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: S4W-20345

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what provision HMP Inverclyde will make for prisoners (a) who are pregnant and (b) with babies.

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

“HMP and YOI Inverclyde will provide a purpose built mother and baby unit which may also be used, as appropriate, and depending on individual need, for pregnant women who may also be accommodated in mainstream accommodation.

All pregnant women and those with babies will have their physical needs met by the NHS healthcare team, and their general management will be via a multidisciplinary team approach with named lead professionals. Each woman will also have a personal officer to co-ordinate her general care and support.”

Question reference: S4W-20339

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of female prisoners are classified as high security.

Question reference: S4W-20342

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) international experts and (b) children and family groups the Scottish Prison Service has consulted regarding the design of HMP Inverclyde.

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

The HMP and YOI Inverclyde project design team have carried out extensive literature reviews and benchmarking exercises to ensure the facility is robustly designed to meet the needs of women. This included attendance at international events as well as a range of institutions both at home and abroad meeting with a range of experts.

SACRO, Families Outside, Turning Point and Willow Project are an example of some of the children and family groups who have been involved during the development’s design phase.

Question reference: S4W-20344

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place regarding healthcare services at HMP Inverclyde.

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

Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board are closely involved in the design phase of HMP and YOI Inverclyde development project. This partnership working will continue throughout the development lifecycle.

Primary care services will be provided at the new establishment to a standard equivalent to that available within the community.

Question reference: S4W-20340

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the highest security category of prisoners at HMP Inverclyde will be and what proportion are expected to be classified as high security.

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

The Scottish Prison Service operates a high, medium and low supervision system which governs the level of supervision and monitoring prisoners require. HMP and YOI Inverclyde will hold women prisoners of all supervision levels. There are currently around 18% of women prisoners classified as high supervision.

Question reference: S4W-20343

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place regarding public transport links to HMP Inverclyde.

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

Ove Arup and Partners Scotland Ltd were commissioned by the HMP and YOI Inverclyde project design team to produce a travel plan which details sustainable travel options for visitors and staff to the new prison and YOI. The travel plan includes for the provision of a travel plan co-ordinator who will be appointed in 2015.

Question reference: S4W-20297

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many remand admissions there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) gender, (b) age, (c) prison and (d) young offenders institution.

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

The information requested is shown in the following table.

Remand receptions by gender, age and establishment: 2007 to 2011

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Total	22,389	22,737	20,827	20,397	21,847

Female	2,162	2,265	1,935	1,790	2,022
Male	20,227	20,472	18,892	18,607	19,825

Under 21	5,765	5,574	4,697	4,354	4,225
21 and over	16,624	17,163	16,130	16,043	17,622

Aberdeen	1,051	1,155	1,009	1,006	928
Addiewell	0	0	1,572	1,724	1,583
Barlinnie	5,976	6,246	5,647	5,628	6,544
Cornton Vale	1,736	1,843	1,621	1,412	1,667
Dumfries	633	631	441	431	411
Edinburgh	2,966	3,102	3,161	3,429	3,016
Glenochil	21	31	62	48	47
Greenock	1,729	1,616	1,256	1,021	1,010
Inverness	1,114	1,071	849	829	927
Kilmarnock	1,183	1,208	962	916	976
Low Moss	23	0	0	0	0
Perth	3,202	3,018	2,200	1,911	2,094
Peterhead	5	2	6	6	7
Shotts	16	14	13	10	3

Young offender institution
Cornton Vale	322	332	295	349	298
Polmont	2,405	2,458	1,730	1,675	2,330

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services. Data are derived from the Scottish Prison Service management infomation system.

Notes:

1. Receptions are not equivalent to persons received. If a person is remanded to custody and is subsequently put on remand for a different case or while serving a custodial sentence, this constitutes a further reception.

2. Figures exclude a small number of records with missing information.

3. Figures for 2012 onward are not yet available due to on-going technical difficulties with the Scottish Government prisons statistical system.

4. Data presented here are drawn from an administrative IT system. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, they are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the last whole number shown in the tables. They are also updated and quality assured on an on-going basis, and the figures shown here may therefore differ slightly from those published previously.

Question reference: S4W-20300

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have been assaulted in prison while (a) on remand and (b) serving their sentence in each year since 2007, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) prison and (iii) young offenders institution.

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

The following tables illustrate the total number of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults broken down by establishment and gender. These include serious, minor and non-injury assaults; a descriptor for each category is appended below. The data includes all incidents recorded on the Scottish Prison Service prisoner records system up to and including 26March 2014.

