Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-08080

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to assist the Scottish Prison Service in dealing with stress-related illnesses among staff in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-08075

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of sickness absence for Scottish Prison Service employees has been in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) prison and (b) staff category.

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

We do not collate the data in the manner requested, however the following table shows the rate of working days lost due to sickness absence as a percentage of the maximum number of working days available to SPS based on the headcount figures reported in our Annual Report for the relevant periods.

Period	Headcount reported in Annual Report	Maximum Working Days available	Absence Days Lost	Absence Days Lost as a percentage of Maximum Working Days
2007-08	4,049	911,025	41,213	4.52%
2008-09	4,007	901,575	41,498	4.60%
2009-10	4,086	919,350	36,669	3.99%
2010-11	4,178	940,050	37,468	3.99%
2011-12	4,173	938,925	36,692	3.91%

We can however provide the number of working days lost due to sickness absence during the relevant periods. This information is provided in the following tables.

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence during the Period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008

SPS Establishment	Pay Band A	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G, H, I & Senior Civil Servants	Grand Total
Aberdeen		21	150	779	54	63		1,067
Barlinnie	39	401	1,322	5,050	288	38	4	7,142
Central Stores	1	20	1		12			34
Cornton Vale	3	101	890	1,799	209	15		3,017
Dumfries		82	397	856	135	14	7	1,491
Edinburgh	1	283	958	2,057	295	56	2	3,652
Glenochil		557	1,400	2,406	547	231	1	5,142
Greenock	4	123	455	1,169	34			1,785
Headquarters		82	247	346	66	145	259	1,145
Inverness		29	153	748	21	12		963
Open Estate	26	234	200	806	36	26		1,328
Perth	108	268	971	2,274	440	54	107	4,222
Peterhead		26	374	1,239	243	16	5	1,903
Polmont	61	483	1,353	1,854	353	92	82	4,278
Shotts		126	515	2,447	416	130	7	3,641
SPS College	15	29	306		30	23		403
Grand Total	258	2,865	9,692	23,830	3,179	915	474	41,213

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence during the Period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G, H, I & Senior Civil Servants	Grand Total
Aberdeen	33	353	658	13			1,057
Barlinnie	453	1,867	4,107	590	19	6	7,042
Central Stores	32			3			35
Cornton Vale	135	951	2,679	210	80		4,055
Dumfries	43	443	945	91		91	1,613
Edinburgh	99	775	3,110	410	13	75	4,482
Glenochil	599	924	2,369	145	43	88	4,168
Greenock	37	435	794	124	105	8	1,503
Headquarters	88	227	277	254	140	251	1,237
Inverness	13	114	404	39	8		578
Open Estate	237	155	712	57	9		1,170
Perth	582	1,001	2,828	366	41	14	4,832
Peterhead	74	446	767	257	173	1	1,718
Polmont	528	1,031	1,879	557	21	92	4,108
Shotts	229	1,459	1,474	307	12	8	3,489
SPS College	61	56	5	279	10		411
Grand Total	3,243	10,237	23,008	3,702	674	634	41,498

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence during the Period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G, H, I & Senior Civil Servants	Grand Total
Aberdeen	75	474	570	85	4	5	1,213
Barlinnie	351	1,089	4,389	659	69	1	6,558
Central Stores	3			1	26		30
Cornton Vale	55	768	2,308	261	7		3,399
Dumfries	60	414	788	81	10		1,353
Edinburgh	94	664	2,254	315	10	64	3,401
Glenochil	313	1,026	2,396	139	78	78	4,030
Greenock	36	341	515	102			994
Headquarters	16	422	442	126	138	330	1,474
Inverness	51	139	479	13	64		746
Open Estate	182	354	647	66	5		1,254
Perth	413	766	1,319	146	18	2	2,664
Peterhead	29	323	445	97	1	1	896
Polmont	363	1,232	2,263	211	145	10	4,224
Shotts	123	1,659	1,924	414	7	5	4,132
SPS College	24	105	44	126	1	1	301
Grand Total	2,188	9,776	20,783	2,842	583	497	36,669

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence during the Period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G, H & I	Grand Total
Aberdeen	87	539	667	56	313		1,662
Barlinnie	520	1,540	3,314	532	14	1	5,921
Central Stores	25	15		14	124		178
Cornton Vale	243	1,505	2,551	80	28	15	4,422
Dumfries	91	188	719	283	10	69	1,360
Edinburgh	71	626	1,952	170	11	9	2,839
Glenochil	247	864	2,547	269	35	7	3,969
Greenock	344	571	772	133	43		1,863
Headquarters	84	239	385	142	175	197	1,222
Inverness	30	270	488	26	6		820
Low Moss		8		15	27		50
Open Estate	104	216	1,071	78	16		1,485
Perth	340	873	1,574	362	8	8	3,165
Peterhead	62	522	499	46	8	2	1,139
Polmont	469	807	2,067	177	186	21	3,727
Shotts	311	1,000	1,664	90	5	234	3,304
SPS College	31	111	30	162	6	2	342
Grand Total	3,059	9,894	20,300	2,635	1,015	565	37,468

