Chamber and committees

Chief Constables are responsible for operational matters effecting their force, including the investigation of complaints. Information on the number of complaints dealt with by police forces is collected by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland and is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/Police/local/15403/Statistical/ComplaintsHTML.

The Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland (PCCS) was established in April 2007 to review the outcome of complaints if individuals are dissatisfied with the way a police force has dealt with a complaint. In 2007-08, PCCS received 322 enquires from members of the public which led to 38 case handling reviews. In 2008-09, PCCS has so far received 368 enquiries leading to 62 case handling reviews.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-21564 on 20 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The only knife crime communication campaign undertaken by the Scottish Government over the past five years ran between November 2006 and April 2007. £650,573 was spent on its delivery and the impact was evaluated by an independent organisation. However, over the past few years we have been working in partnership with the national Violence Reduction Unit to deliver a range of initiatives to prevent and reduce knife crime in Scotland. These include the on-going anti-violence policing campaign, which delivers coordinated and targeted enforcement action across Scotland; the groundbreaking Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) project, in which our £1.6 million investment is supporting partners to tackle gang violence in Glasgow, and the recently announced No Knives Better Lives, our new £500,000 youth engagement initiative which will work directly with young people to educate them about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

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

As of 25 February 2009 there were 293 foreign nationals in SPS custody. This equates to 3.7% of the total population.

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

The SPS do not record the home local authority of prisoners. The population as of 11 February 2009 is listed in the following table.

Establishment	Total
Aberdeen	225
Addiewell	412
Barlinnie	1,359
Cornton Vale	422
Dumfries	194
Edinburgh	801
Glenochil	743
Greenock	314
Inverness	155
Kilmarnock	548
Open Estate	319
Perth	770
Peterhead	306
Polmont	646
Shotts	534
Total	7,748

 

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0312-01.htm

The average cost of an attendance at an NHSScotland hospital for a CT scan in financial year 2007-08 was £115. No information is held centrally on the specific cost of a CT scan taken of the lung area.

Source: Scottish Health Service Costs, year ended 31 March 2008.

The cost of taking an X-ray specifically of the patient''s lung area is not held centrally.

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

The following table details the current design capacity, contracted places, additional available prisoner places and the total prisoner places available in Scotland''s prisons

Prison	Design Capacity	Contracted Places	Additional Available Prisoner Places	Total Places Available for Use
Aberdeen	155	220	0	220
Addiewell	700	700	0	700
Barlinnie	1,018	962	566	1,528
Cornton Vale	375	375	58	433
Dumfries	179	195	0	195
Edinburgh	872	887	65	952
Glenochil	670	670	50	720
Greenock	255	250	50	300
Inverness	103	130	20	150
Kilmarnock	500	500	144	644
Open Estate	419	469	50	519
Perth	722	721	40	761
Peterhead	306	306	0	306
Polmont	623	623	70	693
Shotts	537	537	0	537
Total	7,434	7,545	1,113	8,658

 

The introduction of the additional available prisoner places detailed above is managed on a phased basis, details of which are set out in Section 1 of the SPS Service Agreements which is published on the SPS website.

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0305-01.htm