- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 18 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) police reports and (b) written warnings concerning children in respect of alcohol-related crime there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.
Answer
The information requested by the member is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 17 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14101 by Cathy Jamieson on 28 February 2005, what steps it will take to address any concerns raised by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons’ interim report on HM Prison Cornton Vale and the fatal accident inquiry into the recent suicide of Alice Bone held on remand there.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
In his interim report of March 2005, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons made many positive comments. The Governor of Cornton Vale continues to implement a number of local initiatives which improve access to visits and access to toilets at night. This is greatly assisted by the opening of Wallace Block and the introduction of CCTV coverage in Younger House.
A date has not yet been set for the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) referred to. Once a determination is made at the FAI, SPS will respond appropriately.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 17 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16432 by Colin Boyd QC on 8 July 2005, how many charges for (a) assault, (b) petty assault and (c) breaches of the peace resulted in a guilty verdict in each year since 2002-03, broken down by police force.
Answer
The available information relates to calendar years 2002 and 2003 and is given in the following table. Information relating to later years is not yet available.
Selected Offences with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts, by Police Force Area, 2002-03.
| Police Force Area | Serious Assault | Common Assault | Breach of the peace |
| | 2002 | 2003 | 2002 | 2003 | 2002 | 2003 |
| Central | 84 | 83 | 997 | 979 | 1,367 | 1,328 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 41 | 34 | 411 | 531 | 530 | 665 |
| Fife | 100 | 60 | 858 | 865 | 1,019 | 959 |
| Grampian | 72 | 92 | 1,589 | 1,713 | 1,728 | 1,839 |
| Lothian and Borders | 234 | 231 | 2,504 | 2,371 | 3,006 | 2,594 |
| Northern | 42 | 64 | 894 | 1,032 | 1,293 | 1,414 |
| Strathclyde | 611 | 582 | 6,599 | 6,768 | 10,993 | 11,321 |
| Tayside | 114 | 105 | 1,566 | 1,570 | 2,139 | 2,357 |
| Scotland | 1,298 | 1,251 | 15,418 | 15,829 | 22,075 | 22,477 |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6196 by Mr Tom McCabe on 10 March 2004, how much funding it provided to address alcohol misuse in 2004-05, showing the proportion spent on national advertising.
Answer
Core costs are incurred by health, the police and other agencies in tackling alcohol problems. This is also targeted through generic social and in particular joint drugs/alcohol initiatives such as the Lloyds TSB PDI initiative which supports activities to support children at risk from drugs and alcohol (£2 million) and training programmes offered by STRADA for drug and alcohol professionals (£0.8 million).
Specific Health Department funding of £5.5 million in 2004-05 covers core grant funding for Alcohol Focus Scotland, support for local Alcohol Action Teams, the Gender Issues Network on Alcohol (GINA), support for the Serve Wise programme and from 2002, support for the National Alcohol Information Resource at ISD. It also includes £744,000 (14%) for national advertising campaigns to tackle binge drinking.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9962 by Mr Tom McCabe on 6 September 2004, how many people are now registered with a dentist, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The information requested is provided in the table.
Number of People Registered with an NHS General Dental Practitioner, 31 March 2005
| Health Board Area | Children | Adults | Total |
| Argyll and Clyde | 58,210 | 163 393 | 221,603 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 54,951 | 150,501 | 205,452 |
| Borders | 13,421 | 35,131 | 48,552 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 18,931 | 42,831 | 61,762 |
| Fife | 46,805 | 131,531 | 178,336 |
| Forth Valley | 42,078 | 108,157 | 150,235 |
| Grampian | 66,150 | 154,673 | 220,823 |
| Greater Glasgow | 129,880 | 367,721 | 497,601 |
| Highland | 27,246 | 45,067 | 72,313 |
| Lanarkshire | 76,735 | 212,947 | 289,682 |
| Lothian | 112,973 | 316,645 | 429,618 |
| Orkney | 1,490 | 4,689 | 6,179 |
| Shetland | 3,204 | 7,533 | 10,737 |
| Tayside | 58,850 | 168,233 | 227,083 |
| Western Isles | 923 | 6,440 | 7,363 |
| Scotland | 711,847 | 1,915,492 | 2,627,339 |
Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 16 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have received free school meals in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
Table 1 shows how many children have received free school meals in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area. This table shows a steady decline in the number of pupils taking free school meals. However, this decline in absolute numbers must be considered in the context of an overall decrease in the school roll, a decrease in the overall numbers of pupils taking school lunches and increasing overall levels of prosperity in Scotland’s communities.
