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-30805

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were convicted for drug offences in each of the last 10 years.

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

The number of direct sentencedreceptions to prison where the main crime was a drugs crime in each of the lastten financial years are given in the following table:

Year	Male	Female	Total
1996-97	933	58	991
1997-98	955	64	1,019
1998-99	876	84	960
1999-2000	809	70	879
2000-01	763	69	832
2001-02	806	81	887
2002-03	864	85	949
2003-04	867	102	969
2004-05	844	126	970
2005-06	880	125	1,005

Question reference: S2W-30807

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners were prosecuted for offences committed in prison involving (a) violence, (b) drugs and (c) threatening or abusive behaviour and how many offences were committed involving two or more of these categories in each year since 1997-98.

Question reference: S2W-30801

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent estimate is of the average cost per year of keeping an offender in (a) an adult prison and (b) a young offenders’ institution, broken down by main budget heading.

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

The SPS Annual Report and Accountsfor 2005-2006, copies of which are available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 40385) or via the Scottish Prison Service websiteat www.sps.gov.uk provides information in respectof the expenditure incurred in the Scottish Prison Service. The cost per prisonerplace is not available separately for adult prisons and young offender institutions.

Question reference: S2W-30796

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions in the last five years the publication dates of statistics that it produces have been changed and, in each case, what the subject matter was, what the original and final date of publication were, what the reasons were for the delay in publication and who took the decision to delay.

In accordance with the NationalStatistics Code of Practice (2002), the Chief Statistician has final responsibilityfor determining, pre-announcing and, if necessary, altering the dates of publicationof National Statistics and other relevant statistics produced by the Executive.

Any decision to change a pre-announcedpublication date will be based on a range of professional considerations.

When dates are changed, detailsare placed on the Executive website and key users are notified.

The Executive has no historicalrecord of the occasions on which a pre-announced publication date was changed inthe last five years. However, we are aware of eight occasions in the 2006 calendaryear. The details are shown in the following table:

Table 1: Changes toPre-Announced Publication Dates, Scottish Executive, 2006

Publication Name	Pre-Announced Date	Publication Date	Reason for Change
People Assisted Through Supporting People Funding 2004-2005	31-01-2006	21-02-2006	Delay in receiving and checking data.
Fire Statistics 2004	28-02-2006	16-02-2006	To coincide with publication of UK statistics bulletin.
Operation of Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Quarters ending 30 June and 30 September 2005 (temporary accommodation to 31 December 2005)	29-03-2006	28-03-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.
Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture	15-05-2006	17-05-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.
Firearm Certificate Statistics 2005	19-05-2006	25-05-2006	Delay in receiving data.
Bank Advances to Agriculture	01-08-2006	03-08-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.
Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: National & Local Authority Analyses 2005-06	05-09-2006	26-09-2006	Delay in checking data.
Final Results of the June 2006 Agricultural Census	26-10-2006	25-10-2006	To keep day of the week in line with previous years.

Note: Publications released bythe General Register Office for Scotland and ISD NHS National Services Scotland have not beenincluded.

Question reference: S2W-31212

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2007
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be an appropriate upper limit for Scottish Environment Protection Agency charges to grant permission to convert a 20 metre ditch to an enclosed pipe.

Question reference: S2W-30945

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in East Ayrshire in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-30937

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in Aberdeen city in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-30965

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in Stirling in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-30957

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in North Lanarkshire in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-30952

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the residence-based claimant count unemployment rate was for each council ward in Highland in each year since 1999.