- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether electronic tagging restriction of liberty orders as an alternative to custody have been effective in reducing crime.
Answer
It is too early to say whateffect these orders have had on re-conviction rates since restriction ofliberty orders only became available nationally from 1 May 2002 and as a directalternative to custody under provisions in the Criminal Justice (Scotland)Act 2003 on 27 June 2003. Our statistics measure reconviction rates after twoyears.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how private prison provision compares to public provision in its impact on reducing offending.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:
No such comparison ispossible.
Both public and privateproviders provide similar opportunities for offenders to address theiroffending behaviour. These include programmes subject to independent expertaccreditation on the same basis for public and private providers. The bestavailable proxy measure for the impact of prison on reducing offending is thereturn to custody rate. Since many prisoners spend their sentence at more thanone prison, it is not possible to disaggregate the return to custody datameaningfully between public and private providers.
The most recent Return toCustody Bulletin is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number30506).
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3188 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003, when it will end slopping out in prisons.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:
As I said in November weanticipate that slopping out can be ended about a year after the completion of the second of the two new prisons announced by the Executive as part of itsdecisions on the prison estates review.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to address overcrowding in prisons in light of the Chief Inspector of Prisons' comments in his annual report for 2002-03 on its impact on improving prison conditions, safety and the ability to address offending behaviour.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
High prisoner numbers arebeing tackled through record levels of investment by SPS in existing and newprisons. SPS is implementing development plans at four prisons to provide newand refurbished prisoner accommodation. The proposed new prisons at Low Mossand Addiewell will significantly increase the available prisoner accommodationin Scotland.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of a restriction of liberty order.
Answer
The evaluation of therestriction of liberty (RLO) order pilot found that the cost of an RLO was £2,500for a three-month order and £4,860 for a six-month order. This compared with£13,456 as the average cost of a six-month prison sentence. The average lengthof a restriction of liberty order is five and a half months.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what stage it has reached in planning new prisons.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
SPS has identified preferredsites for two new prisons at Low Moss and Addiewell and has submitted planningapplications for the proposed developments.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the prison population is at its highest recorded level.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:
No. The prison populationreached its highest recorded level of 6,744 on 18 September 2003. Its levelwas 6,391 on 2 January 2004. It is the highest recorded level at this time of the year.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received on the need for an orthoptic school.
Answer
The Scottish Executive hasnot received any recent representations about the need for anorthoptic school.
The last representations made to the Scottish Executive about orthoptic services in Scotland were received in December2002.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a shortage of orthoptists.
Answer
At present there is noindication of a shortage of orthoptists in NHSScotland.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the debate on 29 January 2003, what communication it has had with Her Majesty's Government on its plans for a Supreme Court in the United Kingdom.
Answer
The Executive has beenadvised that today Lord Falconer, Secretary of State for ConstitutionalAffairs, will make an oral statement to the House of Lords and that ChrisLeslie MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State will make a similar oral statementin the House of Commons setting out the Government’s proposals in regard to theSupreme Court for the United Kingdom. The Scottish Executive welcomes this opportunity toagain endorse support in principle for the proposed reforms which were debatedin this house on 29 January 2004.
Copies of the statement areavailable in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 30973).