Table 2 and Graph 1 show free school meals as a percentage of total school meals, which gives a more realistic picture of the change in uptake of free meals. In particular, the table shows that the percentage of pupils taking free school meals has been stable since 2003.
Number of Pupils Taking Free School Meals on the School Meals Survey date in January 1999-2005
| | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Scotland | 108,409 | 109,953 | 103,289 | 100,203 | 96,742 | 95,279 | 89,189 |
| Aberdeen City | 2,801 | 3,001 | 2,699 | 2,594 | 2,416 | 2,447 | 2,453 |
| Aberdeenshire | 1,987 | 2,133 | 2,071 | 1,850 | 1,785 | 1,940 | 2,007 |
| Angus | 1,172 | 1,313 | 1,337 | 1,226 | 1,337 | 1,351 | 1,391 |
| Argyll and Bute | 1,454 | 1,441 | 1,241 | 1,226 | 1,214 | 1,139 | 1,043 |
| Clackmannanshire | 1,370 | 1,314 | 1,217 | 1,170 | 1,077 | 1,063 | 1,080 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 2,145 | 2,201 | 1,993 | 1,856 | 1,759 | 1,677 | 1,687 |
| Dundee City | 3,324 | 3,279 | 2,966 | 3,015 | 2,861 | 2,648 | 2,303 |
| East Ayrshire | 3,181 | 3,249 | 2,987 | 2,970 | 2,901 | 2,769 | 2,541 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 1,401 | 1,385 | 1,324 | 1,278 | 1,202 | 1,102 | 997 |
| East Lothian | 1,144 | 1,235 | 1,086 | 996 | 1,046 | 1,127 | 1,047 |
| East Renfrewshire | 1,200 | 1,138 | 1,122 | 1,093 | 1,058 | 978 | 1,033 |
| Edinburgh, City of | 7,815 | 7,977 | 7,370 | 7,088 | 6,936 | 7,093 | 6,275 |
| Eilean Siar | 436 | 396 | 377 | 328 | 276 | 347 | 333 |
| Falkirk | 3,268 | 3,362 | 3,218 | 3,288 | 3,300 | 3,245 | 3,135 |
| Fife | 7,365 | 7,294 | 6,713 | 6,446 | 6,179 | 6,318 | 6,642 |
| Glasgow City | 23,562 | 23,892 | 22,927 | 22,654 | 21,083 | 20,726 | 19,833 |
| Highland | 3,337 | 3,135 | 3,113 | 2,948 | 2,791 | 2,888 | 2,742 |
| Inverclyde | 2,304 | 2,461 | 2,200 | 2,200 | 2,036 | 2,055 | 1,903 |
| Midlothian | 1,540 | 1,536 | 1,502 | 1,402 | 1,434 | 1,383 | 1,050 |
| Moray | 1,087 | 1,141 | 982 | 968 | 944 | 904 | 915 |
| North Ayrshire | 4,635 | 4,513 | 4,248 | 4,073 | 3,889 | 3,734 | 3,622 |
| North Lanarkshire | 8,583 | 8,739 | 8,251 | 8,056 | 7,769 | 7,695 | 7,004 |
| Orkney Islands | 217 | 216 | 365 | 420 | 472 | 510 | 461 |
| Perth and Kinross | 1,285 | 1,204 | 1,132 | 1,131 | 1,059 | 1,101 | 969 |
| Renfrewshire | 3,723 | 4,240 | 4,006 | 3,797 | 3,806 | 3,653 | 2,880 |
| Scottish Borders | 904 | 1,060 | 981 | 898 | 890 | 862 | 776 |
| Shetland Islands | 237 | 246 | 233 | 188 | 193 | 187 | 204 |
| South Ayrshire | 2,014 | 2,094 | 1,999 | 1,949 | 1,919 | 1,842 | 1,729 |
| South Lanarkshire | 6,763 | 6,601 | 5,991 | 5,882 | 5,691 | 5,476 | 4,820 |
| Stirling | 1,457 | 1,491 | 1,420 | 1,329 | 1,252 | 1,211 | 1,083 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 3,598 | 3,562 | 3,193 | 2,924 | 3,073 | 2,732 | 2,366 |
| West Lothian | 3,100 | 3,104 | 3,025 | 2,960 | 3,094 | 3,073 | 2,859 |
| Grant aided1 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 6 |
Note: 1. Mainstream grant aided only. Included in Glasgow until 2004.
