions includes the prisoner programme Substance Related Offending Behaviour Programme (SROBP) and approved activities Drugs Action for Change; First Step; Smart Recovery and Alcohol Awareness in public sector prisons.

Currently HMP Kilmarnock delivers substance related approved activities Over-comers and Advanced Drug Awareness and plans are in place for Kilmarnock to introduce SROBP this year (2009-10).

Currently HMP Dumfries delivers approved activity First Step and the Prisoner Programme Constructs. The aggregated risk and needs profile of prisoners at Dumfries indicates that this is the best use of the available resources at this time. Prisoners also have access to an Enhanced Addictions Casework Service (EACS) with interventions including alcohol assessment, one-to-one, group work and smoking cessation support.

Question reference: S3W-19543

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what work it is undertaking to reduce the number of fine defaulters that serve prison sentences.

The Scottish Government have taken forward significant measures to tackle fine default. We are implementing summary justice reform which has brought improvements to the system and changes in the law under the Criminal Proceedings Reform Act. Fines enforcement officers were introduced under that Act.

The Scottish Court Service is implementing a project to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recovery of fines and financial penalties.

Fines enforcement officers, currently 30 in number, are active in dealing with penalties payable to Sheriff Courts across Scotland and to Justice of the Peace Courts in those Sheriffdoms where the unification of the administration of the courts is in place. Fines enforcement officers are employed to advise those who have genuine difficulty in paying and to apply enforcement measures such as deduction from benefit where they refuse to pay.

To reduce the use of custody in cases of low level fine default the Scottish Government also commenced provisions from 1 September 2007 requiring the mandatory use by courts of supervised attendance orders for fine default of £500, where a custodial sentence would otherwise have been imposed.

Question reference: S3W-19592

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, how much it cost to run and how many prisoners took part in the Alcohol Awareness Programme in the last year, broken down by prison.

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

The cost for delivering the approved activity Alcohol Awareness is not separately available. It is contained within the general programme costs.

The following number of prisoners completed the approved activity Alcohol Awareness during 2007-08, broken down by prison:

Barlinnie	25
Edinburgh	47
Glenochil	19
Perth	49
Shotts	47
Polmont	60
Aberdeen	35
Cornton Vale	18
Greenock	52
Inverness	11
Peterhead	39
Total	402

Question reference: S3W-19595

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, what the duration is of the Alcohol Awareness Programme and what it involves for participants.

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

The SPS-developed Approved Activity Alcohol Awareness is a 16-hour awareness intervention.

It focuses mainly on the physiological effects of alcohol misuse and why it can become addictive. It also looks at reasons why people become addicted to alcohol and how situations where alcohol can lead to offending behaviour can be avoided.

It is emphasised that this is an awareness intervention, which is reflected in the short duration of the activity.

Question reference: S3W-19586

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19208 by John Swinney on 9 January 2009, what specific activities or resources it expects community justice authorities to spend the £1 million additional funding on and how, in each case, this will help to ensure that (a) offenders start their community service orders more quickly and (b) orders are completed in a shorter timescale.

Question reference: S3W-19585

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19208 by John Swinney on 9 January 2009, how, in each case, it intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the £1 million additional funding allocated to ensure that (a) offenders start their community service orders more quickly and (b) orders are completed in a shorter timescale and what specific criteria it will use.

Question reference: S3W-19593

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, how the Scottish Prison Service evaluates the Alcohol Awareness Programme.

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

The SPS-developed approved activity Alcohol Awareness is, as described, an awareness intervention. It focuses on the physiological effects of alcohol misuse.

There are built in pre and post-evaluation questionnaires that measure the level of improved awareness of alcohol misuse issues of those prisoners who have participated in the intervention.