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-16849

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 31 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) recommended capacity and (b) average number of inmates held at each (i) prison and (ii) young offenders institutions has been in each of the last 12 months.

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

The following table illustrates the average daily population for each establishment in each of the last 12 months against the design capacity and assessed operational limit for each.

	Design Capacity	Assessed Operational Limit	2007 Month
Daily Average Population			10	11	12
Aberdeen	155	255	242	223	228
Barlinnie	1,018	1,692	1,479	1,407	1,332
Cornton Vale	375	440	380	369	359
Dumfries	179	216	199	205	197
Edinburgh	756	866	823	787	778
Glenochil	670	750	669	667	668
Greenock	255	330	318	281	303
Inverness	104	162	147	147	153
Kilmarnock	500	644	641	645	636
Open Estate	425	519	493	486	479
Perth	722	801	484	596	639
Peterhead	306	306	303	305	304
Polmont	623	700	669	658	622
Shotts	537	549	539	537	539

	2008
Daily Average Population	Month
Daily Average Population	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Aberdeen	237	246	239	227	232	235	223	234	249
Barlinnie	1,397	1,492	1523	1514	1506	1524	1599	1671	1727
Cornton Vale	368	396	380	381	381	401	385	409	432
Dumfries	197	200	195	198	197	202	195	215	217
Edinburgh	786	805	830	814	819	842	850	862	892
Glenochil	669	670	690	718	719	718	719	739	751
Greenock	311	312	303	312	309	302	312	325	330
Inverness	152	148	146	147	148	144	144	165	153
Kilmarnock	597	621	644	648	641	649	647	647	646
Open Estate	465	470	443	377	339	339	354	353	348
Perth	669	728	738	748	747	763	776	776	784
Peterhead	305	304	303	303	305	305	305	306	306
Polmont	655	675	677	688	669	674	692	694	695
Shotts	538	537	539	540	539	538	541	539	544

Question reference: S3W-16846

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 29 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils have been caught bringing alcohol into school in each local authority area in the last year.

Question reference: S3W-16681

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of sex offenders have received rehabilitation treatment prior to release and how much funding has been allocated to programmes for the treatment of such offenders in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S3W-16675

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take following the recent reports by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons into HMP Dumfries and HMP Peterhead that raised concerns about the rehabilitation of sex offenders prior to release.

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

HM Prison Peterhead and HM Prison Dumfries have developed action plans to address the issues raised by the recommendations included in the recent HMIP reports. This is in line with normal SPS practice.

SPS is currently in the process of developing an Interventions and Offender Case Management Strategy which will also include a national strategy for the management of sex offenders. A key aspect of this will be motivational work to encourage sex offenders to engage in appropriate interventions, including the Sex Offender Treatment Programme.

Question reference: S3W-16680

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio is of sex offenders recommended to enter a treatment programme to places available.

Question reference: S3W-16682

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to make the Sex Offender Treatment Programme compulsory for convicted sex offenders.

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

The SPS has no plans to make the Sex Offender Treatment Programmes (SOTP) it delivers compulsory for convicted sex offenders as it is essential that the individual is motivated, ready to engage in the intervention and ready to modify their behaviour. This is in line with the British Psychological Society Professional Practice Guidelines, the Accreditation Standards for SOTPs and recognised effective practice.

Question reference: S3W-16815

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reported incidents, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions have been recorded in each local authority in each year since 2000 for offences under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 relating to sales of alcohol to those under the age of 18.

The available information is given in the following tables:

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.

Offences Recorded by the Police of Licensed Persons Selling Alcohol to a Person Under 18 by Local Authority Area, 2000-01 to 2007-08

