Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27415 by Kenny MacAskill on 28 September 2009, when it expects to (a) announce details and (b) roll out the new Sex Offender Treatment Programme.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The revised sex offender treatment programme is in the final stages of development. Plans are well underway for the new pro…
8 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will be able to provide an update on what the motivational element to encourage further participation of prisoners in appropriate interventions, such as the Sex Offender Treatment Programme, is likely to involve and how it will be used.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The key element is to support individuals to effectively engaging in appropriate interventions, such as the new Sex Offende…
4 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many charges under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 reported to the Procurator Fiscal in north east Scotland have been the subject of court proceedings in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) section of the Act and (b) local authority area.
Answer · Frank Mulholland: The following table shows (for each section of the act) the number of charges prosecuted under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005, based on the year when the charge(s) were reported.</p> <p >The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) datab…
4 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks there were on emergency workers while on duty in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The police recorded crime statistics collected centrally are based on an aggregate return and do not record the occupation of the victim. However, following the introduction of the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act in 2005, a new distinct crime classification …
2 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Homicide in Scotland, 2008-9, how many homicide victims there were in 2008-09 in each (a) local authority and (b) police force area, broken down by main method of killing.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The following tables contain a breakdown of homicide victims by (a) local authority area and by (b) police force area, by main method of killing.</p> <p >Victims Currently<sup>1</sup> Recorded as Homicide Victims by Main Method of Killing and Local Authority…
2 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28146 by Kenny MacAskill on 27 October 2009, how many of the police officers recruited in the fourth quarter of 2009 were funded by (a) police authorities and (b) the Scottish Government, broken down by police force.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Police authorities are funded by Police Grant from the Scottish Government, with the balance of their budgets being met by constituent local authorities. Police funding is at a record level and police grant will increase by 3.1% in 2010-11.</p> <p >In additi…
25 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31332 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 February 2010, whether all prisoners at HMP Edinburgh were offered the opportunity to be housed in the Addiction Support Areas.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >There are 38 spaces in the HMP Edinburgh Addiction Support Area. Each prisoner must be serving a minimum of 45 days. The cr…
25 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31332 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 February 2010, how many prisoners are involved in the Addiction Support Areas being piloted at HMP Edinburgh.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >There are 38 spaces in the HMP Edinburgh Addiction Support Area. Between January and September 2009, 80 prisoners had been …
25 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31332 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 February 2010, what support is available to prisoners in the Addiction Support Areas being piloted at HMP Edinburgh.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >Assessments are made by the nursing addictions team and regular drug testing is part of the agreed criteria. Each prisoner …
25 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31332 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 February 2010, how the Addiction Support Areas being piloted at HMP Edinburgh differ from the drugs-free wing at HMP Kilmarnock.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >There are two main differences between an addiction support area and a drug free area. The first is the inclusion of prison…
25 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31332 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 February 2010, when it expects the Scottish Prison Service to publish its evaluation of the introduction of Addiction Support Areas in HMP Edinburgh and what criteria will be used to measure the success of the pilot.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The evaluation process of the Addiction Support Area at HMP Edinburgh has been initiated however is not yet complete. There…
15 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were of supervised dispensing of methadone by community pharmacists in each NHS board area in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) gross ingredient cost, (b) fees for dispensing and (c) fees for supervision.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: In considering costs of supervised dispensing of methadone, it is important to note that the Gross Ingredient Cost (GIC) of 500mls of methadone changed from £7.59 in April 2006, £7.37 in April 2007, with a large increase to £9.54 in April 2008. These price ch…
15 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many doses of methadone were dispensed in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Information on the number of methadone defined daily doses for financial years ending 31 March 2005-2009 inclusive, by NHS board is shown in the following table. Although methadone oral solution prescribing rates have risen 2004-05 to 2008-09, the figure has …
15 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people received methadone in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: This information is not held centrally.</p>