Percentage of Free Meals Taken as a Percentage of All Meals Taken, Primary and Secondary Sectors 1999–2005
| | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Scotland | 34.2% | 33.0% | 31.1% | 29.1% | 28.3% | 28.4% | 28.3% |
| Aberdeen City | 23.8% | 25.2% | 22.5% | 22.4% | 21.8% | 19.8% | 20.5% |
| Aberdeenshire | 13.2% | 12.4% | 12.6% | 10.9% | 10.8% | 11.6% | 11.8% |
| Angus | 26.9% | 24.4% | 18.9% | 18.2% | 19.6% | 21.4% | 21.4% |
| Argyll and Bute | 21.7% | 19.1% | 17.5% | 17.7% | 16.6% | 16.8% | 16.6% |
| Clackmannanshire | 40.6% | 42.0% | 39.4% | 36.2% | 34.4% | 38.1% | 42.6% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 17.1% | 17.1% | 15.8% | 14.4% | 15.3% | 16.6% | 19.0% |
| Dundee City | 41.6% | 44.1% | 40.3% | 38.0% | 35.8% | 40.5% | 32.9% |
| East Ayrshire | 44.7% | 43.1% | 41.5% | 38.7% | 37.5% | 34.9% | 33.5% |
| East Dunbartonshire | 17.8% | 15.6% | 16.4% | 14.7% | 15.3% | 14.7% | 14.1% |
| East Lothian | 28.3% | 26.2% | 22.5% | 20.0% | 21.8% | 22.1% | 23.3% |
| East Renfrewshire | 19.5% | 20.4% | 18.0% | 16.1% | 14.0% | 13.3% | 16.4% |
| Edinburgh, City of | 49.6% | 48.7% | 46.6% | 45.4% | 43.9% | 41.3% | 39.4% |
| Eilean Siar | 18.8% | 18.6% | 17.8% | 14.9% | 13.1% | 16.7% | 16.3% |
| Falkirk | 30.0% | 29.8% | 27.7% | 27.6% | 27.5% | 27.0% | 25.7% |
| Fife | 28.9% | 29.7% | 28.4% | 23.3% | 25.0% | 26.1% | 27.5% |
| Glasgow City | 62.0% | 58.6% | 58.0% | 57.5% | 52.8% | 54.4% | 55.1% |
| Highland | 25.2% | 22.8% | 23.5% | 22.1% | 17.2% | 16.9% | 17.5% |
| Inverclyde | 33.0% | 32.6% | 32.4% | 31.2% | 31.1% | 33.9% | 33.6% |
| Midlothian | 29.8% | 23.9% | 23.7% | 18.3% | 18.7% | 16.4% | 14.6% |
| Moray | 22.9% | 23.5% | 22.3% | 19.5% | 18.8% | 17.2% | 17.1% |
| North Ayrshire | 41.4% | 41.6% | 41.2% | 40.1% | 38.0% | 38.6% | 40.7% |
| North Lanarkshire | 50.2% | 49.4% | 40.0% | 34.2% | 33.2% | 34.0% | 33.8% |
| Orkney Islands | 9.8% | 9.5% | 16.9% | 18.0% | 21.1% | 23.3% | 21.5% |
| Perth and Kinross | 20.4% | 18.2% | 15.8% | 14.6% | 15.0% | 15.1% | 13.6% |
| Renfrewshire | 41.5% | 32.7% | 32.2% | 30.6% | 29.9% | 30.6% | 34.0% |
| Scottish Borders | 17.3% | 18.4% | 15.8% | 16.6% | 16.5% | 14.3% | 16.5% |
| Shetland Islands | 7.6% | 7.8% | 7.6% | 5.9% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 6.7% |
| South Ayrshire | 25.3% | 26.7% | 26.8% | 24.6% | 22.9% | 28.0% | 27.5% |
| South Lanarkshire | 32.1% | 31.7% | 29.2% | 28.8% | 29.0% | 26.3% | 27.2% |
| Stirling | 28.1% | 22.2% | 21.1% | 19.1% | 18.1% | 18.2% | 16.3% |
| West Dunbartonshire | 41.7% | 50.4% | 39.5% | 36.9% | 37.5% | 38.4% | 38.5% |
| West Lothian | 31.4% | 30.0% | 28.6% | 26.9% | 27.1% | 26.0% | 24.6% |
Graph 1
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 15 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16432 by Colin Boyd QC on 8 July 2005, how many of the individual charges with a guilty verdict resulted from a guilty plea and in how many cases the convictions were after trial, and how many “not proven” verdicts there were, in each year from 2002-03 to 2004-05.
