Parliamentary questions

Duncan McNeil

426 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

3 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many drug users have become abstinent since the publication of The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland's Drug Problem in 2008.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: It is not possible to say how many people have become abstinent since the publication of The Road to Recovery. Moving forward, we are currently working closely with Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland, national commissioned organisations, Alcohol and…

3 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what selection criteria were used for appointing each member of the Partnership for Action on Drugs in Scotland and to whom they will be accountable.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The work of the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission (DSDC) was concluded in November 2014. Since then, Scottish Government officials have been working closely with key stakeholders, including members of the former DSDC and other legacy groups, to develop a new…

29 Feb 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that its drugs strategy, The Road to Recovery, is working effectively.

18 Jan 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport last met the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

14 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Drug Strategy Delivery Commission was abolished and whether it plans to replace it.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Government officials, members of the Drug Strategy Delivery Commission (DSDC) and other stakeholders reviewed the functions of the commission as well as those of the other groups which made up the drugs advisory landscape at that time. A joint decisi…

16 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many areas for improvement Healthcare Improvement Scotland has highlighted to each NHS board as part of its Older People in Acute Hospitals inspection programme in each year since 2012-13, broken down by (a) hospital inspected and (b) improvement category.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is contained within the Older People in Acute Hospitals inspection reports which are published on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website. The reports can be accessed via the following link: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the percentage of people who received a drug treatment and testing order in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14 who are now in (i) employment and (ii) education.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: This information is not held centrally. The aim of the drug treatment and testing order (DTTO) is to reduce or eliminate an individual’s dependency or propensity to misuse drugs and thereby achieve positive changes in the scale and frequency of drug related …

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times it has underspent its budget since 2008-09; what the underspend was in each year, and how much of it was subsequently spent.

Answer · John Swinney: The cash underspend against HM Treasury Scottish budgets for each financial year since 2008-09 is provided in the following table. The underspend in each year has been carried forward in full to support expenditure plans in subsequent years. £ million 201…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the Scottish Football Association has spent the funding that it has received under the proceeds of crime legislation in each year since 2008-09.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Details are provided in the following table. Information on each of the activities funded is available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/policies/community-engagement/cashback/CashBack-Initiatives. 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 …

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners are on remand for alleged drug-related offences.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “There are currently 1,359 prisoners in custody who are on remand. The SPS is unable to ascertain how many of these individuals are in cust…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners are serving three months or less for drug-related crimes.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “There are currently 85 prisoners in custody with a sentence of three months or less. The SPS is unable to ascertain how many of thes…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total payment to GPs has been in each year since 2008-09 under the Enhanced Services Allowance scheme for treating drug users.

Answer · Shona Robison: The funding given to health boards for the provision of enhanced services is allocated in a way which enables decisions to be made about the varying care needs of local communities. Local Enhanced Services funding totalled £30.5 million in 2014-15. The flexib…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Information on specific costs of drug treatment and testing orders is not held centrally. The Scottish Government provides funding to the Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) to support delivery of drug treatment and testing orders. Since 2007-08, the fundin…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of those who received a drug treatment and testing order in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14 was reconvicted within (i) a year and (ii) two years of completing the order.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: (i) The statistics routinely collected and published annually by the Scottish Government on reconviction rates for drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs) are available online at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/9783. Data for 2013-14 is not current…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: This information is not held centrally. I refer the member to the answer to S4W-28915 on 7 January 2016 for information on the data that the Scottish Government does collect in relation to drug treatment and testing orders. All answers to written parliamentar…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of people who received a drug treatment and testing order in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14 was drug free on completion of the order.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs) are a high tariff disposal aimed at individuals with entrenched drug misuse problems who offend as a result of their addiction and would otherwise be facing a custodial sentence. The aim of the DTTO is to reduce or e…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has (a) made or (b) received on the social and economic cost of crime, broken down by type of crime.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government's most recent estimates of the social and economic cost of crime at the Scotland level were published in the evidence paper that underpinned The Strategy for Justice in Scotland. The links below provide the evidence paper and The Strat…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has (a) made or (b) received of the cost of problem drug use as defined on page 12 of its drug strategy paper, The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland's Drug Problem.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government published the research paper Assessing the Scale and Impact of Illicit Drug Markets in Scotland in 2009. This paper provided estimates of the size and value of the illicit drugs market as well as estimates of the economic and social co…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received internal audits of crime and incident recording by Police Scotland and, if so, how many, and whether it will publish them.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Police Scotland’s internal crime recording audits are already published through the Audit and Risk Committee of the Scottish Police Authority (first link below). The latest available report, covering the third and fourth quarter of 2014-15 was presented to th…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the definition of serious assault has been changed following the recommendation in the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland’s 2013 Review of incident and crime recording and, if so, what the new definition is.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Following the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) review of incident and crime recording in 2013, further guidance providing clarity as to the interpretation of serious assault was provided in the 2014-15 Scottish Crime Recording Standard. T…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many unannounced inspections Healthcare Improvement Scotland has conducted as part of its Older People in Acute Hospitals inspection programme and what percentage this represents of inspections conducted.

