Parliamentary questions
Graeme Pearson
335 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many qualified instructors have been employed by the Scottish Prison Service in each year since 2011, broken down by (a) prison and (b) specialist area.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “Qualified instructors are defined as individuals employed by the SPS either in the role of civilian instructor or officer instructor …
30 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the Scottish Prison Service has spent on education (a) classes and (b) programmes in each year since 2011, broken down by prison.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “The SPS is unable to quantify costs for education classes or programme delivery. However we have provided the costs charged under the…
30 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all expenditure (a) by the Scottish Prison Service and (b) on the prison estate in each year since 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Financial Year Expenditure (£ million) Infrastructure (£ million) 2007-08 293,386 50,504 2008-09 312,737 96,961 2009-10 279,875 8…
30 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget for drug treatment and rehabilitation services has been in year since 2003.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Government drug funding is routed through NHS boards. Alcohol and drug partnerships (previously alcohol and drug action teams) have clear responsibilities for tackling drug use and promoting recovery. It is for alcohol and drug partnerships to decide…
30 Nov 2015 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take in response to the recent report on Police Scotland by the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office.
26 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many female prisoners at (a) HMP and YOI Cornton Vale, (b) HMP Edinburgh, (c) HMP Grampian, (d) HMP Greenock and (e) HMP Inverness have a dependent child or children.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “The Scottish Prison Service does not currently hold this information.”
26 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many female prisoners are held in prisons that are not in the same local authority as their last place of residence.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “The following table breaks down female prisoners by local authority area and establishment as at 27November 2015. There are no female priso…
26 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the visiting times are at (a) HMP and YOI Cornton Vale, (b) HMP Edinburgh, (c) HMP Grampian, (d) HMP Greenock and (e) HMP Inverness.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “The visiting times for each establishment are available on the SPS website. The links to each establishment are …
25 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Courts Service rewards staff who deliver on targets and, if so, (a) which targets and (b) what rewards.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.
25 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many court cases have been adjourned (a) as a result of lack of court time and (b) ex proprio motu (on the court's own initiative) in each year since 2011.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.
25 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28408 by Michael Matheson on 25 November 2015, in light of its commitment to reduce carbon emissions, what its position is on the recorded increase in mileage each year and what action it is considering to address this trend.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “The number of miles travelled in the Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Contract (CCPES) is dictated by the volume and location of pri…
19 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget has been for frontline drug treatment services in each year since 2011.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs) have clear responsibilities for tackling drug use and promoting recovery. Scottish Government drug treatment and prevention funding to ADPs, routed through NHS boards, has remained consistent. Year Budget (£ million) 20…
19 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many female prisoners there have been in HMP (a) Edinburgh, (b) Grampian, (c) Greenock and (d) Inverness in each year since 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “Specific numbers of individuals who have been housed in each of the establishments is unavailable as our IT system records admissions and r…
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been (a) placed under statutory supervision and (b) referred to the hearing system in each year since 2007.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: This is a matter for the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA). The information is not held centrally, but can be found in the SCRA online statistics service: http://www.scra.gov.uk/publications/archive/online_statistical_service.cfm
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have applied for emergency homelessness support prior to release in each year since 2011, and how many applications have been approved.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: The following table shows that, for 2014-15, there were 35,957 homelessness applications to local authorities. Of these, 2,107 applications (6% of all applications) were people applying from prison. Once an application has been received, local authorities as…
18 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many epilepsy specialist nurses there are in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
Answer · Shona Robison: Specialist nurses work within multidisciplinary teams to provide valuable support and specialist advice to people and their families affected by particular conditions. In 2015 alone, the Scottish Government has invested over £2.4 million to improve access to …
11 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many compensation orders have been imposed by court service in each year since 2011, also broken down by the (a) average time between the imposition of an order and payment and (b) number and (c) total value of orders that were (i) paid on time, (ii) paid late and (iii) not paid.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.
11 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of the prisoner escort service contract has been in each year since 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “The cost of the prisoner escort contract is published annually by the Scottish Prison Service in its annual accounts and these are availabl…
11 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many miles private contract vehicles have driven for prisoner transfer to and from court in each year since 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “The specific reason for each journey made by the escort contractor is unavailable as their IT system only records the total miles travelled…
10 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what external consultants Police Scotland engaged to provide a review of the proposed strategic direction for the Contact, Command and Control Division in October 2013; whether the contract was put out to tender; what criteria it used to select the consultants, and how much it cost.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This is a matter for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.
27 Oct 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the flooding incidents in the area in the last two winters, what its position is on the flood prevention measures in New Cumnock.
21 Oct 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of local government budget reductions on poverty rates.
9 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the ministerial engagements for June 2015 will be available.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: All ministerial engagements are proactively published and updated on the Scottish Government website. Engagements for all ministers for the period including June 2015 can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngag…
9 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27337 by Michael Matheson on 17 September 2015, whether it will provide the minute of the meeting between the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Chief Constable on (a) 15 January 2015, (b) 18 February 2015, (c) 18 March 2015, (d) 23 April 2015 an…
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not routinely release details of what was discussed in private meetings and has no plans to do so on this occasion.
8 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many restraint orders were issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act 1995 in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15; how many of those orders were issued (a) ahead of and (b) following prosecution or conviction, and what the total value of assets…
Answer · Frank Mulholland QC: The number and value of restraint orders for the years 2011-12 to 2014-15 is as follows: 2011-12 73 orders £13,927,350.00 2012-13 65 orders £9,471,359.72 2013-14 66 orders £9,630,181.29 2014-15 81 orders £15,513,513.00 The information about which Act the…
2 Oct 2015 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people in Cumnock are not disadvantaged by the decision to close the Cumnock campus of Ayr College.
1 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) cases have been processed by Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services and (b) days it has taken to process each case in 2014-15.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority. I have alerted the Chief Executive to your question and I have asked him to write to you.
1 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases have been transferred for processing from one Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services laboratory to another in each year since 2011-12.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority. I have alerted the Chief Executive to your question and I have asked him to write to you.
1 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been employed by Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services and what the backlog of cases has been in each of the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority. I have alerted the Chief Executive to your question and I have asked him to write to you.
1 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget has been for the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services and its predecessor body in each year since 2006-07.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority. I have alerted the Chief Executive to your question and I have asked him to write to you.