Answer
Further to the answer to questionS2W-16432, between April 2002 and March 2005 there were 168 charges involving eithera statutory racial offence or a racial aggravation which resulted in a verdict of“not proven”. A breakdown of this figure into financial years, statutory chargesand racial aggravations is provided in the following table:
Number of individual chargesreported (as a statutory racial charge or racial aggravation) which resulted ina verdict of “not proven” by financial year.
| | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | Total |
| Statutory Charge | 20 | 16 | 18 | 54 |
| Aggravation | 46 | 45 | 23 | 114 |
| Total | 66 | 61 | 41 | 168 |
The Crown Office and ProcuratorFiscal Service’s national database does not record for the financial years 2002-03to 2004-05 whether a guilty verdict was as a result of a trial or a plea of guilty.A change has been made to the database to allow this information to be collectedand the first full financial year for which it will be available is 2005-06.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by George Lyon on 15 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, since the enactment of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, there have been any changes in its practices in respect of recording meetings, telephone calls and e-mail exchanges and, if so, what these changes were and whether there has been guidance issued to ministers and officials regarding these matters and, if so, whether that guidance will made public.
Answer
Guidance on recordkeeping isconstantly under review. Much of the Executive’s internal guidance has been updatedand adapted this year to reflect the transition from paper to electronic recordkeepingthat is currently underway. An updated Records Management Manual reflecting thesechanges should be issued around the end of 2005. The Records Management Manual ispublished on the Executive's website.
Training is available to ScottishExecutive staff covering a range of good practice issues, including on the styleand content of records of meetings. The Executive’s recommended best practice isthat minutes of meetings should record key discussion points and key decisions,and that they should be published where possible in line with the Executive’s generalcommitment to transparency and openness.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive when the additional £4 million for drug action teams was allocated and how much each drug action team (a) bid for and (b) was allocated.
Answer
On 1 July 2005, the ScottishExecutive announced the following allocation by drug action team (DAT) area. Thesum of proposals received from each DAT is also detailed.
| Drug Action Team | Sum of Proposals | Allocation |
| Aberdeen City | £844,532 | £102,000 |
| Aberdeenshire | £816,000 | £68,000 |
| Angus | £601,773 | £77,584 |
| Argyll and Clyde | £1,542,759 | £238,000 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | £966,123 | £117,781 |
| Borders | £315,702 | £18,877 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £574,000 | £210,800 |
| Dundee City | £530,458 | £251,038 |
| East Lothian | £450,322 | £105,654 |
| Edinburgh City | £1,062,435 | £470,564 |
| Fife | £1,264,682 | £549,212 |
| Forth Valley | £1,616,160 | £242,680 |
| Greater Glasgow | £1,840,350 | £904,200 |
| Highland | £1,603,000 | £54,400 |
| Lanarkshire | £682,878 | £68,000 |
| Midlothian | £354,029 | £20,225 |
| Moray | £256,634 | £68,000 |
| Orkney | £124,754 | £19,720 |
| Perth and Kinross | £547,000 | £77,584 |
| Shetland | £60,000 | £13,600 |
| Western Isles | £71,600 | £9,560 |
| West Lothian | £596,740 | £329,058 |
Following reassurances fromdrug action teams of expected impact, it is anticipated that the funding will beallocated to the relevant NHS board in August.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 July 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 August 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria were for allocation to the drug action teams of their share of the additional £4 million.
Answer
The additional drug treatmentand rehabilitation money was allocated to drug action teams (DAT) on the basis of the quantified impact of DAT proposals on the three identified national prioritiesnamely: increasing the number of clients entering treatment; reducing waiting timesand increasing the range of interventions, and on evidence of deliverability withinagreed timescales.
In terms of “evidence of deliverabilitywithin agreed timescales” we considered DAT performance to date and looked for clearlyplanned, well thought out proposals which included some indication of how the aimof the proposal would be achieved with timescales and a brief breakdown of cost.In particular we looked for proposals which complemented existing provision (i.e.filled a clearly identified and evidenced gap in existing services or provided additionalityto existing provision), proposals which demonstrated a strategic approach to developmentand proposals which had secured part-funding from elsewhere. The underlying principlesof Best Value and Integrated Care were also considered.
