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: S2W-20533

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of concerted disorder there have been by prisoners in Reliance's custody in the financial year 2005-06 to date, broken down by quarter, and what the comparable figures were in 2004-05.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answers to question S2W-8431 and S2W-16511 on 8 June 2004 and 23 May 2005 respectively which clearly outline the summary performance information which it has been agreed to release.

This summary performance information can be viewed on the SPS website at www.sps.gov.uk.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The other information is not releasable under the terms of the agreement with the Company.

Question reference: S2W-20534

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of attempted escape there have been by prisoners in Reliance's custody in the financial year 2005-06 to date, broken down by quarter, and what the comparable figures were in 2004-05.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

I refer the member to the questions S2W-8431 and S2W-16511 on 8 June 2004 and 23 May 2005 respectively which clearly outline the summary performance information which it has been agreed to release.

This summary performance information can be viewed on the SPS website at www.sps.gov.uk.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The other information is not releasable under the terms of the agreement with the Company.

Question reference: S2W-20861

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 30 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17042 by Cathy Jamieson on 17 June 2005, whether it considers that a system which places the onus on the contractor to report any of its own contractual failings is the best system by which to ensure that contractual failures are brought to light.

Question reference: S2W-20868

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 30 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20144 by George Lyon on 9 November 2005, whether it will estimate what the total cost to it would be of making all pensioners wholly exempt from paying council tax with the proviso that any such estimate is a speculative one.

Council tax is levied on households. Estimates of the costs of making pensioners exempt from paying council tax will vary according to how exemptions are applied.

For example, treating pensioners as “disregarded adults” for the purpose of council tax would give households made up solely of pensioners a 50% discount, but would give no benefit to households comprising two or more non-pensioners and one or more non-pensioners. Alternatively, making “pensioner households” completely exempt from council tax requires a rigorous definition of whether only households containing only pensioners should be exempt, whether any household containing at least one adult of pensionable age should be exempt, or whether some more complicated set of qualifying households should be defined.

Furthermore, such policy changes would significantly alter the taxable base within each local authority, and some areas have a greater proportion of pensioners than others. In order to ensure that other taxpayers in the local authority were not subsidising the cost of the exemptions, an annual adjustment to the local government settlement would have to be undertaken to reimburse councils for the costs of the exemptions. This would be a significant administrative burden, and would have to be repeated each year as the population demographics change.

Finally, a significant number of households who might be affected by such policy changes will be in receipt of council tax benefit, paid for by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Making pensioners or pensioner households exempt from council tax would therefore result in a saving to the DWP, and a loss of income to local authorities. Information on the household composition of Scottish households currently in receipt of council tax benefit is not held by the Scottish Executive.

Given the many policy options, therefore, it is not possible to provide reliable estimates of the total cost.

Question reference: S2W-20864

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17698 by Cathy Jamieson on 24 August 2005, whether any disciplinary action or penalty was imposed on Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for its contractual failure to open HM Prison Kilmarnock on 16 March 1999.

Question reference: S2W-20863

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-15588 and S2W-17698 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April and 24 August 2005, how it reconciles the statement that there have been no breaches of the contract with Premier Prison Services Ltd to operate HM Prison Kilmarnock with the fact that Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd reported to the Scottish Prison Service a contractual failure to open the prison on the agreed date of 16 March 1999.

Question reference: S2W-20867

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17676 by Cathy Jamieson on 7 July 2005, how the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is able to fulfil its responsibility, under the terms of clause 49.1 of the minute of agreement between the Scottish Prison Service and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd, to provide information about the contract and the performance of the contractor for HM Prison Kilmarnock when an enquiry is made from the Parliament, its members and officers if the SPS does not have this information.

Question reference: S2W-20865

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15585 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005, who is responsible for awarding compensation to the family of James Barclay if it is not a matter for the Scottish Prison Service.

Question reference: S2W-20860

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17401 by Cathy Jamieson on 30 June 2005, why the Scottish Prison Service believes that staff turnover does not adversely affect the performance of the service.

Question reference: S2W-20698

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 28 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it is able to provide on the persons tasked with preparing responses to questions in respect of fingerprint issues raised by members of the Parliament; what their positions are; what fingerprint experience they have; whether they have been involved with any cases involving the indentification of fingerprints and, if so, what that involvement was.