Michael Matheson

21 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-29278, S1W-29279, S1W-29280, S1W-29281 and S1W-29282 on 11 October 2002, why the information in those answers was provided by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and not by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Because the questions concerned contractual matters involving the agency, for which under paragraphs 3.1 and 4.4 of the SPS Framework Document, the Chief Executive is responsible and accountable and for preparing the substance of responses to parliamentary qu…

18 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list each parcel of land with buildings on it or consisting of part of a building owned by the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="27%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Location</TD><TD WIDTH="23%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Number of Par…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29427 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 October 2002, how much the management of the Scottish Prison Service has received in performance-related pay in each of the last three years broken down by the objectives for which the performance-related pay was receive…

Answer · Jim Wallace: All pay increases in the Senior Civil Service are based on performance, and depend on the overall assessment of an individual officer's performance. Information on the pay of Executive members of the Scottish Prison Service Board for the last three years is p…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list each parcel of land that it owns whose value is currently included in the balance sheet of the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=340><TR><TD WIDTH="47%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Location</TD><TD WIDTH="22%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Number</TD><T…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, why the residual value of HM Prison Kilmarnock is not shown in the value of tangible assets held in East Ayrshire.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Scottish Prison Service (SPS) for an explanation. I am advised that the reversionary interest value for land which is managed as part of the PFI contract is included in SPS's balance sheet under the heading tangible assets in accordance with both…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, why values for land and buildings were not given separately from other tangible assets in the answer, given that values for land and buildings are shown separately in the Scottish Prison Service's annual ac…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The figures provided in response to question S1W-30175 were for tangible land assets as that is what the question asked for. The figures were i…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, what the cost would be of producing the remainder of the information sought in the question and how it calculated this cost.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Land is not separately disclosed from buildings in the SPS accounts - these assets are aggregated. The District Valuer's Office carries o…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, why there was an increase #3,464,000 in the value of tangible assets held by the Scottish Prison Service in Perth between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2001.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The quinquennial revaluation of the SPS Estate was conducted on 31 August 2000 by the District Valuer's Office, this resulted in an incre…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, why there was an increase of #21,287,000 in the value of tangible assets held by the Scottish Prison Service in Edinburgh between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2001.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The quinquennial revaluation of the SPS Estate was conducted on 31 August 2000 by the District Valuer's Office, this resulted in an incre…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, why there was an increase of #24,931,000 in the value of tangible assets held by the Scottish Prison Service between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2001.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The quinquennial revaluation of the SPS Estate was conducted on 31 August 2000 by the District Valuer's Office; this resulted in an increase in…

17 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30175 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, how it arrived at a valuation of the Scottish Prison Service's land and buildings, as shown on the service's balance sheet, without having a breakdown of the (a) location, (b) area and (c) value of each par…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The location and value of land was published in the answer given to question S1W-30175.<P>Land is not separately disclosed from buildings…

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any land has been transferred from the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last five years; if so, where, why and to whom the transfer was made, and what the value of the land was.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>No land has been transferred from the Scottish Prison Service in the last five years.

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any land has been transferred to the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last five years; if so, where, why and from whom the transfer was made, and what the value of the land was.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Yes, at HM Prison Low Moss. Details of this transfer are available in the <I>SPS Annual Report and Accounts 1999-2000</I>. (Note 7 to the…

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29900 by Mr Jim Wallace on 15 October 2002, whether any buildings have been purchased by the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last five years; if so, where, why the purchase was made and what the purchase cost was.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>No buildings have been purchased over the last five years.

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what proportion of those proceeded against for the offence of vandalism in each of the last five years were aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 17 and (c) 18 to 20 years.

Answer · Richard Simpson: The available information is given in the following table. Summary statistics for court proceedings in 2001 are expected to be published later this year. <P>Persons Proceeded Against for Vandalism<SUP>1</SUP> in Scotland 1996-2000<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 C…

16 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its expenditure on advertising was in the period from January to March in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002 and what its planned expenditure on advertising is for the same period in 2003.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Scottish Executive expenditure on advertising for the periods requested is listed in the table.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=255><TR><TD WIDTH="59%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Year</TD><TD WIDTH="41%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Expenditure</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH=…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all land included in the balance sheet of the Scottish Prison Service under the heading of tangible assets, showing the (a) location, (b) area and (c) book value in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01 and (iii) 2001-02.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The location and value of the tangible assets is as listed in the following table. The remainder of the information sought is not readily avail…

25 Sep 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve services for disabled people.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Policies across the whole range of Scottish Executive responsibilities aim to provide better services for disabled people. Through consultation with service users and disability groups the Executive aims to ensure that the needs and requirements of disabled p…

24 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how frequently it has to renegotiate its contract for the services of GPs in the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: There is no set frequency. The current contract exists for five years.

24 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28787 by Mr Jim Wallace on 19 September 2002, what specific evidence it can provide to the public that its contract with Medacs for medical services in prisons provides best value if it will not publish the cost of the contract for medical services.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The award of contract was conducted in accordance with EC procurement guidelines. The team who undertook the work demonstrated within the Scottish Prison Service that the Medacs proposal was the most economically advantageous proposal in terms of quality and …

24 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister has any plans to visit the Falkirk Council area on 1 October 2002 and, if so, for what purpose.

Answer · Jack McConnell: No.

24 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service has sold any land in Scotland over the last five years and, if so, what value was obtained for each sale.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Surplus land sold by SPS:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=198><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Financial Year </TD><TD …

24 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service has purchased any land or property in Scotland over the last five years; if so, (a) where, (b) why the purchase was made and (c) at what cost.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>No land has been purchased over the last five years.

17 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been under section 1(5) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 in each of the last five years, detailing convictions with regard to television licences separately.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The number of convictions for all offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 is given in the table. Convictions for offences under section 1(5) of the act cannot be separately identified in the data held centrally. Information for 2001 is not expected to…

17 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether members of the board of the Scottish Prison Service receive performance related pay and, if so, what proportion of that pay has been related to (a) custody objectives and (b) rehabilitation objectives in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02 and (iv) 2002-03 to date.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The executive members of the SPS board are members of the senior civil service and are subject to the same Senior Civil Service pay and performance management system as other Senior Civil Servants in the Scottish Executive. Pay is dependent on performance aga…

17 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure its drugs policy is compatible with those of member states of the European Union.

Answer · Richard Simpson: As a reserved policy area, links with the EU institutions are co-ordinated by the Home Office, on behalf of all UK administrations. We place high priority on working with our European partners to tackle the drug problems we share by, for example, exchanging i…

17 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it had any representative at the informal meeting of the Council of the European Union on Justice and Home Affairs held on 13 to 14 September 2002.

Answer · Jim Wallace: There was no representative from the Scottish Executive at the informal meeting of the Council of the European Union on Justice and Home Affairs on 13 and 14 September. Negotiations within the European Union are conducted by the UK Government, taking due acco…

17 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28789 by Mr Jim Wallace on 13 September 2002, when it will publish its contracts with City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire councils for the provision of social work services in prisons.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Except where disclosure of parts of the contract would not be in the public interest as specified in Part 11 of the <I>Code of Practice o…

13 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to reduce illegal possession of firearms other than air weapons by under-21s.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Firearms policy and legislation are reserved matters. The Scottish Police Service, working closely with Police Services in the rest of the UK as well as with the National Criminal Intelligence Service, seeks rigorously to investigate and pursue the illegal po…

13 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reports have been received by each procurator fiscal of offences in which an air firearm was alleged to have been used and (b) convictions have been obtained following such reports in each sheriff court district in each of the last five years.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29254 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…