Local Authority	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07¹	2007-08
Aberdeen City	16	29	12	1	7	29	19	30
Aberdeenshire	8	16	40	9	3	13	12	18
Angus	-	2	2	5	4	12	9	5
Argyll and Bute	5	4	15	7	5	4	5	10
City of Edinburgh	1	23	18	11	9	17	33	19
City of Glasgow	18	17	13	38	51	53	38	38
Clackmannanshire	2	3	-	4	1	-	7	8
Dumfries and Galloway	-	1	4	20	18	9	5	36
Dundee City	10	8	6	7	-	10	10	13
East Ayrshire	4	4	36	15	20	10	10	12
East Dunbartonshire	21	4	13	8	8	16	13	7
East Lothian	6	7	1	-	-	3	41	20
East Renfrewshire	11	2	1	-	1	3	8	3
Eilean Siar (W.Isles)	-	3	-	-	-	-	5	-
Falkirk	11	31	9	10	21	8	34	33
Fife	6	14	30	14	9	19	322	76
Highland	28	21	9	11	17	11	68	13
Inverclyde	7	3	5	1	3	1	7	10
Midlothian	1	5	1	6	10	12	9	17
Moray	2	7	14	-	8	1	17	28
North Ayrshire	-	2	9	9	13	23	10	5
North Lanarkshire	4	6	7	1	14	25	23	28
OrkneyIslands	-	-	-	5	1	-	14	-
Perth and Kinross	1	4	4	1	33	9	1	1
Renfrewshire	2	3	13	17	9	18	17	26
Scottish Borders	8	3	7	-	7	4	8	5
Shetland Islands	1	2	-	-	3	-	2	7
South Ayrshire	10	12	14	21	6	13	7	21
South Lanarkshire	7	11	5	56	40	17	17	19
Stirling	4	13	4	7	7	14	12	8
West Dunbartonshire	1	4	8	2	3	2	8	17
West Lothian	7	14	4	1	2	1	10	43
All Scotland	202	278	304	287	333	357	801	576

Note: 1. Figures for 2006-07 show the impact of the Fife test purchasing pilot.

Licensed Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selling Alcohol to Under 18s¹ by Approximate Local Authority Area², 2000-01 to 2006-07

Local Authority/Result	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Aberdeen City
Not guilty	3	-	2	2	-	1	4
Charge Proved	-	-	2	1	-	2	4
Total proceeded against	3	-	4	3	-	3	8
Aberdeenshire
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	4	-	2	-	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	4	-	2	-	-	-	-
Angus
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Charge Proved	-	1	2	-	-	-	1
Total proceeded against	-	1	2	-	-	-	2
Argyll and Bute
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Clackmannanshire
Not guilty	1	-	-	-	2	1	-
Charge Proved	1	-	-	-	1	-	-
Total proceeded against	2	-	-	-	3	1	-
Dumfries and Galloway
Not guilty	-	-	-	1	2	3	-
Charge Proved	-	-	-	1	1	3	-
Total proceeded against	-	-	-	2	3	6	-
Dundee City
Not guilty	3	-	2	2	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	1	1	3	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	3	1	3	5	-	-	-
East Ayrshire
Not guilty	1	1	-	-	1	1	-
Charge Proved	1	3	2	3	4	3	3
Total proceeded against	2	4	2	3	5	4	3
East Dunbartonshire
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	1	-	-	2	-	-
Total proceeded against	-	1	-	-	2	-	-
East Lothian
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	1	-
Charge Proved	2	2	-	-	-	1	1
Total proceeded against	2	2	-	-	-	2	1
East Renfrewshire
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Edinburgh, City of
Not guilty	1	1	2	1	1	3	6
Charge Proved	1	1	6	2	4	2	3
Total proceeded against	2	2	8	3	5	5	9
Eilean Siar
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Falkirk
Not guilty	1	-	4	3	1	2	2
Charge Proved	2	2	1	1	1	2	2
Total proceeded against	3	2	5	4	2	4	4
Fife
Not guilty	3	-	-	2	1	-	1
Charge Proved	3	1	-	3	-	-	4
Total proceeded against	6	1	-	5	1	-	5
Glasgow City
Not guilty	6	7	1	1	2	2	5
Charge Proved	3	3	1	2	5	5	5
Total proceeded against	9	10	2	3	7	7	10
Highland
Not guilty	-	-	1	-	1	1	1
Charge Proved	-	2	1	-	-	1	2
Total proceeded against	-	2	2	-	1	2	3
Inverclyde
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	1	-	-	1	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	1	-	-	1	-	-	-
Midlothian
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	2	1	1
Charge Proved	1	1	-	-	-	-	3
Total proceeded against	1	1	-	-	2	1	4
Moray
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	2	-	1	-	-	-
Total proceeded against	-	2	-	1	-	-	-
North Ayrshire
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Charge Proved	-	-	2	1	-	1	2
Total proceeded against	-	-	2	1	-	1	3
North Lanarkshire
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	5
Charge Proved	-	-	-	-	-	2	2
Total proceeded against	-	-	-	-	-	2	7
Orkney Islands
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	-	-	3	-	-	1
Total proceeded against	-	-	-	3	-	-	1
Perth and Kinross
Not guilty	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	-	1	-	-	1	-
Total proceeded against	1	-	1	-	-	1	-
Renfrewshire
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	2	-	3
Charge Proved	-	2	-	5	1	-	2
Total proceeded against	-	2	-	5	3	-	5
Scottish Borders
Not guilty	2	2	-	-	2	2	-
Charge Proved	-	3	3	-	-	2	1
Total proceeded against	2	5	3	-	2	4	1
Shetland Islands
Not guilty	-	-	-	-	1	-	-
Charge Proved	1	1	-	-	2	-	-
Total proceeded against	1	1	-	-	3	-	-
South Ayrshire
Not guilty	2	2	-	-	-	6	7
Charge Proved	-	3	4	4	-	3	2
Total proceeded against	2	5	4	4	-	9	9
South Lanarkshire
Not guilty	2	4	-	-	2	12	1
Charge Proved	-	-	4	1	6	5	5
Total proceeded against	2	4	4	1	8	17	6
Stirling
Not guilty	-	-	-	1	3	1	3
Charge Proved	-	-	1	1	-	1	1
Total proceeded against	-	-	1	2	3	2	4
West Dunbartonshire
Not guilty	2	-	-	-	-	1	-
Charge Proved	-	-	-	2	-	-	2
Total proceeded against	2	-	-	2	-	1	2
West Lothian
Not guilty	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Charge Proved	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Total proceeded against	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Scotland
Not guilty	29	17	12	13	23	38	41
Charge Proved	20	30	34	35	27	34	47
Total proceeded against	49	47	46	48	50	72	88

