Richard Baker

27 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that Aberdeen City Council is making adequate year-on-year progress towards lowering class sizes and, if not, what action it intends to take.

Answer · Keith Brown: The concordat with local government recognises that progress on reducing P1 to P3 classes to a maximum of 18 will vary according to local circumstances. Aberdeen did not make progress on this concordat commitment between September 2007 and September 2008. The…

27 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has met Aberdeen City Council to “question why not every council in Scotland has managed to achieve the teacher numbers that we would all wish” as stated by the First Minister on 26 March 2009 (Official Report c. 16247).

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24314 on 4 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.u…

27 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has had with Aberdeen City Council in relation to teacher numbers and reducing class sizes since 26 March 2009.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24314 on 4 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at </p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.…

27 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning last met officials from Aberdeen City Council and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24314 on 4 June 2009. 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/Apps2/Bu…

27 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Minister for Schools and Skills last met officials from Aberdeen City Council and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Keith Brown: Education and Lifelong Learning Ministers regularly meet with a wide range of representatives from local authorities to discuss matters of joint interest. For example, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning last met with Aberdeen City Counc…

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it was appropriate for recent absondee Brian Martin to have been held in Castle Huntly open prison.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to reply. His response is as follows:</p> <p >I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24282 on 9 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the…

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Cabinet Secretary for Justice wrote to the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service in relation to prisoner Brian Martin having absconded from the Castle Huntly open prison.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to reply. His response is as follows: </p> <p >The Cabinet Secretary for Justice wrote to the Scottish Prison Service on 20 May 2009 regarding the abscond of Brian Martin.</p>

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date and time ministers first became aware that prisoner Brian Martin had absconded from Castle Huntly open prison.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Prison Service headquarters were advised of the abscond of Brian Martin at 3.33pm on 18 May 2009. This information was passed on to the office of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice shortly thereafter.</p>

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the search for prisoner Brian Martin, who recently absconded from Castle Huntly open prison cost, broken down by nature of cost.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Searching for absconded prisoners is an operational matter for chief constables. Information on the costs of searching for prisoner Brian Martin is not held centrally.</p>

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to hold an independent review of the suitability of prisoners held in the open estate and, if so, (a) when it expects this review to (i) begin and (ii) report to Parliament, (b) what its scope will be and (c) which stakeholders will be involved.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I announced in my statement to Parliament on 27 May 2009 that an independent review of the case of Brian Martin will be carried out by Professor Alec Spencer. He has been asked to conduct an independent review of the decision to send this prisoner to open con…

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who authorised the decision to transfer prisoner Brian Martin from HMP Shotts to Castle Huntly open prison in April 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to reply. His response is as follows:</p> <p >I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24282 on 9 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the…

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis the decision was made to transfer prisoner Brian Martin from HMP Shotts to Castle Huntly open prison in April 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to reply. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The decision to transfer Mr Martin from HM Prison Shotts to the SPS open estate was made by the multi-disciplinary progression group …

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers or government officials were informed of the transfer of prisoner Brian Martin from HMP Shotts to Castle Huntly open prison and, if so, (a) who was advised and (b) when.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to reply. His response is as follows:</p> <p >I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24280 on 9 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the…

26 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers or government officials received any advice on the transfer of prisoner Brian Martin from HMP Shotts to Castle Huntly open prison and, if so, (a) who received the advice, (b) when it was received and (c) what the advice was.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The transfer of a determinate sentence prisoner to the open estate is an operational matter for the Scottish Prisons Service. Such decisions have never been routinely communicated to ministers.</p>

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) design capacity, (b) assessed operational limit and (c) average number of inmates held at each (i) prison and (ii) young offenders institution was in each month of 2009 for which information is available.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The following table give details of the design capacity, assessed operational limits and average prisoner population for each Establishme…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) design capacity, (b) assessed operational limit and (c) average number of inmates held at each (i) prison and (ii) young offenders institution was in each month in 2008.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The following table give details of the design capacity, assessed operational limits and average prisoner population for each establishme…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08 were on bail at the time of their offence, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <p >Persons Proceeded Against for Handling Offensive Weapons^1,2 with a Bail Aggravator Recorded³, by Police Force Area, 2007-08</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpaddi…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08 had previously been prosecuted for such an offence, broken down by main penalty issued.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There were 4,041 persons proceeded against in Scottish courts for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08. This relates to 3,874 individuals, as some people have been proceeded against on more than one occasion.</p> <p >The following table shows the number o…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08 had a criminal record at the time of prosecution, broken down by most recent offence.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There were 4,041 persons proceeded against in Scottish courts for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08. This relates to 3,874 individuals, as some people have been proceeded against on more than one occasion.</p> <p >Information about whether or nor indiv…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were prosecuted for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08, broken down by (a) main penalty and (b) police force area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <p >Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Handling an Offensive Weapon^{1 2}, by Force and Main Result, for Financial Year 2007-08.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadd…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fine defaulters prosecuted for handling an offensive weapon subsequently served prison sentences in 2007-08 and what proportion that figure constitutes of the total number of (a) people served with fines and (b) fine defaulters.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In 2007-08 the Scottish Prison Service recorded 82 receptions of a prisoner for fine default where the main crime or offence was the handling of offensive weapons, from a total of 3,160 fine defaulter receptions overall. In the same year there were 927 people…

18 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent running the Safer Scotland knife amnesty, which ran from 24 May to 30 June 2006, broken down by expense.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The last national knife amnesty held between 24 May and 30 June 2006 was coordinated by the police as part of their operational duties so it is therefore not possible to quantify how much was spent on its delivery.</p>

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, given that the number of patients who died in NHS Grampian hospitals as a result of malnutrition reached a 10-year high in 2008, whether it intends to take action and, if so, what action. 

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to my answer to question S3W-23971 on 27 May 2009 for the action we are taking on malnutrition in Scotland''s hospitals. It is important to note that that increased rates of detection have influenced the statistics on hospital deaths where …

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, given that the number of patients discharged with a diagnosis of malnutrition from NHS Grampian hospitals reached a 10-year high in 2008, whether it intends to take action and, if so, what action. 

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is important to note that improved detection and diagnosis has influenced the published statistics on malnutrition in and on discharge from hospitals. We continue to give a high priority to the detection of malnutrition on admission to hospital and to reco…

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many uneaten hospital meals were disposed of by NHS Grampian in each of the last three years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Grampian does not record how many hospital meals or specific types of food were not eaten. It does, however, regularly monitor the total wastage of all food in its hospitals.</p> <p >Food wastage can occur for a number of reasons. Patients'' illnesses, t…

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many housing association houses have been built in Aberdeen city since May 2007.

Answer · Alex Neil: One hundred and thirty-three houses for rent or low cost home ownership have been built (completed) by housing associations in Aberdeen City council area between 1 May 2007 and  31 March 2009. There were no completions in April 2007, so this figure is consis…

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many council houses have been built in Aberdeen city since May 2007.

Answer · Alex Neil: There have been no council house completions in Aberdeen City since May 2007. Thirty-three council houses were <i >started</i> between April and June 2007, but these had not yet been completed by March 2009, the latest date for which figures are available.</p…

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements have been undertaken by the Minister for Community Safety since May 2007, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Answer · John Swinney: I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the response will be available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48199).</p>

14 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements have been undertaken by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice since May 2007, broken down by parliamentary constituency. 

Answer · John Swinney: I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the response will be available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48199).</p>

12 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the successful completion rates have been for probationer police constables in each of the last 10 years, broken down by course.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally. For the available information on probationer police constables, broken down by course, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-21097, on 12 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions ar…