Michael Matheson

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any sightseeing trips around Scotland were organised during Tony Gauci's visits; to what locations any such trips were made, and what the cost was of each such trip.

Answer · Colin Boyd: It would be inappropriate to comment on matters relating to a witness in the Lockerbie case while the appeal is continuing.

15 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the outstanding 22 recommendations referred to in the Summary of the Review of the Investigation of Road Deaths in Scotland by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Quality and Practice Review Unit.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: It is not intended to publish the 22 unpublished recommendations of the Quality and Practice Review Unit review of the investigation of road traffic deaths. They are of an internal administrative nature only. All 80 recommendations for improvements in practic…

15 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a report on the progress made with each of the 58 recommendations contained within the Summary of the Review of the Investigation of Road Deaths in Scotland by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Quality and Practice Review Unit.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Work has been on-going to implement the recommendations of the Quality and Practice Review Unit review of the investigation of road traffic deaths. There are no plans to publish a progress report at this stage.

20 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what response it intends to make to the report funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Paths to Justice Scotland.

Answer · Jim Wallace: <I>Paths to Justice Scotland</I> raises a number of important issues both in terms of how people try to resolve their legal problems and their perceptions of the legal system. I intend to bear the report findings in mind, in addition to the Microcosm study <I…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20324 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 2001, what outputs are specified in the Medacs contracts with the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:<P>SPS' contract for the provision of primary care medical services is to deliver services in accordance with our Standards for the Health …

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the expected cost of social work services in (a) HM Prison Edinburgh, (b) HM Young Offenders Institution Glenochil, (c) HM Young Offenders Institution Dumfries and (d) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont is for 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 expected cost of social work services for 2001-02 is as follows.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=227><TR><TD WIDTH="70%" VAL…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of social work services in (a) HM Prison Edinburgh, (b) HM Young Offenders Institution Glenochil, (c) HM Young Offenders Institution Dumfries and (d) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont has been in (i) 1998-99, (ii) 1999-2000, (iii) 2000-01 and (iv) 2001-02 to date in (1)…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The information requested is as follows:<P><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=606><TR><TD WIDTH="11%" VALIGN="TOP" ROWSPAN=2 HEIGH…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many social workers provided social work services at (i) HM Prison Edinburgh, (ii) HM Young Offenders Institution Glenochil, (iii) HM Young Offenders Institution Dumfries and (iv) HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont in (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000, (c) 2000-01 and (d) 2001-02 and wha…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows.<P>The available information is as follows.<P>The number of social workers providing social work service at Edinburgh Prison is currently five and…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the contract for the provision of general practitioner services subject to the deletion of matters that are commercially confidential.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: General practitioners (GPs) do not hold individual contracts. GPs who wish to provide General Medical Services (GMS) under the national GMS contract must gain admission to the medical list. While practising a GP must comply with the terms of service set out i…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to it of ensuring contract compliance at HM Prison Kilmarnock has been in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000, (e) 2000-01 and (f) 2001-02 to date in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms at current prices.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The Controller and his staff are responsible for certain statutory functions as well as for contract monitoring. It is not possible to separate…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many members of staff the Scottish Prison Service Controller at HM Prison Kilmarnock has and what the role is of each

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>In addition to the Controller there are two members of staff. A Deputy Controller and an administrative officer. There is also a part time reli…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19196 by Iain Gray on 16 November 2001, what the cost to it has been of the office of the Scottish Prison Service Controller at HM Prison Kilmarnock in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99, (c) 1999-2000, (d) 2000-01 and (e) 2001-02 to date in (i) cash terms and…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The cost of the Controller's function at HMP Kilmarnock has been:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=274><TR><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19197 by Iain Gray on 16 November 2001, what the total cost was to it of the tender process in respect of HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:<P>SPS did not collect tender cost data in respect of the contract for HM Prison Kilmarnock. Tender costs are not separately identified in a…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what persons that do not fall within the definition of Scottish public authority in section 3(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill as introduced it intends to designate as Scottish public authorities by order under section 5(1) of the bill as introduced.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The powers at section 5(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill are included to ensure that ministers can respond to changes in the pattern of public service delivery, bringing public authorities within the coverage of the legislation as appropriate.…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost per hour of retrieving information under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information has been in respect of each body named in Schedule 1 of the code in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02 to date.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is not available.<P>All requests for information received by the Executive and other public authorities covered by the <I>Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information</I> must be considered under the terms of this cod…

