Jenny Marra

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long it took Healthcare Improvement Scotland, from the date of the inspection, to publish its announced inspection reports on care for older people in acute hospitals, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: Information requested is provided in the following table: Health Board Hospital Date of Inspection Date of Publication of Report Duration NHS Borders Borders General Hospital 17-19 July 2012 27 August 2012 6 weeks NHS Dumfries and Galloway Dumfr…

17 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when Healthcare Improvement Scotland's draft Announced Inspection Report - care for older people in acute hospitals: Ninewells Hospital was completed.

Answer · Alex Neil: Healthcare Improvement Scotland published their inspection report on the care older people at Ninewells Hospital on 30 January 2013.

14 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the figures recently released by Barnardo's concerning the rest of the UK, whether it will carry out research into the scope of child trafficking in Scotland.

7 Jan 2013 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the assertion by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland that a change in legislation is required to properly define the roles and responsibilities of the service's HR and finance functions.

13 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10915 by Aileen Campbell on 21 November 2012, whether it will provide the information that was requested.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the letter issued on 19 December 2012 informing her that the answer given to S4W-10915 was a duplicate answer to that in S4W-10928. The answer to S4W-10915 should have read: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have an operati…

10 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Tayside about waiting times.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Health Directorate meets with all boards, including NHS Tayside on a regular basis to discuss waiting times.

29 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who owns the property occupied by the Scottish Legal Aid Board in Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The owners of the property occupied by the Scottish Legal Aid Board in Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh is Emlick and Mitchell LLP, 41 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4HQ.

19 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what reduction there has been in the number of college staff in the last year.

14 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many unmarked cases the Procurator Fiscal Service has.

Answer · Lesley Thomson: As at 18 November 2012, 13,100 cases were awaiting marking. This is within the normal parameters The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) would expect to have as work in progress. COPFS’s published targets require that a decision in respect of 7…

5 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce flexible sigmoidoscopy bowel screening.

Answer · Alex Neil: In March 2011, the UK National Screening Committee agreed that flexible sigmoidoscopy technology met the Committee’s criteria for a screening test, within national bowel screening programmes. Whilst bowel screening in England is offered from age 60, in Scotl…

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to victims of (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Local authorities have a general duty under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in need in their area and provide services appropriate to the child’s needs. Police officers also have a responsibil…

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on improving its response to (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation in each of the last five years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell : Since 2007 we have invested £4.25 million in services for survivors of sexual abuse, awareness raising and training for staff in statutory and voluntary organisations. Further funding of £1.65 million has been allocated for 2012-2014.

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set up advisory groups to deal with (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation and, if so, how often they have provided advice.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We have set up a group to oversee the refresh of the National Guidance for Child Protection which will examine how well the Guidance continues to address all aspects of abuse. In addition, a working group has been set up to develop multi-agency local protocol…

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it tackles (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We have introduced measures to improve standards and ensure practitioners have the necessary skills and knowledge to protect children from neglect and abuse. The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland, published in 2010, sets a national framework …

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is given to police on how to investigate (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Training on the above categories is incorporated into other training and appropriately tailored to the needs of the students on any particular course. Probationer training at the Scottish Police College will encompass inputs on child protection and sex offend…

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions related to (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation there have been in each of the last five years and how many have led to a conviction.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Aileen Campbell:The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have an operational database which can identify specific criminal offences. However, any offences which could constitute "child abuse" and "child sexual exploitation" could be charged unde…

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police investigations related to (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation have been carried out in each of the last five years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to answer to question S4W-10913 on 15 November 2012. Police investigations are not formally categorised or recorded other than by reference to the crime type under investigation. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available …

2 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many victims of (a) ritual child abuse, (b) child abuse linked to religion and (c) child sexual exploitation have been identified in each of the last five years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The following table shows the number of sexual offences against children recorded by the police in Scotland for the past 5 years. 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2250 2049 2219 2173 2233 Police forces in Scotland do not record instances of …

15 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on the implementation of a regulatory scheme for non-lawyer will writers under the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing consumer protection in this area as soon as practicable. The 2010 Act is being implemented in stages, beginning with the provisions relating to alternative business structures for the legal profession. We anti…

1 Oct 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether police officers will have to perform more administrative duties to cover proposed reductions in police staff.

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will implement the recommendations of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons' annual report with regard to (a) access to purposeful activity, (b) female offenders, (c)  preparation for release and (d) family access.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: In his annual report the Chief Inspector did not make specific recommendations in relation to these areas, describing them as main issues wh…

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring forward proposals to replace HMP Cornton Vale.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Government’s response to the Commission on Women Offenders (the Commission) on 25 June 2012 advised that over the summer the Sc…

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provision for the construction of new prisons has been made in the 2013-14 budget.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Government Draft Budget 2013-14, which was published on 20 September 2012, provides the Scottish Prison Service with a budget o…

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Women Offenders.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: As set out in the Scottish Government’s response to the report by the Commission on Women Offenders (the Commission), I accepted the recommendation that I report progress on implementing the report’s findings to the Parliament this month and annually thereaft…

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the agenda is for its human trafficking summit.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The summit will discuss the common themes from reports on human trafficking, including raising awareness; training for frontline professionals; data collection and analysis of trends; victim care and support; and legislation, enforcement and prosecution.

26 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the (a) Cross-party Group on Human Trafficking and (b) Human Trafficking Foundation has not been invited to attend its human trafficking summit.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Only senior representatives of those organisations with a statutory or clear role in enforcing the law, raising awareness with frontline staff, or delivering care and support to victims have been invited to the summit. Following the summit I shall write to th…

24 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many dementia champions have graduated in NHS Tayside in 2012 and how many of them are carrying out their duties in (a) the community and (b) hospitals.

Answer · Alex Neil: Eighteen Dementia Champions graduated in NHS Tayside in March 2012. We expect a total of 42 Dementia Champions in NHS Tayside by 2013. The majority of the Dementia Champions are drawn from nursing and all carry out their duties in hospitals in NHS Tayside. T…

24 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trained dementia champions there will be in 2013 and how many of them will carry out their duties in (a) the community and (b) hospitals.

Answer · Alex Neil: We expect a total of 300 Dementia Champions to be trained and to graduate by 2013, broken down by discipline in the following table. The first cohort of 100 were trained in 2011-12 and graduated in March 2012. The second cohort completed training in September…

10 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will use the findings of the Report on Proposals and Policies to implement its climate change policy.

3 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was collected in fees for first instance cases in the Court of Session in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.