Alison McInnes

20 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it (a) has given and (b) will give to excluding patients diagnosed with (i) autism and (ii) learning disabilities in general from the definition of mental disorders in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government are currently in the process of taking forward amendments to the Act following the McManus Limited Review Report and other minor technical issues identified by external stakeholders in the Mental Health and Adults With Incapacity Amend…

20 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to each NHS board was of prescribing Ritalin to children under 18 was in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12 and has been in 2012-13.

Answer · Alex Neil: Methylphenidate Hydrochloride is the non-proprietary drug name for the branded products Ritalin, Equasym, Equasym XL, Concerta XL, Medikinet XL, and Medikinet and is used as part of a programme of treatment for people who have attention-deficit hyperactivity …

20 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recent Court of Appeal ruling relating to the disclosure of criminal conviction information in England and Wales and its relevance to Scotland’s enhanced disclosure procedures.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is assessing the Court of Appeal judgement and the extent to which any aspect of it might be relevant to current practice regarding the enhanced disclosure of criminal convictions in Scotland.

20 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the rules on enhanced disclosure of previous criminal convictions are compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We consider that the rules on enhanced disclosure checks in Scotland are compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention. However, we keep the statutory basis and application of these important arrangements under review, including in light of court judge…

18 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with colleges and the Scottish Funding Council regarding the protection of specialised rural courses following college regionalisation.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Funding Council has given assurances to rural colleges merging with urban colleges that, as the new college will continue to serve the rural population of the region, the Funding Council will not, as a result of merger, remove the elements of the…

11 Feb 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it will give direction to the Scottish Police Authority.

21 Jan 2013 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the outcome of the Scottish Police Authority meeting on 18 January.

18 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a rural college that merges with a city-based college will remain eligible for the institutional element of rural and remoteness funding.

Answer · Michael Russell: Matters related to the funding of individual colleges are the responsibility of the Scottish Funding Council. I have asked the chief executive of the council to write to the member.

18 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the main grant letter breaking down details of the grants to colleges for (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13 will be published and what the reason is for any delay.

Answer · Michael Russell: Matters related to the provision of grant to individual colleges are the responsibility of the Scottish Funding Council. I have asked the chief executive of the council to write to the member.

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the updated Guidance on Education of Children Absent from School through Ill-health will be published.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The intention is that as part of their consideration of the issues which require further guidance the stakeholder group will also consider the format and timing of the preparation of the products which will result from the review. The review is not simply a r…

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the stakeholder group reviewing Guidance on Education of Children Absent from School through Ill-health (a) last met and (b) will next meet.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The children unable to attend school due to ill health review group last met on 28 March 2012 and will next meet on 1 February 2013. A meeting of the group was unable to be facilitated in December 2012 as intended due to other pressures. Meetings of the grou…

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-01379 by Alasdair Allan on 24 October 2012 (Official Report, c.12514) whether the stakeholder group reviewing Guidance on Education of Children Absent from School through Ill-health met during the last three months of 2012 and, if so, when.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12332 on 29 January 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it used to formulate the statement in its news release of 4 December 2012, Police numbers up, that “This is in direct contrast to UK Government plans which will see the loss of an estimated 16,000 policing posts in England and Wales”.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Page 13 of the 2011 HMIC “Adapting to Austerity report” states that based on estimated police workforce reductions in England and Wales from “March 2010 until the end of the Comprehensive Spending Review period there will be 11% (16,200) fewer officers”. The…

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the Police Service of Scotland makes available statistics that allow the impact of the Trunk Roads Patrol Unit and divisional roads policing units to be effectively assessed.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 makes clear that it is the responsibility of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to hold the Chief Constable to account for the policing of Scotland. The SPA will therefore be responsible for collecting relevant…

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor the impact of the new divisional roads policing units on driver behaviour.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 makes clear that it is the responsibility of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to hold the chief constable to account for the policing of Scotland. The SPA will therefore be responsible for collecting relevant…

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been killed or seriously injured on the (a) trunk road and (b) local road network in each of the last three years, broken down by type of road user.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following table provides the statistics requested. It should be noted that the figures do not take account of the higher overall length of the local authority roads or the larger volumes of traffic on trunk roads. Casualties by severity, road user and ty…

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who will have responsibility for influencing driver behaviour on the local road network, following the creation of the Trunk Roads Patrol Unit with responsibility for influencing driver behaviour on trunk roads.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 makes clear that it is the responsibility of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to hold the chief constable to account for the policing of Scotland. The SPA will therefore be responsible for collecting relevant…

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what changes there will be to the policing of local roads following the creation of the Trunk Roads Patrol Unit.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: These are matters for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to consider.

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total budget will be of the (a) divisional roads policing units and (b) Trunk Roads Patrol Unit.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Operational and budgetary matters are for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and the chair of the Scottish Police Authority to consider.

11 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the key responsibilities of the new divisional roads policing units will be.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Operational matters are for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to consider.

7 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that proposed budget reductions will have on colleges in North East Scotland.

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals have disputed information from a criminal record check carried out by Disclosure Scotland since 2010, broken down by whether the dispute was based on (a) identity, (b) accuracy or (c) irrelevancy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The information is provided in the Disclosure Scotland Annual Report and Annual Accounts that is laid before the Scottish Parliament by Scottish Ministers in October each year. Copies are available in the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre, SPICe. The Di…

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours per week on average prisoners spend working.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The amount of hours a prisoner is engaged in purposeful activity hours varies depending on individual prisoner needs and therefore would be …

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have worked in Scottish Prison Service Industries production workshops in the last year.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “Attendance at SPS Industries production workshops is recorded on the Prisoner Records system (PR2), however the system is designed to…

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of prisoners serving a sentence for knife offences has previously been to prison for knife offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The information requested is shown in the following tables: Prisoners convicted of the main crime of possessing an offensive weapon or hav…

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been fined under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 for selling alcohol to a person who is drunk.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: From 2009 to 2012, five people received fiscal fines where the main offence was the sale of alcohol to a drunk person under section 113 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (1 in 2009-10, 2 in 2010-11, and 2 in 2011-12). Data is available from 2009 onwards, a…

3 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of animal cruelty have been recorded in each year since 2008-09 and how many were successfully prosecuted, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Please note that police recorded crime statistics are not directly comparable with statistics on action taken against offenders, as one offence may lead to several persons being charged. Equally, an offender may be charged with several offences. In addition, …

20 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-11002 by John Swinney on 20 November 2012, whether it will provide the information that was requested and confirm when it will announce the three projects that will pilot social impact bonds.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is looking at a range of options for alternative means of funding public services, in discussion with a range of stakeholders, and announcements will be made as and when appropriate.

7 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-00906 by John Swinney on 16 June 2011, what progress it has made on identifying, developing, delivering and resourcing three pilot social impact bond projects.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-11002 on 20 November 2012. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…

7 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the three projects that will pilot social impact bonds.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is engaging with a range of partners and stakeholders, including funders, investors, third sector providers and service commissioners to explore options for developing and testing innovative social investment models. This collaborative…