Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-38475

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the Saltire-branded products that it commissioned or produced for the purpose of celebrating St Andrew’s Day 2010.

The Scottish Executive has transferred operational responsibility for the delivery of St Andrew''s Day and Winter Festivals commitments to EventScotland from 2010 onwards.

I have asked EventScotland to respond. Their response is as follows:

EventScotland have procured Saltire-branded hand-held flags for distribution to seasonal VisitScotland Tourist Information Centres across Scotland and at Winter Festivals funded events.

Question reference: S3W-38480

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all (a) activities and (b) events that each minister attended in connection with St Andrew’s day 2010, providing the (i) date, (ii) name, (iii) description and (iv) purpose of each.

The Scottish Executive is committed to promoting Scotland as a great place to live, work, learn, visit, do business and invest in. The St Andrew''s Day celebrations are a time for everyone with a Scottish connection to celebrate Scotland''s people and history, as well as our traditional and contemporary culture.

The following table is a note of what Scottish minister''s were engaged in the following activities across the country.

Date	Minister	Engagement Details
23-11-10	Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning	Visited Heriot Primary School in Paisley to share in the St Andrew''s Day celebrations and to congratulate the local authority (Renfrewshire) on making St Andrew''s Day a school holiday for 2010. He also saw the pupils perform traditional Scottish songs, poetry and dancing.
26-11-10	First Minister	Launched the country''s St Andrew''s Day celebrations with pupils from Glasgow''s Royal High School and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers at Edinburgh Castle. The launch aimed to raise awareness of the St Andrew''s Day programme of events, highlighting the significant contribution these events make to Scottish tourism and our economy.
27-11-10	Cabinet Secretary for Justice	Attended Edinburgh''s family festival in St Andrew''s Square and sampled a range of the activities on offer at this Winter Festival''s funded event which celebrated Scotland''s modern culture, traditions, history and food and drink.
27-11-10	Minister for the Environment	Attended Perth''s Andermass Fair where she celebrated the feast of St Andrew and met a selection of local craft stall-holders. The Fair was part of Perth and Kinross'' St Andrew''s Day Celebrations which was in receipt of Winter Festivals funding.
30-11-10	Minister for Transport and Infrastructure	Attended an event in Union Square, part of Aberdeen''s St Andrew''s Day celebrations, which aimed to encourage mass participation by members of the public in dancing “ a fun way to keep fit and healthy and which can be enjoyed by everyone. Aberdeen Council''s events were in receipt of Winter Festivals funding.
30-11-10	Minister for Children and Early Years	Visited Wallacetown Nursery School in Ayr and St Andrew''s Primary School in Kilmarnock to share in their celebrations, met staff and pupils, and watch the pupils perform traditional Scottish songs, music, poetry and dancing

The events I was scheduled to attend “ East Lothian''s Saltire Celebrations on 28 November 2010 and the opening of the Edinburgh''s Grand Ceilidh on 30 November 2010 - had to be cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions. The Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning was due to visit Newton Primary School in Dunblane on 30 November to share in the St Andrew''s Day celebrations, but this had to be cancelled as the school was closed due to the adverse weather conditions.

Question reference: S3W-38473

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the (a) agencies, (b) organisations and (c) public bodies and services that it has provided with Saltire flags for the purpose of celebrating St Andrew’s Day 2010 and what the total cost was.

The Scottish Executive has transferred operational responsibility for the delivery of St Andrew''s Day and Winter Festivals commitments to EventScotland from 2010 onwards.

I have asked EventScotland to respond. Their response is as follows:

EventScotland have distributed Saltire hand-held flags to seasonal VisitScotland Tourist Information Centres across Scotland and at funded Winter Festivals events, as shown in the following table. As the Winter Festivals continue through until the
25 January 2011, the cost of activity is still being correlated.

Distribution of Saltire Hand-Held Flags to St Andrew''s Day Events

Agency/Organisation/Public Body	Number of Flags
East Renfrewshire Council''s St Andrew''s Day event	200
Angus Council''s St Andrew''s Day Festival	200
Highland Council''s C¨ilidhean Naoimh Anndra / St Andrew''s C¨ilidhs	200
Dumfries and Galloway Council''s Fling event 2010	1,000
City of Edinburgh Council''s St Andrew''s Day Celebrations	1,500
Perth and Kinross Council''s St Andrew''s Celebration Weekend	800
Glasgow City Council''s Shindig in the Square 2010	1,500
Aberdeen City Council''s St Andrews Day Celebrations	500
Renfrewshire Council''s St Andrews Day Celebrations;	200
West Dunbartonshire Council''s St Andrews Day Event 2010;	200
South Ayrshire Council''s St Andrews Day Festival	800
Fife Council''s St Andrews Festival 2010;	1,000
Stirling Council''s St Andrew''s Day celebrations	1,000
East Lothian Council''s The Saltire	800
Total	9,900

Note: *Of these flags, the highlighted ones were then reused by the relevant local authority for their Hogmanay events.

Question reference: S3W-38472

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive where the Saltire flags procured for the purpose of celebrating St Andrew’s Day 2010 were manufactured.

