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-17540

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 24 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHSiS appointments with (a) consultants and (b) GPs patients failed to attend in each health board area and health trust in each of the last three years, expressed as a percentage of all appointments in each case, and what the cost to the NHSiS of missed appointments was in each year.

The only data held centrally on missed appointments is the number of first consultant out-patient appointments not attended. The percentage who did not attend for each of the last three years by health board area and health trust can be found on the Information and Statistics website (http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/ship/home.htm). The Scottish level is shown:

Year to:	Did Not Attend Rate of First Consultant Out-patient Appointments in Scotland	Number of First Consultant Out-patient Appointments not attended in Scotland
31 March 2001	11.3%	120,000
31 March 2000	11.3%	129,000
31 March 1999	11.1%	126,000

Note: 2001 data is provisional.

The average cost of a consultant out-patient appointment is £72, which would imply that the total cost to the NHS of these missed appointments could be as high as £8.6 million a year. In practice, the cost is likely to be less than this because clinics may schedule additional appointments to allow for failure to attend by a proportion of patients.

Question reference: S1W-17444

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the safety camera project being piloted by Strathclyde Police which allows them to retain the money raised through fixed-penalty speeding fines will be extended to other police force areas.

Question reference: S1W-17724

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of inmates occupying each local prison establishment has been for each of the last three years, and for each month so far this year, indicating in each case in both numerical and percentage terms the variance in relation to each prison's recommended capacity.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The information is not available in the form requested However, details of the average number of prisoners in each prison is published annually in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletins which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 11179, 11180, and 15640). The average design capacity for the last three financial years for each local prison is detailed in the table.

	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Aberdeen	157	163	163
Barlinnie	926	943	943
Cornton Vale	217	217	219
Dumfries	150	150	150
Edinburgh	543	620	597
Greenock	233	238	243
Inverness	107	108	108
Kilmarnock	0	500	532
Perth	527	526	550

Question reference: S1W-17730

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) residential, (b) operational and (c) other category prison officers based at each local and open prison have resigned from the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last 12 months and how many in each category have resigned from the Scottish Prison Service as a whole in each of the last three years and the three years prior to the introduction of Staff Structure Review.

Question reference: S1W-17726

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service has made to each local prison establishment since his appointment.

Question reference: S1W-17720

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most up to date figures available for staff turnover are, listed by staff category, for each local prison establishment and the Scottish Prison Service as a whole.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The readily available information is as follows:Total SPS staff turnover for Period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 by pay band was:

Pay Band	A	B	C	C+	D	D+	E	E+	F	F+	G
%	9.90	19.07	12.09	12.08	24.33	1.62	5.43	0.22	6.02	1.23	9.02

Percentage turnover is based on voluntary resignation: it does not include retiring employees.

Question reference: S1W-17727

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the daily average number of prisoners admitted to each local prison establishment has been for each month this year and for each of the last three years also expressed in per capita terms in relation to the population served by that prison.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The information is not available in the form requested. However, details of the average number of prisoners admitted to Scottish prisons is published annually in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletins which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 11179, 11180, and 15640).

Question reference: S1W-17725

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many visits to each local prison establishment HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has made in each of the last three years and how much time he or his officials have spent at each prison over the same period.

There are nine local prisons in Scotland - Aberdeen, Barlinnie, Cornton Vale, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Greenock, Inverness, Kilmarnock and Perth.Each of Scotland's 17 prisons currently receives a full, formal inspection on a cyclical basis, every 3-and-a-half-to-4 years. Full inspections take between a week and a fortnight depending on size and complexity of the establishment, during which all aspects of the establishment are examined from the point of view of safety, decency, and the establishment's contribution to crime prevention.Full inspection reports are followed up in subsequent years by intermediate inspections. The Inspectorate also undertakes occasional studies on a theme common to all or several penal establishments. The most recent study "Punishment First - Verdict Later?", a review of conditions for Remand Prisoners at the end of the 20th Century involved visits to all prisons holding remand prisoners but is not included in the figures given below. Similarly, inspectorate time spent in assessing the establishments' readiness for Y2K has not been included.Visits to Local Prisons August 1998 - August 2001

Establishment	HMCIP	Inspectors	Total
Aberdeen	9	37	46
Barlinnie	8	40	48
Cornton Vale	7	35	42
Dumfries	8	38	46
Edinburgh	9	44	53
Greenock	9	49	58
Inverness	5	20	25
Kilmarnock	9	73	82
Perth	6	14	20
Total	70	350	420

Question reference: S1W-17961

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of those graduating from dental courses in Scotland in each of the last three years remained in Scotland after graduation to undertake dental vocational training.

This information is not currently available in the form requested. The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education is currently working with ISD Scotland to map the characteristics and supply dynamics for the dental workforce in Scotland. This is a particularly complex task, and involves detailed analysis of data for those undertaking dental vocational training in Scotland. It is expected that the project will report in the next three to six months.

Question reference: S1W-17962

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 September 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of dentists who completed their vocational training in Scotland in each of the last three years remained in Scotland working as dentists afterwards.