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many orders for lifelong restriction have been issued in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR), which is a life sentence, has been available to the High Court of the Justiciary since June 2006. The following table sets out the number of Order for Lifelong Restriction sentences imposed by the court:</p> <table …
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it considers that the national drugs strategy is making in tackling problem drug use.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Significant progress is being made in the delivery of the Drugs Strategy. Since the launch of the Road to Recovery, the Scottish Government, COSLA and its partners have taken forward a wide range of action to give effect to its aspirations including:</p> <p …
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the finding of the 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use that Class A drugs are more likely to be the first drug taken by females under the age of 16 than any other age group and what action it plans to take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use asked adults aged over 16 years (who reported trying drugs at some point in their lives) to remember at what age they first tried drugs and what type of drug they had first used. The survey found that ca…
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the finding of the 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use that the reported use of cocaine had increased between 2006 and 2008-09 among adults aged 16 to 59 and what action it plans to take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use found that reported use of cocaine amongst adults aged 16 to 59 years in the year prior to survey remained stable in 2006 and 2008-09 (3.7% in both 2006 and 2008-09). That said even though the rate has r…
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the finding of the 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use that 24.1% of those who had ever used drugs first tried them when they were under 16 years of age and what action it plans to take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: It is clear from the evidence that the destructive impact of drug misuse on individuals, families and communities is considerable. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that this should not be a legacy for our children and young people to inherit. …
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the finding of the 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use that 87.6% of adults who had used drugs in the month prior to interview reported that it was easy to get hold of the drug they used most often in that period, including 48.6% who claimed …
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government works with the police to reduce the supply of drugs as set out in chapter 4 of Scotland''s national drugs strategy <i >Road to Recovery</i> published in 2008. In 2008-09 the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency seized 1011kg of class A dru…
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22150 by Kenny MacAskill on 25 March 2009, what evidence led the Scottish Prison Service to move from the operation of drug-free areas in prisons to integrated treatment care and what evidence it has of the success of this approach.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >With the introduction of the 2004 Inclusion Policy, and following a series of critical incidents before that time, SPS move…
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22150 by Kenny MacAskill on 25 March 2009, what evidence it has of the effectiveness of drug-free wings.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >There is no conclusive evidence as to the effectiveness of drug-free wings.</p>
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22150 by Kenny MacAskill on 25 March 2009, how many drug-free wings there are in each prison and whether it plans to increase this figure.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >There is one drug free area in HM Prison, Kilmarnock. SPS is in the process of evaluating the introduction of Addiction Sup…
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of random drug tests carried out on prisoners in each of the last three years has been found to be positive, broken down by prison.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31330 on 23 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions …
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of random drug tests carried out on prisoners in each of the last 12 months has been found to be positive, broken down by prison.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The Scottish Prison Service does not carry out random drug tests on prisoners.</p>
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how drugs get into prisons.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: </p> <p >Over the years prisoners have employed a variety of methods to introduce drugs into prison. Drugs can be brought in by pri…
1 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug finds there have been in each prison in each month since January 2007, broken down by type of drug.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The following tables illustrates the number of suspected drug finds from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009.</p> <table b…
21 Jan 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the remarks of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on 18 January 2010 that “people frequently have an espresso after a good night out, a meal and a bottle of wine and they don’t suddenly go berserk, so there actually isn’t…
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30940 on 1 February 2010. 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/Apps…
20 Jan 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol will have on the (a) cost and (b) levels of consumption of Buckfast tonic wine.
Answer · Shona Robison: Minimum pricing is likely to predominately affect the low-cost, high-strength drinks, such as white cider, super strength lager and cheap vodka, that are favoured by harmful and hazardous drinkers. Fortified wines, including Buckfast, represent less than 2.4%…
20 Jan 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on comparing excessive consumption of Buckfast tonic wine with having an espresso after a meal with wine.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30940 on 1 February 2010. 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/Apps…