The Scottish Executive has transferred operational responsibility for the delivery of St Andrew''s Day and Winter Festivals commitments to EventScotland from 2010 onwards.

I have asked EventScotland to respond. Their response is as follows:

In line with public sector procurement and to ensure cost effectiveness, EventScotland and VisitScotland placed a joint order for hand-held Saltire flags for use at events and in VisitScotland information centres. The order for materials was placed with a company who supply flags and are based in Scotland, that company itself contracts the flags manufacture to company in Northampton.

Question reference: S3W-38729

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what posts are currently unfilled in each prison and young offenders institution.

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

As at 18 January 2011 the posts that were vacant in each public sector prison and young offenders institution were as follows:

Establishment	Posts	Type	Pay Grades
Aberdeen	1.6	Administration	B
	1.0	Office Manager	E
	15.2	Uniform Prison Staff	C, D & E
Barlinnie	3.9	Administration	B
	1.4	Administration	C
	3	Office Manager	E
	6.8	Uniform Prison Staff	C, D & E
	2	Operational Manager	F+
	0.4	Chaplain	F
	5.5	Nurse	D
Cornton Vale	0.2	Administration	B
	1	Administration	C
	1	Office Manager	E
	0.4	Chaplain	F
	1	Health Care Manager	F
Dumfries	1	Operational Manager	F+
	0.5	Administration	C
Edinburgh	1	Administrator	B
	1.2	Administrator	D
	0.2	Psychologist	F
	2.8	Nurse	D
	2	Nurse Manager	E
Glenochil	0.7	Administration	B
	0.1	Administration	C
	3.3	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	1.4	Nurse	D

Greenock	0.5	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
Inverness	1.9	Uniform Prison Staff	C, D & E
	1	Human Resource Manager	F
Open Estate	2	Administration	B
	1.25	Administration	C
	1	Administration	D
	4.3	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	1	Human Resource Manager	F
	0.74	Chaplain	F
	1	Psychologist	F
Perth	1	Office Manager	E
	0.5	Finance Manager	F
	0.2	HR Manager	G
Peterhead	1.3	Psychologist	D
	0.4	Operational Manager	F
Polmont	0.7	Administration	B
	0.1	Administration	C
	1	Office Manager	E
	1.3	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	2	Psychologist	D
	1	Nurse Manager	E
	1.2	Nurse	D
Shotts	1.2	Administration	B
	6.8	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	1	Psychologist	F
	0.3	Chaplain	F

These figures include vacancies which will be filled through internal appointment and current vacancies where offers of appointment have been made. The SPS have contracted the management of HMP Kilmarnock and Addiewell to the private sector. Both contracts are output based and therefore staffing levels are a matter for the contractor and not the SPS. The SPS do not hold information about staffing levels or the number of vacancies at either prison.

Question reference: S3W-38474

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it provided to schools regarding St Andrew’s Day 2010 and at what cost.

Question reference: S3W-38496

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37254 by John Swinney on 22 November 2010, what advice and support the Director of Learning has provided in relation to stakeholder communication across Scotland; what stakeholder engagement events the Director of Learning has managed, and what ministerial core scripts and briefings the Director of Learning has maintained and developed in the last six months

Question reference: S3W-38566

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what approaches it has received from John Beckett regarding his scheme to strengthen the Forth Road Bridge by re-engineering it; what consideration it has given to the scheme, and what response it has issued.

Transport Scotland have received a number of written submissions from Mr Beckett containing proposals to modify the Forth Road Bridge since January 2009. These have been considered in detail by the project team. However, they have not been taken forward due to the substantial practical and logistical difficulties implementation of the proposals would present.

Written responses have been provided to Mr Beckett following each submission. Mr Beckett also met with the Interim Project Director, John Howison on 25 February 2009 to discuss his proposals.

Question reference: S3W-38727

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has available demonstrating the connection between police numbers and the level of crime.

The research report Community Policing: A review of the Evidence by Mackenzie and Henry, demonstrates that effective community policing is associated with a reduction in crime and disorder. This report was published by the Scottish Government in 2009, and is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/11/19091609/0.

There are now 17,371 police officers in Scotland. This is an increase of 1,137 since March 2007. This government''s investment in police officer numbers has enabled chief constables to deploy significant new resources towards making our communities safer. This has helped to reduce Scotland''s crime rate to a 32 year low.

Question reference: S3W-38661

Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been in the method of reporting of crimes and offences in the last five years.

Police forces in Scotland report cases to procurators fiscal. Changes in the reporting of crime over the past five years have been driven by Lord Advocate''s Guidelines.

In terms of the actual recording of crimes, the Scottish Crime Recording Standard (SCRS) was introduced throughout all Scottish police forces on 1 April 2004. The main aim of the SCRS is to provide a more victim orientated approach that ensures greater consistency and uniformity in crime recording standards throughout Scotland. Further to this, the list of crime codes used to record crimes is consistent across all police forces in Scotland, and allows Scotland-level statistics to be created. This ultimately ensures a greater degree of comparability between forces than there was previously.

Chamber and committees