Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-40220

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) acute and (b) other occupied bed days across NHSScotland were associated with assault by a sharp object in 2010.

Question reference: S3W-40230

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many banned items were seized from individuals in hospitals in 2010, broken down by (a) item and (b) hospital.

Question reference: S3W-40219

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) acute and (b) other occupied bed days across NHSScotland were associated with assault by a sharp object in 2009.

Question reference: S3W-40242

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-33605 by Kenny MacAskill on 20 May 2010, when it will next publish an audit of community service.

Question reference: S3W-40245

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the ruling by the Appeal Court on the case of Morris Petch and Robert Foye v Her Majesty’s Advocate and whether it plans action.

The judgment of an Appeal Court comprising a bench of 7 Judges was issued on Tuesday 1 March 2011 in the cases of Foye and Petch appealing against the punishment part of their discretionary life sentences. The punishment part of a sentence is the part that a prisoner must serve before they first become eligible to apply for parole.

The judgement concerned the correct interpretation of section 2(2)(aa) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. This provision was introduced into the 1993 Act by section 1 of the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001. Section 2(2) (aa) governs how judges should set the punishment part of a discretionary life sentence and Orders for Lifelong Restriction.

The effect of the judgement is that section 2(2)(aa) has been interpreted as operating in a way that will mean that a discretionary life prisoner and Order for Lifelong Restriction prisoner may receive a punishment part of their sentence below the level that they would receive if they had received a fixed length sentence for the same offence. In his opinion within the Appeal Court judgement, Lord Justice General states that:

¦ I have¦ come, with regret, to the view that, however unsatisfactory it may appear as a matter of comparative justice, Parliament has given statutory effect to an arrangement under which an indeterminate prisoner will, or at least may, become first eligible for consideration for parole at an earlier stage in his sentence than an equivalent determinate prisoner.

The judgement applies only in cases where prisoners have received a discretionary life sentence or have been made subject to an Order for Lifelong Restriction. The judgement does not affect any convicted murderers as they receive a mandatory life sentence.

As a result of the judgement, some prisoners may be able to apply for parole earlier than had previously been the case, but the parole board will still be required to consider whether the public needs to be protected from the prisoner. If the parole board considers that the public should be protected, the prisoner will remain in prison.

With the detail of the judgement now available, we are considering what primary legislative change may be needed to address the issues raised by the judgement. Such legislative change would be for the administration in place after the May elections to decide upon.

Question reference: S3W-40216

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of knife crime on NHS services since May 2007.

Question reference: S3W-40243

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of offenders sentenced to a work placement as part of a community service order commenced actual work on the placement within (a) 7, (b) 8 to 14, (c) 15 to 21, (d) 22 to 31, (e) 31 to 62, (f) 63 to 93 or (g) longer than 93 days in 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S3W-40244

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of offenders sentenced to a work placement as part of a community service order completed the placement within (a) 7, (b) 8 to 14, (c) 15 to 21, (d) 22 to 31, (e) 31 to 62, (f) 63 to 93 or (g) longer than 93 days in 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S3W-40214

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was following sentencing before offenders commenced (a) community sentence, (b) probation, (c) supervised attendance and (d) drug treatment and testing orders in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.

Data on average commencement times for community sentences are not collected. The Scottish Government has published an audit of speed and immediacy for community service based on a snapshot of performance of community service in November 2008. The findings of the audit are available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/offender/community/examples/6822/cs-audit-2008.

Question reference: S3W-40215

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was following sentencing before offenders commenced (a) community sentence, (b) probation, (c) supervised attendance and (d) drug treatment and testing orders in 2009-10, broken down by local authority area.

Data on average commencement times for community sentences are not collected. The Scottish Government has published an audit of speed and immediacy for community service based on a snapshot of performance of community service in November 2009. The findings of the audit are available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/offender/community/examples/6822/2009-cs-audit.

Chamber and committees