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence during the Period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G, H, I & Senior Civil Servants	Grand Total
Aberdeen	11	497	439	187	13	46	1,193
Barlinnie	321	1,197	3,490	191	209	4	5,412
Central Stores	8		27		81		116
Cornton Vale	216	1,117	1,645	209	20		3,207
Dumfries	4	398	449	98	38	42	1,029
Edinburgh	165	714	2,906	299	36	5	4,125
Glenochil	69	699	1,849	155	32	10	2,814
Greenock	22	335	349	47	81		834
Headquarters	324	964	487	237	444	231	2,687
Inverness	6	247	531	40	6		830
Low Moss	20	669	1,065	87	68	16	1,925
Open Estate	41	208	339	17	18		623
Perth	513	462	2,178	203	27	92	3,475
Peterhead	102	463	1,034	128	2	55	1,784
Polmont	335	639	1,863	381	67	10	3,295
Shotts	243	456	2,041	243	2	26	3,011
Sps College	20	143		161	2	6	332
Grand Total	2,420	9,208	20,692	2,683	1,146	543	36,692

Source: Quarterly Departmental Sickness Absence Returns.

Question reference: S4W-08072

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties can be imposed on Scottish police forces that fail to meet the 14-day service level agreement for processing Disclosure Scotland applications for two consecutive months.

The service level agreement that Disclosure Scotland has with ACPOS (Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland) provides for the possibility of imposing penalties on Scottish police forces that fail to meet the service level target for force enquiries from the start of the financial year 2012-13, that is 1 April 2012.

Disclosure Scotland’s service level target with Scottish police forces is that forces should return 90% of force enquiries within 14 calendar days and 100% within 21 calendar days.

In cases of unsatisfactory performance lasting two months or more, Disclosure Scotland will write to the force concerned and request a performance recovery plan. Where that recovery plan is not being followed or being amended to greater effect, Disclosure Scotland may impose a variation in the rate of payment in proportion to the average rate of delay over those three months. The rate at which deductions can be made is set out in the table.

Performance Bands

Turn-around time (average, over all three months of trigger period)	Rate of reduction	Applied for/Review reduction after point
0-14 calendar days	None	None
15-21 calendar days (acceptable)	None - other measures will be in place, such as reporting and chase lists	None
22-28 calendar days (unacceptable)	10% of monthly total payment	Until 2 months of expected performance have been recorded
29-35 calendar days (unacceptable)	12.5% of monthly total payment	Until 2 months of expected performance have been recorded. Actual rates may be reviewed on a monthly basis to reflect gradual improvements in performance, based at any time on the previous 5 months.
36 and above calendar days (unacceptable)	15% of monthly total payment	As above

Question reference: S4W-08076

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many working days have been lost due to stress-related illnesses among Scottish Prison Service staff in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) prison and (b) staff category.

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

The information requested is provided in the following tables.

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence, Declared as Stress Related, During the Period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Grand Total
Aberdeen		7	45	33		85
Barlinnie	101	294	694	93		1,182
Cornton Vale		104	343	32		479
Dumfries		11	229			240
Edinburgh	240	126	262	150		778
Glenochil	141	309	401	198	226	1,275
Greenock		48	198			246
Headquarters		8	25		64	97
Inverness	20	17	67	1		105
Open Estate			121	15		136
Perth	55	205	370	9		639
Peterhead	25	75	567	179		846
Polmont	181	309	217	116		823
Shotts	49	85	673	14	80	901
SPS College		18				18
Grand Total	812	1,616	4,212	840	370	7,850

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence, Declared as Stress Related, During the Period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G	Pay Band H	Grand Total
Aberdeen		15	141					156
Barlinnie	75	368	708					1,151
Cornton Vale		225	241	68	78			612
Dumfries		105	31	10				146
Edinburgh	10	15	366					391
Glenochil	40	218	236	27	27			548
Greenock			85	1				86
Headquarters	56	19			64	62	47	248
Open Estate			112	23				135
Perth	37	58	128		31			254
Peterhead	65	282	57		171			575
Polmont	35	69	213	284				601
Shotts	37	489	133	24				683
SPS College			5	20				25
Grand Total	355	1,863	2,456	457	371	62	47	5,611

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence, Declared as Stress Related, During the Period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G	Grand Total
Aberdeen		30	158				188
Barlinnie		85	711	16	42		854
Cornton Vale		44	291	41			376
Dumfries		36	153				189
Edinburgh		76	183				259
Glenochil		186	319				505
Greenock		55	23				78
Headquarters	2	101	85		22	16	226
Inverness			53				53
Open Estate		14	98				112
Perth	10	177	157	18			362
Peterhead	10	37	63	26			136
Polmont	18	206	242	22			488
Shotts	1	575	261	212			1,049
SPS College	10	15		50			75
Grand Total	51	1,637	2,797	385	64	16	4,950

