Parliamentary questions

Alex Neil

3,059 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what training is provided for officers in HM Prison Kilmarnock on completing a reception risk assessment form and whether any officer who has not had such training has been responsible for the completion of such a form at any time during the last three years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: These are matters for Premier Prison Services.

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the findings of the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002 represent a breach of contract by Premier Prison Services and, if so, what penalties will be imposed as a result of such a breach or breaches.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-15584 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parlia…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of its contract with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to run HM Prison Kilmarnock there have been in each of the last six years by Premier Prison Services (PPS); what the nature of such breaches was; what disciplinary action was taken as a result, and what penalties wer…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: There have been no breaches of the contract, so the considerations referred to in the question have not arisen.

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service has offered condolences to the family of James Barclay who died whilst in the custody of HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-15586 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parlia…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice has offered condolences to the family of James Barclay who died whilst in the custody of HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: Contact with the families of prisoners who die in custody is a matter for the prison at the time, usually through the offices of the priso…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what compensation has been, or will be, paid to the family of James Barclay by (a) Premier Prison Services and (b) the Scottish Prison Service in light of the findings of the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: This is not a matter for SPS.

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties have been, or will be, imposed on Premier Prison Services by the Scottish Prison Service in light of the findings by the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-15552 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parlia…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of legal aid provided to participants in fatal accident inquiries has been in each of the last six years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information to the level of detail requested is not held for the years prior to April 2001. The total cost of legal aid and the number of cases for which legal aid was made available for fatal accident inquiries in the last four financial years is listed in t…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which part of its budget funds fatal accident inquiries.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service budget funds fatal accident inquiries.

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the findings by the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HM Kilmarnock in January 2002, it is the opinion of the Lord Advocate that a criminal offence has taken place and, if so, what action he is taking to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer to the answers toquestions S2W-15579, S2W-15551 and S2W-15607, all answered on 18 April 2005. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament'swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at:<ahref="http://w…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the findings by the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002, there will be a police investigation to determine whether criminal charges should now be brought against (a) either of the prison officers identified as…

Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer to the answers toquestions S2W-15551 and S2W-15607, both answered on 18 April 2005. All answersto written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website,the search facility for which can be found at:<ahref="http://www.scottis…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the only investigation into the procedures for suicide watches in HM Prison Kilmarnock is the one being carried out internally by Premier Prison Services and, if so, why the Executive has not ordered an independent inquiry.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answers to S2W-15194 and S2W-15552, both answered on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are a…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average number of prisoners, (b) prisoner capacity, (c) average number of full-time prison officers and (d) incidence of (i) self harm and (ii) suicides was in each prison in each of the last six years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: (a) The average number of prisoners located in each prison in the last six years is contained in the SPS Annual Reports which can be…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of prisoners entering each prison in each of the last three years were deemed to be either drug or alcohol-dependent and what criteria are used for categorising prisoners in this way.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: In the year 2003-04 a cross-sectional sample breakdown of prisoners testing positive to illicit drugs on admission per prison is as follow…

24 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs have been of each fatal accident inquiry carried out in each of last six years.

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers have been dismissed for disciplinary offences in each prison in each of the last five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The figures shown in the table reflect dismissals in the establishments stated.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> …

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the staff turnover figures for each prison in each of the last six years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: Figures are not available before 2000.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td>  </td> <td> 2000…

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of the findings by the fatal accident inquiry by Sheriff Colin McKay on the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002, the Executive will now carry out an independent inquiry into the running of the prison, in particular its procedures for suicid…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: HMCIP has recently completed an inspection of HM Prison Kilmarnock which is due for publication on 26 April 2005.I refer the member…

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who appointed Professor Kevin Power to review the internal investigation into Premier Prison Services' operating procedures at HM Prison Kilmarnock; who will pay his fee; what his fee is; what the terms of reference of the review are; what the timescale is, and whether his conclusions wil…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: Since this work has been commissioned and is being funded by Premier Prison Services these questions are matters for the company.

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice authorised oral and written press statements made on 22 March 2005 by (a) the Justice Department, (b) the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and (c) Premier Prison Services regarding the fatal accident inquiry report on the death of James Barclay in HM Prison K…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Since this was a matter for SPS and Premier Prison Services, no press statements were issued by the Executive. The Executive’s press officers did respond to a small number of media enquiries of a factual nature. I understand that the Scottish Prison Service r…

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each fatal accident inquiry carried out since May 1999 cost.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Eleanor Emberson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. Her response is as follows: Information relating to the cost of fatal accident inquiries is not held centrally.

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the arrangements are in respect of publishing fatal accident inquiry reports.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Eleanor Emberson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. Her response is as follows: In some cases the judicial determination will be delivered orally in open court at the conclusion of the inquiry. When, instead,…

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the fatal accident inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002 did not report until March 2005 and what the reasons are for the length of time taken to report.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The time taken to issue the determination in a fatal accident inquiry is a matter for the judiciary.

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued any guidelines on how long a fatal accident inquiry can, or should, take to report; if so, what the guidelines are, and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has not issued guidelines on the timing of determinations following fatal accident inquiries. The length of time required to prepare such a determination is a matter for the judiciary.

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) have been held since May 1999; how many FAIs have related to deaths of prisoners; what time period elapsed between the date of death and the opening of the FAI in each case; how long each FAI took, and what time period elapsed between the conclusio…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The number of FAIs held were: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Financial Year</td> <td> No. of FAIs Held</td> </tr> </thead> <tr> <td> 1999-2000</t…

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides have taken place in each prison in each year since May 1999; in how many of these cases fatal accident inquiries identified failure or negligence by prison management as a contributing factor to these deaths; what action was taken as a result, where such failure was iden…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The following table breaks down the number of apparent self-inflicted deaths that have taken place in each prison in each financial year …

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what follow-up action it and its agencies are taking in light of the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) report by Sheriff Colin McKay on the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: Where a determination following an FAI makes specific recommendations, the relevant establishment develops an action plan to address…

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate has any plans to begin criminal proceedings against Premier Prison Services for negligence in respect of the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002, in light of the fatal accident inquiry report by Sheriff Colin McKay on the death.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I have considered thefindings of the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of James Barclay in HMPrison Kilmarnock on 11 January 2002. There is no basis for criminalproceedings against Premier Prison Services Limited.

23 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the fairness of prison officers cited in the fatal accident inquiry report by Sheriff Colin McKay on the death of James Barclay in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002 having been punished but Premier Prison Services having received no penalty for negligence.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The relevant performance measures were applied at the time under the contract.

22 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is of treating the effects of tooth decay in children.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Specific information on the annual cost of treating the effects of tooth decay in children is not available. The cost of treating children under NHS general dental services in 2003-04, exclusive of orthodontic treatment, was approximately £35,148,0001</s…