Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-18887

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11762 by Susan Deacon on 19 January 2001, what measures it is taking to retain experienced officers in useful employment within the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has been successful in halving ill-health early retirements over the last six years and last year only 22 staff are recorded as having retired on ill-health grounds.In the event of illness, the Scottish Ambulance Service as a matter of policy looks to retain experienced staff by moving them to light or alternative duties, where this is practical. In addition, retraining may be considered if the individual has the potential to fill a vacant post.In a national context, the Health Department is about to conduct a literature review of manual handling, particularly looking at what has been successful and works. The results will inform the best way to help reduce these injuries which are a cause of a large percentage of early retirements and loss of experienced staff to the service. Health at Work guidelines and model policies to assist NHS organisations and employees to promote a safer working environment are currently in preparation. These are expected to include guidance on rehabilitation and manual handling and be available to the service by late summer 2002.

Question reference: S1W-20089

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Mike Watson on 11 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any percentage drop in tourist visitor numbers and, if so, what the drop was in (a) Scotland and (b) each tourist board area between (i) 1999-2000 and 2000-01 and (ii) the equivalent period in 2000-01 and 2001-02 to date.

Question reference: S1W-20392

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 10 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what officials from enterprise agencies have had access to the Disney Management Programme in person and how much such access cost (a) per local enterprise agency area and (b) nationally.

Question reference: S1W-20391

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 10 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what methods are available for relevant officials from enterprise agencies to have access to the Disney Management Programme other than by attending in person.

Question reference: S1W-20390

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 10 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what relevance the Disney Management Programme has to the Scottish Borders tourist industry.

Question reference: S1W-20393

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 10 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was to the public purse of the 10-day trip organised by Scottish Enterprise Borders to Disneyland to attend the Disney Management Programme.

Question reference: S1W-19097

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 October 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many community placements were available for women prisoners in 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001 to date, expressed also as a percentage of those imprisoned.

Question reference: S1W-20336

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated monthly cost is of maintaining the estate of the former HM Prison Longriggend.

Question reference: S1W-20324

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many general practitioners Medacs provides to prisons, how these general practitioners are distributed between prisons, and what the ratio of these general practitioners is to prisoners, broken down by prison.

Question reference: S1W-20327

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7645 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 September 2000, what the average daily population of penal establishments is projected to be in each of the next three financial years, broken down into (a) privately operated penal establishments, (b) Scottish Prison Service establishments and (c) legalised police cells.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:The average daily population in the next three financial years is projected to be:

2002-03	6,400
2003-04	6,500
2004-05	6,700

The prisoner population projections do not distinguish between privately operated penal establishments, Scottish Prison Service establishments and legalised police cells.