Answer · Shona Robison: To date, 40 inspections and 11 follow-up inspections have taken place. Of those, 21 inspections were unannounced – 52.5% – and all of the follow-up inspections were unannounced. Following a review of the inspection methodology in 2013, all inspections are now…

9 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many level (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four escalations Healthcare Improvement Scotland has made to the Scottish Government following its inspections under the Older People in Acute Hospitals inspection programme in each year since 2012-13.

Answer · Shona Robison: There has been one escalation made by Healthcare Improvement Scotland to the Scottish Government under the Older People in Acute Hospitals inspections programme. That escalation took place in 2015-16. The four levels of escalation refer to the methodology ado…

30 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Scottish Enterprise’s revenue budget is for 2015-16, including any in-year changes, and whether it will provide a breakdown of how it has been spent.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Enterprise's revenue budget for 2015-16 was £174.5 million. In-year changes for 2015-16 have not been finalised yet. Information surrounding the breakdown of the 2015-16 revenue budget spend will be available in Scottish Enterprise’s 2015-16 annual r…

30 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Scottish Enterprise’s revenue budget was for (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15, including any in-year changes, and whether it will provide a breakdown of how this was spent.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Details of Scottish Enterprise's revenue budget for 2013-14 and 2014-15, including any in-year changes and a breakdown of how this was spent, can be found in Scottish Enterprise's annual report and accounts for each of these years, which are published and ava…

30 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Scottish Enterprise’s capital budget is for 2015-16, including any in-year changes, and whether it will provide a breakdown of how it has been spent.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Enterprise's capital budget for 2015-16 was £54.7 million. In-year changes for 2015-16 have not been finalised yet. Information surrounding the breakdown of the 2015-16 capital budget spend will be available in Scottish Enterprise’s 2015-16 annual re…

30 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Scottish Enterprise’s capital budget was for (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15, including any in-year changes, and whether it will provide a breakdown of how this was spent.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Details of Scottish Enterprise's capital budget for 2013-14 and 2014-15, including any in-year changes and a breakdown of how this was spent, can be found in Scottish Enterprise's annual report and accounts for each of these years, which are published and ava…

3 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include court disposals for people who have received (a) fiscal fines, (b) fiscal direct penalties and (c) police antisocial behaviour fines in its next Reconviction Rates in Scotland bulletin.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government recently started a consultation process with the users of its Reconviction Rates in Scotland bulletin, which aims to determine whether the bulletin currently meets their needs, and also to identify whether additional analyses should be…

18 Aug 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will ensure the future of shipbuilding in the lower Clyde.

17 Apr 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many tickets for the 2014 Commonwealth Games sportscotland will allocate to people involved in sports clubs across the country.

14 Apr 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing last met the chief executive of Healthcare Improvement Scotland and what was discussed.