Richard Baker

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it made an assessment of the impact of increasing the officer intake on the quality of training delivered to probationer constables at the Scottish Police College and, if so, what that assessment was.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). I have asked the Chief Executive of SPSA to respond.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time served is of a police constable.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time served is of a police sergeant.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time served is by a police constable when promoted to sergeant.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost per day is of a police constable.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost per day is of a police sergeant.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether police constables are being used to deliver training to probationer constables at the Scottish Police College and, if so, what factors motivated this decision.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). I have asked the Chief Executive of SPSA to respond.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether police constables have been used in previous years to deliver training to probationer constables at the Scottish Police College.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). I have asked the Chief Executive of SPSA to respond.</p>

17 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether police constables are being used to deliver training to probationer constables at the Scottish Police College and, if so, for what areas of training they are responsible.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). I have asked the Chief Executive of SPSA to respond in writing to the member.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates cocaine misuse to cost the NHS on an annual basis.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Robust estimates of the cost of cocaine misuse to the NHS are not currently available. We have commissioned a research project, currently underway, which will produce an initial estimate of the size/value of illicit drug markets in Scotland, and of the econom…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of a report in the Evening News on 12 February 2009 that some £2.1 million in Class A drugs were seized in Edinburgh by Lothian and Borders Police between April and December 2009, what the corresponding figure was for other police forces in the same period.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is currently being collected and is not yet available centrally. Information on drugs seizures in Scotland will be published in June 2009 in the statistical bulletin <i >Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2007-08 and 2008-09</i…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of a report in the Evening News on 12 February 2009 of increased quantities of cocaine being seized by the police, what action it intends to take to curb the supply of cocaine.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) works with and in support of the Scottish Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to tackle, disrupt and dismantle serious organised crime groups with an emphasis on the trafficking of Class A d…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any group in society that on average is more likely to abuse (a) cocaine and (b) other illegal drugs and, if so, what action it is taking.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Our national drugs strategy, <i >The Road to Recovery,</i> states that there are associations between deprivation, health inequalities and problematic drug use. Studies have shown that there is a clear link between problem use of heroin and crack cocaine and …

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that university students are more likely to abuse (a) cocaine and (b) other illegal drugs than other groups in society.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We do not hold the necessary data to compare cocaine or other drug abuse in the student population with that of other groups in society.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has recently undertaken into drug misuse among students.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey gives an indication of illicit drug use in those aged 16 years and above, although this excludes those living in communal accommodation such as student halls.</p> <p >The Scottish Government is currently engaged in a com…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates to be the proportion of the student population that experiments with cocaine at some point during their time at university.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We do not hold the necessary data to estimate cocaine abuse in the student population.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates to be the proportion of the student population that abuses cocaine on a regular basis.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We do not hold the necessary data to estimate cocaine abuse in the student population.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has provided student associations with funding to assist with the dissemination of information to students on drug misuse and, if so, how much, broken down by institution.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: No funding has been provided to student associations to assist with the dissemination of information to students on drug misuse. Information is available to all members of the public, including students, through <i >Know the Score</i>, the national drugs info…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is offering student associations with the dissemination to students of information on drug misuse.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Student Associations do not receive support to disseminate information on drug misuse. Information is available to all members of the public, including students, through <i >Know the Score</i>, the national drugs information campaign.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the current campaign by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency highlighting the ethical impact of cocaine abuse that targets university students to change attitudes and reduce demand for cocaine, whether similar campaigns are planned for other groups in society.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The SCDEA has a number of campaigns in operation aimed at reducing demand for drugs. These include campaigns that highlight the ethical impact of cocaine abuse and are aimed at various groups in society.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current campaign by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency highlighting the ethical impact of cocaine abuse that targets university students to change attitudes and reduce demand for cocaine will also be rolled out to all further education institutions.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20959 on 11 March 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/…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current campaign by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency highlighting the ethical impact of cocaine abuse that targets university students to change attitudes and reduce demand for cocaine will be rolled out to all higher education institutions.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This campaign was piloted at Strathclyde University and it has already been rolled out to all other universities. Following evaluation it may be rolled out to all further education establishments.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that young people are more likely to be victims of knife crime than adults.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The national Violence Reduction Unit “ firmly established as the centre of expertise in tackling violence “ consider that young people are generally more at risk of being the victims of knife crime, although this will vary from community to community.</p>

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the typical profile of a knife carrier.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The national Violence Reduction Unit “ firmly established as the centre of expertise in tackling violence “ consider the typical profile of a knife carrier to be: a young male aged 16 to 24 who has left school with no formal qualifications, is likely to be un…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20289 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 February 2009, whether it is aware of any programmes in England that have been particularly successful at reducing offending behaviour and that could be applied in Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20952 on 11 March 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/…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20289 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 February 2009, what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the sharing of good practice on education programmes aimed at helping to reduce the carrying of knives and knife crime among young people.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20952 on 11 March 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/…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20289 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 February 2009, whether it is developing or plans to introduce new programmes aimed at helping to reduce the carrying of knives and knife crime among young people.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20952 on 11 March 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/…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20289 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 February 2009, whether it has recently commissioned research into how effective such programmes are in reducing offending behaviour.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20952 on 11 March 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/…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20289 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 February 2009, what criteria is used to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes such as the (a) Knife City DVD and (b) It’s Jist for Protection performance by young people in reducing offending behaviour.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is fully committed to getting knives off our streets and is taking direct action to tackle this issue. On 4 March 2009, we hosted the first national youth conference on violence and knife crime, which brought together over 80 young peo…

13 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20289 by Fiona Hyslop on 12 February 2009, what the target audience is for the (a) Knife City DVD and (b) It’s Jist for Protection performance by young people

Answer · Keith Brown: The target audience for both the <i >Knife City</i> DVD and the <i >It''s Jist for Protection</i> performance is young people from the P7 age-group upwards. Further information on these resources can be accessed through the Violence Reduction Unit''s website …