Chamber and committees

While our website contains some international comparative data, the Statistics Finland site links into a wider range of internationally comparative data via the EU Statistics organisation, EUROSTAT. This is available for EU member states as a result of their legal obligations to produce statistics, and would be similarly available to an independent Scotland which was an EU member.

We are continually improving the range and impact of statistics in Scotland. Priorities are set by seeking and balancing the needs of existing and potential users of statistics, and we are happy to consider what Statistics Finland do on their international database alongside other ideas for improvement based on best practice internationally.

The information requested on Historic Scotland’s visitor numbers is provided in the following tables:

Table 1: Paid for admission sites in Scotland open all year

Table 2: Paid for admission sites in West Scotland open all year

Note: Dumbarton Castle is the only paid for admission site in West Scotland open all year

Table 3: Free admission sites in Scotland open all year

Note: Glasgow Cathedral is the only free admission site in Scotland open all year where visitor numbers are recorded

Table 4: Paid for admission sites in Scotland open in summer only

Table 5: Paid for admission sites in West Scotland open in summer only

Note: Newark Castle is the only paid for admission site in West Scotland open in summer only

Table 6: Free admission sites in Scotland open in summer only

Note: St Serf's Church is the only free site in Scotland open in summer only where visitor numbers are recorded.

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

The following table shows the number of prisoners referred to the Enhanced Addiction Casework Service (EACS) detailing how many received alcohol and drug interventions and at what rate, in each of the last five years from 2007-08 to 2011-12. The gender and age information is not available.

The information requested is as follows.

Incarceration rates per 100,000 Population by Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Religion and Nationality from 2006 to 2010

Sources: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services and National Registers for Scotland

Notes:

The data presented here are drawn from the Scottish Prison Service PR2 administrative IT system and updated and quality assured on an on-going basis. Figures shown here may therefore differ slightly from those published previously.

1. Prison population for 16-19 years may contain a small number of under 16s for some years.

2. Ethnicity figures have been taken from the 2001 Census and cover all people aged 16 and over.

3. Religion figures have been taken from the 2001 Census and cover all people aged 16 and over. They are for "current religion". Those who did not answer the (optional) question on current religion in the Census have been allocated proportionately to the other categories.

4. Prison figures are as at 1 September. Population figures for nationality are for all ages and do not cover people living in communal establishments.

The information requested is as follows.

Prison Population by Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Religion and Nationality from 2006 to 2010

Sources: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services and National Registers for Scotland.

Notes:

The data presented here are drawn from the Scottish Prison Service PR2 administrative IT system and updated and quality assured on an on-going basis. Figures shown here may therefore differ slightly from those published previously.

1. Prison population for 16 to 19 years may contain a small number of under 16s for some years.

2. Ethnicity figures have been taken from the 2001 Census and cover all people aged 16 and over.

3. Religion figures have been taken from the 2001 Census and cover all people aged 16 and over. They are for "current religion". Those who did not answer the (optional) question on current religion in the Census have been allocated proportionately to the other categories.

4. Prison figures are as at 1 September. Population figures for nationality are for all ages and do not cover people living in communal establishments.

The Scottish Survey of Adult Literacies (SSAL) provides a whole range of internationally comparable data on the literacy levels of the Scottish population. The most recent survey, SSAL2009, was based on the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) carried out in the mid-1990s as part of an international programme of surveys and involved a random sample of 1,927 16 to 65-year-olds in Scottish households. However, SSAL does not provide a direct comparison with the WHO definition of literacy used for parameter 0400 in the European Health For All database and has not therefore been included in the data provided by ScotPHO.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board prepares an annual report each year, which provides details about expenditure on the legal aid fund. This is laid before the Scottish Parliament along with the board's statement of accounts. The net figures for legal aid expenditure for 2007-08 to 2011-12 having taken account of income, including from contributions and expenses, are as follows (million):

The figures in this table for 2007-08 to 2010-11 are taken from the board’s annual reports for these years. The board has not yet finalised its annual report and statement of accounts for financial year 2011-12. The figure given for 2011-12 is therefore provisional at this stage.

Information Services Division plans to publish the first data on the child fluoride varnishing HEAT target in October 2012. This data will relate to the position as at 31 March 2012.

We recognise that a poor diet and excessive consumption of food and drink contributes directly to the high rates of the main causes of death and poor health in Scotland. Improvement will largely depend on people’s lifestyles. We are taking firm action to encourage people to eat better, be more active, stop smoking and drink sensibly to support people to live healthier lives.

Initiatives such as our Obesity Prevention Action Plan, the Healthier Scotland Cooking Bus and the Scottish Grocers Federation’s healthyliving, Programme, focus on improving diet and increasing physical activity levels, particularly among young people.

We are spending over £7.5 million in the next three years to encourage healthy eating, including work with the food industry to reduce the added sugar and salt content of products and to produce healthier food.

Our Diabetes Action Plan recognises that being overweight seriously increases an individual's chance of developing type 2 diabetes and the importance of addressing the underlying risk factors for diabetes, including obesity.

We also want to minimise the risk of complications for people with diabetes as well as prevent people from developing diabetes in the first place. The action plan sets out a comprehensive programme of work that will improve outcomes for people living with diabetes in Scotland.

According to the Scottish Diabetes Survey, there were 237,468 people diagnosed with diabetes in Scotland recorded on local diabetes registers at the start of 2011. This represents 4.6% of the population of Scotland. Of those registered with diabetes, 88% (208,279) had type 2 diabetes and 12% (27,910) had type 1 diabetes.

While the number of cases of undiagnosed diabetes is unknown there are two sources which can be used to estimate this. The Scottish Public Health Observatory has estimated that in 2010 there were 48,844 undiagnosed cases of diabetes, or 0.9% of the population of Scotland. The Scottish Health Survey found that in 2008-09 2.5% of adults aged 16 and over (3.0% of men and 2.0% of women) who did not have a diagnosis of diabetes had glycated haemoglobin levels of 6.5% or above, indicative of possible undiagnosed diabetes.