Parliamentary questions
Michael Matheson
1,154 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
19 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the cost to the Scottish Prison Service of checking the design of HM Prison Kilmarnock with regard to security or for any other reason was taken into account in the price agreed with the construction company of the prison.
Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>No. In accordance with normal practice, the cost of the tendering process was not charged to any of the bidders.
19 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what payments have been made by Premier Prison Services for the services of senior officers of the Scottish Prison Service in each month since the prison was opened.
Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>None. No senior officers of the Scottish Prison Service work for Premier Prison Services.
19 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions Scottish Prison Service officers have been called to HM Prison Kilmarnock due to prisoner disturbances.
Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Scottish Prison Service staff have never been called upon to assist HM Prison Kilmarnock with prisoner disturbances.
19 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Prison Service officers would be required to assist HM Prison Kilmarnock staff should a prisoner disturbance occur and, if so, who would be responsible for meeting the cost of such assistance.
Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>All Scottish prisons, including HMP Kilmarnock, operate under a mutual aid arrangement. Each prison is responsible for the cost of resourcing t…
2 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities will retain social inclusion partnership status until March 2004.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Social Inclusion Partnerships with designations due to end in March 2004 are located in the following local authority areas:<P>Argyll and Bute Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Clackmannanshire Council, Dundee City Council, East Ayrshire Council, East Renfr…
2 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when detailed guidance will be issued on the revenue fund costs to local authorities of the transitional housing benefit scheme under the Supporting People regime to be introduced in 2003.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The transitional housing benefit scheme will continue until April 2003 but it is hoped to provide local authorities with an indication of how much will be available to them for Supporting People by the end of 2002.
2 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what replacement funding will be provided to organisations following the conclusion of the Social Inclusion Partnership Initiative.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Following our recent decision to extend the life of the nine Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) who were former Regeneration Programmes and five other SIPs, no SIPs now have designations due to expire before 31 March 2004. It would be premature to prejudge …
28 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish details of the additional resources to be made available to local authorities to enable them to implement their new responsibilities under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, particularly regarding the nature of the funding, the timescale for disbursement and the method …
Answer · Jackie Baillie: We are providing £10 million to help local authorities and registered social landlords implement the new Scottish secure tenancy, £27 million to help local authorities implement the homelessness provisions in the Act, £4.5m to help local authorities and regis…
28 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used to determine applications from local authorities for funding under the New Housing Partnerships initiative.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Decisions have still to be taken on the criteria for allocating further New Housing Partnership resources in the period 2002-04.
26 Sep 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Freedom of Information Bill will include provisions to improve access to police road traffic accident reports.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill will, if enacted, establish a general legal right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities. The Bill also includes necessary safeguards to protect sensitive information.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Police r…
13 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the running costs of the Scottish Prison Service headquarters were in each year since 1998.
Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=226><TR><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Financial Year</TD><TD WIDTH="58%" VAL…
13 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed at the headquarters of the Scottish Prison Service in each year since 1998 and how many were on (a) part-time and (b) full-time and, in each category, (i) temporary and (ii) permanent contracts.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The following table shows the numbers as of April in each year.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=406><TR><TD WIDT…
13 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its timetable is for ending slopping out, broken down by prison.
Answer · Iain Gray: The timetable for ending slopping out is being considered as part of the Estates Review which is currently under way.
13 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to ensure the accurate recording of violent incidents at HM Prison Kilmarnock over the last year and whether the Scottish Prison Service is monitoring the situation.
Answer · Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HMP Kilmarnock complies with the Scottish Prison Service incident reporting procedures in exactly the same way as all other Sco…
20 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost will be of refurbishing HM Prison Barlinnie's B hall.
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 refurbishment will be approximately £2.4 million including VAT.
20 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the contract for the refurbishment of HM Prison Barlinnie's B hall was signed and who the successful tenderer was.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The contract was signed on 19 June 2001. The successful tenderer was John Dickie Construction Limited, Burnfield Avenue, Glasgow.
20 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the closing date was for the submission of tenders for the refurbishment of HM Prison Barlinnie's B hall.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The closing date for the submission of tenders was 4 May 2001.
20 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies submitted tenders for the refurbishment of HM Prison Barlinnie's B Hall.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Four companies submitted tenders for the refurbishment contract.
20 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what date the tendering process for the refurbishment of HM Prison Barlinnie's B hall began.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The tendering process for the refurbishment of Barlinnie's B Hall began on 6 April 2001.
1 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many custodial sentences were imposed by each sheriff court in each year from 1997-98 to 2000-01.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The available information is given in the table. Figures for 2000 are not yet available.<P>Number of proceedings in Scottish sheriff courts resulting in a custodial sentence<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=365><TR><TD WIDTH="35%" VALIGN="TOP" H…
1 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what targets were set and what targets were achieved by the Supreme Courts of Scotland in each year from 1997-98 to 2000-01.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The table which follows sets out the key performance targets set for the Scottish Court Service in relation to the Supreme Courts of Scotland in each year from 1997-98 to 2000-01 together with the respective percentage achievement rates.<P>Cases which fail to…
1 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13449 by Colin Boyd QC on 1 March 2001, whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of cases within each category listed which were marked as no proceedings due to a time bar in the courts, in each year from 1997-98 to 2000-01.
Answer · Colin Boyd: The time bar in question is not one which relates to the courts. It is, rather, the one set out in section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which prevents the commencement of summary proceedings once six months have passed from the date of t…
1 Jun 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many legal staff in (a) the Crown Office and (b) the Procurator Fiscal Service ended their employment (i) within six months, (ii) between six and 12 months and (iii) between 12 and 18 months of them taking up post and what posts were affected by departures in these categories, in each…
Answer · Colin Boyd: The numbers of legal staff in (a) the Crown Office and (b) the Procurator Fiscal Service ended their employment (i) within six months, (ii) between six and 12 months and (iii) between 12 and 18 months of them taking up post and the posts affected by these dep…
23 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the delay in allocating community empowerment funding in the current financial year to Pathfinder and area-based social inclusion partnerships and when this funding will be allocated.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: I would refer the member to the announcement I made during the urban regeneration debate on 10 May (Scottish Parliament's <I>Official Report</I>, 10 May 2001, col. 633). Guidance on the use of the resources allocated to partnerships will be issued very shortl…
9 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many notices were served by local authorities on the owners of buildings under section 11(2) of the Building (Scotland) Act 1959 in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Responsibility for the enforcement of building regulations lies with the local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.
9 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many penalties for non-compliance under the Building (Scotland) Act 1959 were imposed in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Responsibility for the enforcement of building regulations lies with the local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.
9 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for non-compliance of building standards regulations under section 11 of the Building (Scotland) Act 1959 there were in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Cases brought under section 11 of the Building (Scotland) Act 1959 are not separately identifiable on the Scottish Executive classification of crimes and offences. Between 1997 and 1999 there were eight prosecutions in Scottish courts where the main offence w…
9 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison chaplaincy posts are currently vacant, at which prisons and for which denominations.
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 is given in the table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="25%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Prison</TD><TD WI…
9 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison chaplains were appointed on temporary contracts in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000.
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 is given in the table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=158><TR><TD WIDTH="52%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>1997</TD><TD WID…
9 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison chaplains have been appointed on a temporary contract in 2001, at which prisons they are based and which denomination they represent.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>There were seven temporary contracts in 2001 of which four are Church of Scotland and three Roman Catholic.<P>The appointments are shown in the…