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

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. There are four local authorities, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, which do not contain a sheriff court.

Question reference: S3W-16676

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners served sentences for sex offences in each of the last five years, broken down by prison.

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

The following table details the number of prisoners liberated from Scottish prisons over the last five years where the main custodial sentence was for crimes of indecency, broken down by prison:

Establishment	Year of Release
Establishment	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Barlinnie	39	42	65	56	56
Aberdeen	7	5	8	10	10
Cornton Vale	.	.	.	1	2
Dumfries	3	2	7	7	8
Edinburgh	27	35	50	41	37
Glenochil Prison	.	.	.	.	1
Greenock	7	7	5	3	1
Inverness	9	7	8	11	7
Noranside	2	.	1	.	.
Perth	12	12	10	13	13
Peterhead	14	19	5	1	1
Polmont	10	11	12	8	11
Kilmarnock	7	7	4	9	3
Total	137	147	175	160	150

Question reference: S3W-16678

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive in which (a) prisons and (b) young offenders’ institutions the Sex Offender Treatment Programme was run in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S3W-16677

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 October 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of sex offenders in prisons attended the Sex Offender Treatment Programme in each of the last five years, broken down by prison.

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

The information requested is detailed in the following table:

	2004			2005			2006
	Pop	Programme	%	Pop	Programme	%	Pop	Programme	%
Barlinnie	70	6	8%	71	0	0%	91	13	14%
Aberdeen	5	0	0%	5	0	0%	7	0	0%
Castle Huntly	2	0	0%	1	0	0%	1	0	0%
Cornton Vale	3	0	0%	0	0	0%	1	0	0%
Dumfries	4	0	0%	66	0	0%	88	0	0%
Edinburgh	74	0	0%	62	11	18%	78	14	18%
Glenochil	6	0	0%	4	0	0%	7	0	0%
Greenock	8	0	0%	18	0	0%	6	0	0%
Inverness	10	0	0%	11	0	0%	5	0	0%
Low Moss	0	0	0%	2	0	0%	2	0	0%
Noranside/Open Estate	7	0	0%	6	0	0%	4	0	0%
Perth	34	0	0%	14	0	0%	15	0	0%
Peterhead	283	14	5%	276	42	15%	287	42	15%
Polmont	34	6	18%	31	7	23%	49	7	14%
Shotts	9	0	0%	4	0	0%	5	0	0%
Kilmarnock	16	0	0%	11	0	0%	14	0	0%
SPS Total:	565	26	5%	582	60	10%	660	76	12%

	2007			2008
	Pop	Programme	%	Pop	Programme	%
Barlinnie	107	14	13%	112	14	13%
Aberdeen	8	0	0%	13	0	0%
Castle Huntly	1	0	0%	1	0	0%
Cornton Vale	2	0	0%	0	0	0%
Dumfries	85	0	0%	71	0	0%
Edinburgh	92	17	18%	81	15	19%
Glenochil	1	0	0%	0	0	0%
Greenock	7	0	0%	8	0	0%
Inverness	4	0	0%	7	0	0%
Low Moss	0	0	0%	0	0	0%
Noranside/Open Estate	2	0	0%	3	0	0%
Perth	23	0	0%	29	0	0%
Peterhead	287	38	13%	288	52	18%
Polmont	51	8	16%	39	12	31%
Shotts	10	0	0%	11	0	0%
Kilmarnock	24	0	0%	11	0	0%
SPS Total:	704	77	11%	674	93	14%