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-15380

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive to which companies each local authority tenders out the supply of school meals and what the value is of each tender.

Question reference: S2W-15194

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out its own investigation into the allegations made in the BBC documentary broadcast on 9 March 2005 in respect of HM Prison Kilmarnock.

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

I have met the Chief Executive of the Premier Custodial Group to discuss the issues raised by the broadcast, and the SPS Director of Prison Services, who is responsible for oversight of the HM Prison Kilmarnock contract on behalf of SPS, has met the SPS Controller based there to consider issues which bear on the monitoring and controlling of the contract. He has also met the Director of HM Prison Kilmarnock and discussed the action that is being taken by Premier.

The company has informed us that it has begun an investigation into the allegations. It has been in contact with the BBC to ask for their co-operation in securing all available information. The SPS will work closely with the company to ensure that all necessary actions are taken.

Question reference: S2W-15193

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what breaches of Premier Prison Services's contract with the Scottish Prison Service have taken place in HM Prison Kilmarnock and what action the Minister for Justice will take to address such breaches.

Question reference: S2W-15192

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice has reviewed the evidence from the BBC documentary broadcast on 9 March 2005 on drug trafficking and abuse in HM Prison Kilmarnock and what action she will take.

Question reference: S2W-15513

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it prioritises resources between arrests for minor offences, such as crossing a double white line on a road, and police action in respect of falsification of information within a prison in relation to suicide watches.

Question reference: S2W-15520

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new cases of diabetes have been reported through the NHS in each of the last 25 years and, of these, how many have been reported in children.

Comprehensive data on the number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes in Scotland is currently not available, other than for children with type 1 diabetes; see table.

New Cases of Type 1 Diabetes in Children: 1984-2003

Year	New Cases	Incidence Per 100,000
1984	231	22.7
1985	215	21.5
1986	202	20.6
1987	211	21.9
1988	214	22.4
1989	231	24.2
1990	219	22.9
1991	220	23.0
1992	251	26.0
1993	251	25.9
1994	236	24.3
1995	283	29.4
1996	252	26.4
1997	271	28.6
1998	273	29.0
1999	290	31.1
2000	287	31.2
2001	301	33.3
2002	294	33.0
2003	311	35.4

Source: Scottish Study Group for the Care of the Young Diabetic.

National estimates of the numbers of people consulting GPs for diabetes, since 1998, can be given based on the number of patients seen for the condition in general medical practices participating in PTI (Practice Team Information). PTI data are obtained from a sample of Scottish general practices whose population is broadly representative of the Scottish population in terms of age, sex, deprivation category and rural/urban mix.

The estimated number of new GP diagnoses of diabetes in Scotland, based on PTI data, is shown in the following table, for the years 1998–2003. The PTI estimated figures are likely to be an underestimate of the true number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes in Scotland as the estimates relate solely to persons who have consulted a GP concerning their diabetes. Patients who are managed entirely by secondary care services for their diabetes, or who are seen exclusively by the practice nurse, will not be counted.

Estimated Annual Number of Patients with a First GP Diagnosis of Diabetes in Children (15 Years and Under) and Persons of All Ages; Years Ending 31 December 1998–2003

Year	Estimated Number of First GP Diagnoses
	15 Years and Under	All Ages
1998	220	15,400
1999	300	12,400
2000	310	14,700
2001	210	15,500
2002	190	15,100
2003	250	14,400

Question reference: S2W-15521

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is of treating the effects of tooth decay in children.

Specific information on the annual cost of treating the effects of tooth decay in children is not available. The cost of treating children under NHS general dental services in 2003-04, exclusive of orthodontic treatment, was approximately £35,148,000¹. The cost of treating children under NHS community or NHS hospital dental services cannot be identified separately from the cost of treating adults.

Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

Note: 1. Consists of capitation fees (£24,326,000) and child item of service fees (£19,214,000), minus the cost of child orthodontic treatment (£8,392,000).

Question reference: S2W-15511

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any policy stating that the police are not obliged to investigate criminal investigations made in a televised documentary.

Question reference: S2W-15512

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 14 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether action should be taken in respect of any criminal activity within HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Question reference: S2W-15358

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact in Scotland will be of ending the Stamp duty: Disadvantaged Areas Relief referred to in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget 2005 announcement.