Unfortunately, it is not possible without manually interrogating every entry listed to identify whether the prisoner was on remand or a convicted prisoner at the time of the assault.

Prisoner Assaults	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
HMP Aberdeen	1	19	26	18	25	30	51	20
HMP Addiewell	0	21	37	43	59	83	0	0
HMP Barlinnie	14	43	45	66	67	79	67	63
HMP and YOI Cornton Vale	5	15	23	67	53	50	47	38
HMP Dumfries	1	12	18	33	20	26	18	34
HMP Edinburgh	10	45	59	79	74	89	83	67
HMP Glenochil	8	26	22	40	38	25	34	20
HMP and YOI Grampian	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Greenock	3	14	13	20	9	22	34	24
HMP Inverness	1	18	11	14	10	13	20	19
HMP Kilmarnock	8	36	60	74	39	41	68	53
HMP Low Moss	7	52	44	0	0	0	0	12
SPS Open Estate	0	2	0	2	3	0	2	1
HMP Perth	8	61	49	61	48	54	67	59
HMP Peterhead	0	7	7	2	14	10	13	16
HMYOI Polmont	43	197	120	167	166	161	130	145
HMP Shotts	10	18	21	13	17	19	11	11
Totals	120	586	555	699	642	702	645	582

Male Prisoner Assaults	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
HMP Aberdeen	1	19	26	18	25	30	51	20
HMP Addiewell	0	21	37	43	59	83	0	0
HMP Barlinnie	14	43	45	66	67	79	67	63
HMP and YOI Cornton Vale	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Dumfries	1	12	18	33	20	26	18	34
HMP Edinburgh	8	42	54	73	74	89	83	67
HMP Glenochil	8	26	22	40	38	25	34	20
HMP and YOI Grampian	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Greenock	3	14	12	18	6	20	34	24
HMP Inverness	1	18	11	14	10	13	19	19
HMP Kilmarnock	8	36	60	74	39	41	68	53
HMP Low Moss	7	52	44	0	0	0	0	12
SPS Open Estate	0	2	0	2	3	0	2	1
HMP Perth	8	61	49	61	48	54	67	59
HMP Peterhead	0	7	7	2	14	10	13	16
HMYOI Polmont	43	191	120	167	166	161	130	145
HMP Shotts	10	18	21	13	17	19	11	11
Totals	113	562	526	630	586	650	597	544

Female Prisoner Assaults	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
HMP Aberdeen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Addiewell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Barlinnie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP & YOI Cornton Vale	5	15	23	67	53	50	47	38
HMP Dumfries	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Edinburgh	2	3	5	6	0	0	0	0
HMP Glenochil	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP & YOI Grampian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Greenock	0	0	1	2	3	2	0	0
HMP Inverness	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
HMP Kilmarnock	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Low Moss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
SPS Open Estate	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Perth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Peterhead	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMYOI Polmont	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
HMP Shotts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	7	24	29	69	56	52	48	38

Question reference: S4W-20298

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest number of days spent by prisoners on remand has been in each year since 2007, broken down by (i) prison and (ii) young offenders institution.

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

Information on time spent on remand by age is shown in the following table. The data are not held in a way which allows the systematic identification of the prison where the remand period was spent as prisoners may be transferred between establishments. The majority of under 21 year olds on remand will be held in young offender institutions: information from the Scottish Prison Service management information system shows that on 21 March 2014, 126 out of the 137 untried under 21 year olds were in a young offenders institution.

Average and maximum time spent on remand for liberated prisoners by age (days): 2007 to 2011

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Average
Under 21	36	37	36	34	35
21 and over	35	38	38	37	37

Maximum
Under 21	646	531	365	307	283
21 and over	967	568	730	504	449

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services. Data are derived from the SPS management information system.

1. Nearly 90% of cases involve remand periods of three months or less. However, some particularly complex cases may result in relatively long periods on remand.

2. Figures for 2012 onward are not yet available due to on-going technical difficulties with the Scottish Government prisons statistical system.

3. Data presented here are drawn from an administrative IT system. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, they are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the last whole number shown in the tables. They are also updated and quality assured on an on-going basis, and the figures shown here may therefore differ slightly from those published previously.

Question reference: S4W-20301

Asked by: Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any (a) prisons or (b) young offenders institutions where remand and sentenced prisoners mix and whether this is against prison rules.

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

In most establishments where there are untried prisoners they are maintained in separate areas with separate regimes. However, on occasion due, for example, to population fluctuations, people held on remand may be co-located with convicted prisoners.

The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 20011 Rule 16 states that governors must, so far as reasonably practicable, keep untried prisoners apart from other categories of prisoners for those in custody.