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-06814

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 30 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether releasing serious adverse event reports to affected families should be considered best practice for all NHS boards.

The Scottish Government does expect NHS boards to operate in an open and transparent way with families in relation to Severe Adverse Event Reports, taking account of patient confidentiality issues.

NHS boards manage their response to adverse events as part of their overarching risk management arrangements. The national standards for Clinical Governance and Risk Management reflect best practice and state that there should be an open and responsive approach to risk management which actively involves patients, the public, staff and other stakeholders.

In addition, one of the ambitions we have set as part of our Healthcare Quality Strategy is for everything we do to be person-centred, with clear communication and shared decision-making between patients, their families and those delivering healthcare services.

A Healthcare Improvement Scotland review of clinical governance systems and processes relating to the management of critical incidents and adverse events in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, is currently underway. In addition to reviewing practice in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, this review will seek to identify opportunities for shared learning across NHSScotland in respect of the management of and learning from critical incidents and adverse events.

Question reference: S4W-06611

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06043 by Kenny MacAskill on 16 March 2012, how many police support staff there were in (a) each police force, (b) the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and (c) the Scottish Police Services Authority on 31 March 2012.

Question reference: S4W-06484

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to ensure that schoolchildren receive two hours of quality physical education per week.

On 29 March, ministers announced jointly with COSLA a package of additional funding to support local authorities who commit to delivering two hours of PE per week in primary and two periods per week in Secondary by 2014.

To support local authorities in reaching the target of providing at least two hours or two periods of PE sportscotland has identified an additional £3.4 million to be distributed to authorities over the next two years to help deliver the pledge. This will be supplemented with a further £2.4 million package of national developments led by Education Scotland to increase the support available to local authorities and teachers.

Delivery will be measured through the Healthy Living Survey, with school level data being published in June 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Question reference: S4W-06485

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 24 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what activities constitute quality physical education.

Question reference: S4O-00915

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its further consultation on prison visiting committees.

Question reference: S4W-06140

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on police forces outsourcing functions such as the running of cells.

Question reference: S4W-06043

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02796 by Kenny MacAskill on 7 October 2011, how many police support staff there have been in (a) each police force, (b) the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and (c) the Scottish Police Services Authority in each quarter of 2011-12.

The number of police support staff (full time equivalent) at the end of each quarter in 2011 are given in the following table. The number of police support staff as at the end of Q1 2012 is not yet available. Operational decisions about levels of police support staff are a matter for Chief Constables, the Scottish Police Services Authority and Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. Although detailed information on staff departures is not held centrally, the recent reductions are mainly through voluntary severance schemes as well as people leaving through natural turnover.

Number of Police Support Staff (FTE) as at the End of Each Quarter in 2011

Quarter	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian and Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	SPSA	SCDEA	Scotland
Q1 2011	326	215	460	661	1,148	333	2,415	549	1,210	130	7,447
Q2 2011	299	222	441	620	1,122	307	2,325	505	1,141	127	7,109
Q3 2011	294	223	431	612	1,108	306	2,291	488	1,125	122	7,001
Q4 2011	299	222	424	603	1,103	306	2,269	489	1,122	120	6,957

Notes:

1. Figures are expressed in terms of full-time equivalent (FTE) police support staff, rounded to the nearest whole number.

2. Figures are as the end of the respective quarter: Q1=31 March, Q2=30 June, Q3=30 September, Q4=31 December.

3. Scotland totals may not equal the sum of the parts due to rounding.

Question reference: S4W-06040

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Frank Mulholland on 15 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) advice and (b) guidance the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has given to chief constables in relation to the enforcement of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.

The Lord Advocate published Guidelines on operation of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 on 28 February 2012 which includes guidance to the police. These guidelines can be found on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service website at:

http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Publications/2012/02/Lord-Advocate%E2%80%99s-Guidelines-Offensive-Behaviour-Football-and-Threatening-Communications-Scotland-Act.

Question reference: S4O-00826

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time and dosage is for a course of methadone.

Question reference: S4W-06039

Asked by: Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have completed formal training and briefing in relation to the new powers contained in the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.

Formal training has been made available to every police officer and member of police staff in Scotland through a combination of presentations by officers from the National Football Coordination Unit for Scotland (FOCUS), circulation of a training DVD and publication of self-brief materials. ACPOS stipulated that prior to deployment all officers on duty at a “regulated football match” must receive briefing in relation to the new powers contained in the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.

Officers from FOCUS also attended matches across the country on 3 March 2012 to provide guidance and support to all Match Commanders and operational officers prior to, during and post-match, on what was the first match-day following commencement of the legislation.

The new legislation will be embedded into police recruit training at the Scottish Police College and the “ACPOS National Strategy for Policing Football in Scotland” and the “ACPOS National Toolkit for Policing Football in Scotland” documents have also been developed as resources to provide guidance at both strategic and operational level.