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence, Declared as Stress Related, During the Period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G	Pay Band H	Pay Band I	Grand Total
Aberdeen		67	100		88				255
Barlinnie	55	200	377						632
Central Stores		5							5
Cornton Vale	54	3	300			15			372
Edinburgh	32	130	31						193
Glenochil		37	691	130					858
Greenock	75	112		15					202
Headquarters	22			11		32	10		75
Inverness		97	69						166
Open Estate	63	78	292	35	9				477
Perth	64	101	66	4					235
Peterhead	11	222	51	3					287
Polmont	93	111	229	46					479
Shotts	118	201	177	76				103	675
SPS College		89		25					114
Grand Total	587	1,453	2,383	345	97	47	10	103	5,025

Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence, Declared as Stress Related, During the Period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012

SPS Establishment	Pay Band B	Pay Band C	Pay Band D	Pay Band E	Pay Band F	Pay Band G	Pay Band H	Pay Band I	Grand Total
Aberdeen		195	59		13	45			312
Barlinnie		73	260						333
Central Stores			27		72				99
Cornton Vale	11	62	400	3					476
Dumfries		11	88						99
Edinburgh	69	113	123	29					334
Glenochil	28	41	76						145
Greenock		20			44				64
Headquarters	35	278	77	17			63		470
Inverness			21						21
Low Moss	2	267	101						370
Open Estate	6	32	59						97
Perth	66	82	129						277
Peterhead		67	175	110					352
Polmont	77	85	227	76	6				471
Shotts		69	205	159				14	447
Grand Total	294	1,395	2,027	394	135	45	63	14	4,367

Source: Quarterly Departmental Sickness Absence Returns.

Question reference: S4W-08073

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) what percentage of the Disclosure Scotland applications sent to Scottish police forces for additional checks has been processed outwith the 14-day period required by the service level agreement in each year since 2007.

Information about the number and percentage of force enquiries to Scottish police forces from Disclosure Scotland that were processed outwith the service level target of returning 90% of force enquiries within 14 calendar days for each year since 2007 is set out in the following table.

It should be noted that, since go live of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme on 28 February 2011, forces are required to return 90% of force enquiries within 14 calendar days and the remainder within 21 calendar days.

Year	Number of Enquiries Processed Outwith the 14 Day Target	Percentage of Enquiries Processed Outwith the 14 Day Target
2006	13,229	73%
2007	12,464	63%
2008	12,143	50%
2009	16,153	49%
2010	16,947	57%
2011	8,382	38%

Question reference: S4W-08079

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to assist the Scottish Prison Service in dealing with stress-related illnesses among staff in each year since 2007.

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

Since the late nineties the SPS has funded (from its government allocation) an Employee well-being programme which provides 24/7 telephone support, advice and counselling. With regard to stress-related illnesses and mental health in particular staff can access an online therapy programme called Beating the Blues which has been available since 2007.

As part of the SPS Occupational Health strategy we have a policy entitled The Management of Stress at Work Policy and Procedure and Risk Assessment Process, which deals with stress and related matters. This was agreed in partnership with the recognised trades unions in 2006.

Question reference: S4W-07609

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sex offenders who have served their whole prison sentence have been monitored through the use of the intensive support packages in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-07611

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sex offenders have reoffended when subject to (a) monitoring through (i) intensive support packages or (ii) other statutory supervision orders and (b) no further monitoring following release.

The number of offenders who were recalled to prison when subject to an intensive support package each year since 2007 is as follows.

Year	Number Recalled
2007-08	4
2008-09	1
2009-10	8
2010-11	1
2011-12	2

The information requested for parts (ii) and (b) in the question above is not held centrally. While reconviction data do not show whether a supervision requirement was in place at the point of a reconviction, reconviction data do show where a sex offender has been reconvicted. The most recent reconviction data is available on the Scottish Government website here:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/08/29151240/0.

Question reference: S4W-07607

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) offenders and (b) sex offenders (i) are being monitored and (ii) have been monitored through the use of the intensive support packages in each year since 2007.

Each intensive support package (ISP) where the Scottish Government have made a financial contribution since 2007 was related to the management and monitoring of a sex offender.

The number of sex offenders monitored through the use of an ISP each year since 2007 is as fcollows.

Year	ISPs
2007-08	13
2008-09	19
2009-10	26
2010-11	16
2011-12	13

The Scottish Government have not received any bids for a funding contribution to an ISP from Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) this financial year.

Question reference: S4W-07612

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the community justice services’ budget is set aside for intensive support packages and how much has been in each year since 2007.

Community based monitoring is met from existing local authority budgets. ISPs are provided on a “demand led” basis. For financial years 2007-08 to 2011-12 inclusive the actual expenditure provided by the Scottish Government each year for intensive support packages is as follows.

Year	Payments made (£)
2007-08	553,079
2008-09	1,129,932
2009-10	1,210,613
2010-11	734,258
2011-12	121,443

As this is a demand-led funding stream, funding between years can vary considerably and expenditure incurred in 2012-13 for all intensive support packages whose costs cannot be covered by the respective Community Justice Authority will require to be met from within the overall criminal justice social work services budget. The Scottish Government have not made any payments for intensive support packages to date in this financial year.

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