17 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs of providing information under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information have been in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02 to date.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is not available.<P>All requests for information received by the Scottish Executive and other public authorities covered by <I>the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information</I> must be considered under the terms of…

14 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the English High Court judgement of 15 November 2001 that cloned embryos are not subject to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, it has any powers or responsibilities in respect of human cloning and, if it does, why a Sewel motion was not lodged before th…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Human reproductive cloning is a reserved matter by virtue of section J3 of Part II of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998.

4 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which companies were responsible for undertaking the annual maintenance of fisheries protection vessels Norna and Sulisker in 2001 and whether the maintenance contracts were completed within their quoted time scale and budget.

Answer · Ross Finnie: <I>Norna's</I> refit was completed by MMS Ship Repair and Dry Dock Company Ltd within the agreed timescale and budget. <I><P>Sulisker's</I> refit was completed by Dunston (Ship Repairers) Ltd within the allocated time and budget. However, she was not in servi…

31 Oct 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of female prisoners.

Answer · Iain Gray: In view of the Executive's concerns over the problem of women's offending, we set up a Ministerial Group, which I chair, to tackle this specific issue. The group is looking at a range of measures to encourage the appropriate use of alternatives to custody for…

26 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when each of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency's vessels were last entered into dry dock for maintenance.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: In the last maintenance round (2000-01) the dry-docking dates for the agency's vessels were as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=189><TR><TD WIDTH="50%" VALIGN="TOP"><I><FONT FACE="Arial"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Norna</I></FONT></TD><TD WIDTH…

26 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost for each of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency's vessels to be entered into dry dock for maintenance.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The bids submitted by contractors on a commercial basis are confidential but can be in a range of £40,000 to £70,000 per vessel, depending on the specific works required.

26 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when each of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency's vessels will enter dry dock for maintenance.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Dry-docking for maintenance purposes is carried out on an annual basis. In this financial year <I>Norna</I> dry-docked on 9 October and <I>Sulisker</I> on 1 November. <I>Vigilant</I> and <I>Westra</I> will dry-dock on 16 January and 25 February respectively.

26 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which company holds the contract to maintain the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency's vessels.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: No single company holds such a contract. The refit works on each of the agency's vessels is subject to competitive tender annually.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the letter to me of 8 May 2001 from the Deputy Minister for Education, Europe, and External Affairs regarding school link courses, when the Deputy Minister expects to give a further response to me.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A final reply was issued on 2 November 2001.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the full results of the 2000 Crime Survey have not yet been published.

Answer · Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19225.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the full results of the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey will be published.

Answer · Iain Gray: A summary of the main results were published in December 2000 as <I>The 2000 Scottish Crime Survey: First Results</I>. Some results have also being published elsewhere and these are listed in my response to question S1W-19224. <P>The <I>Scottish Crime Survey<…

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the figures in the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey will be broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Iain Gray: No. The sample size for the <I>Scottish Crime Survey</I> is too small to produce valid results for smaller geographical areas such as local authorities or police forces.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Prison Service Estates Directorate first had sight of plans for HM Prison Kilmarnock and how long this was before the start of the construction process.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Initial tenders were received by the Scottish Prison Service in December 1996 and construction started in November 1997.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Prison Service Estates Directorate was involved in checking the design of HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Yes.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any department of the Scottish Prison Service at any stage requested or required any change to the design of HMP Kilmarnock.

Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>All bidders changed elements of their initially submitted design throughout the tender negotiation process to fulfil better the requirements of…