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-01500

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 17 July 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cannabis factories have been discovered by the police in each year since 1999, broken down by police force.

The Scottish Executive does notcollect information about the number of police operations that have discovered cannabisfactories.

The Scottish Executive does collectdrug seizure data from the eight police forces within Scotland andthese data do contain information about seizures that have recovered cannabis plants.In most cases it is known many cannabis plants were recovered in each seizure operation.However, specific details about size of plants, how the plants were being grown,whether they were grown for the purpose of sale etc are not known.

Presented are the number of cannabisplants recovered in drug seizures broken down by the corresponding police forcesfrom year 1999.

The number of plants from Centralwas not available over the period. Where plants were recovered in Central, the plantswere “weighed” and not counted. This means that plants could not be distinguishedfrom cannabis in herbal form in the statistics. This matter has now been rectifiedand Central will be able to produce figures in relation to the number of plantsrecovered in the future.

1999-2000

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	0	1	0	0	0	1
Fife	6	2	1	0	0	9
Grampian	5	2	0	1	1	9
Lothian and Borders	21	12	3	3	0	39
Northern	7	0	2	1	0	10
Strathclyde	8	2	7	3	1	21
Tayside	4	0	0	0	0	4
Total	51	19	13	8	2	93

2000-01

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	0	0	1	0	1	2
Fife	4	0	3	1	0	8
Grampian	2	0	1	0	0	3
Lothian and Borders	17	5	2	1	4	29
Northern	3	0	1	0	0	4
Strathclyde	21	5	7	3	4	40
Tayside	6	0	1	0	0	7
Total	53	10	16	5	9	93

2001-02

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	2	0	0	0	1	3
Fife	4	5	1	3	3	16
Grampian	6	0	1	0	1	8
Lothian and Borders	13	5	3	1	2	24
Northern	5	0	0	0	0	5
Strathclyde	20	7	7	1	3	38
Tayside	3	0	0	0	0	3
Total	53	17	12	5	10	97

2002-03

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	3	0	1	0	0	4
Fife	8	3	4	1	2	18
Grampian	6	1	0	0	0	7
Lothian and Borders	22	8	6	3	4	43
Northern	11	0	1	1	1	14
Strathclyde	30	8	4	6	3	51
Tayside	5	2	4	1	1	13
Total	85	22	20	12	11	150

2003-04

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	2	1	1	0	0	4
Fife	9	5	6	2	1	23
Grampian	8	2	0	2	1	13
Lothian and Borders	17	4	7	3	1	32
Northern	4	0	1	0	0	5
Strathclyde	34	9	15	9	6	73
Tayside	9	2	7	4	3	25
Total	83	23	37	20	12	175

2004-05

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	2	1	0	0	2	5
Fife	6	9	4	0	1	20
Grampian	9	5	3	0	0	17
Lothian and Borders	25	4	11	1	4	45
Northern	1	1	0	0	0	2
Strathclyde	29	6	5	5	9	54
Tayside	8	1	5	2	0	16
Total	80	27	28	8	16	159

2005-06

Police Force	Number of Cannabis Plants Seized					Total
Police Force	1 to 5	6 to 10	11 to 25	26 to 50	more than 50	Total
Central	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	1	0	1	0	1	3
Fife	5	3	2	5	2	17
Grampian	8	1	3	0	2	14
Lothian and Borders	25	9	20	4	4	62
Northern	4	1	2	0	0	7
Strathclyde	28	10	14	8	4	64
Tayside	8	2	2	2	0	14
Total	79	26	44	19	13	181

Question reference: S3W-01495

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 July 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many death certificates have recorded MRSA as the cause of death in each year since 1999.

It is unusual forMRSA infection to be an isolated cause of death, as a range of contributory factorsare normally involved. The death certificates that have recorded MRSA as the underlyingcause of death are, however, shown in the following table:

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
MRSA recorded as the underlying cause of death	22	35	36	46	39	42	38

The data providedin the above table should be noted with caution. Recording of MRSA infection ondeath certificates is based on the clinical judgement of each doctor. Changes inthe number of cases year-on-year may therefore be influenced by increased publicand professional awareness of MRSA and may not be a reliable indicator of the trueincidence.

The HAI Task Forcehas developed a comprehensive programme of measures to tackle Healthcare AssociatedInfections. The task force will be taking a new HAI programme forward from 2008-09which will focus on targeting skin and soft tissue infections; examining the casefor introducing an MRSA screening programme; reducing blood stream infections,and ensuring additional surveillance data is put in place in the areas of generalmedicine and care of the elderly.

Since October 2006,reporting of all Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemias (MRSAand MSSA) has been mandatory. The last report Scottish Surveillance of Healthcare AssociatedInfection Programme: Quarterly Report on MRSA Bacteraemias In Scotland, January 2003 – March 2007 was published by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) on 3 July,and confirms that serious MRSA infection rates remain stable. It is available fromthe HPS website at http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/surveillance/ReportsDetail.aspx.

Question reference: S3W-01496

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 July 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many death certificates have been altered to show MRSA as the cause of death in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S3W-01109

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 June 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been under the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 for meeting a child following certain preliminary contact, broken down by year.

Question reference: S3W-01108

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 June 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 21 June 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many charges there have been under the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 for meeting a child following certain preliminary contact, broken down by year.

Question reference: S2W-32643

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many established assessment centres there are for people with learning disabilities.

Question reference: S2W-32644

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places there are in established assessment centres for people with learning disabilities.

Question reference: S2W-32645

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people who have been referred to assessment centres for people with learning disabilities in the last year have been deemed unsuitable to live in the community.

Question reference: S2W-32642

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people who have been the subject of VI1 reports issued by social work departments in the last year have also been referred to an assessment centre for people with learning disabilities.

Question reference: S2W-32646

Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive where people with learning disabilities who have been assessed as being unsuitable to live in the community in the last year have been placed.

Individuals may be unable to livein the community for a variety of reasons and should be in a setting that is appropriateto their needs, this may be an NHS assessment and treatment facility or a criminaljustice setting.Research was undertaken into people with learning disabilitiesand/or autism spectrum disorders in secure, forensic and other specialist settingsin 2004. A report of the findings is available at the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/06/19505/38853.