Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland does not hold definitive data that indicates when Police Scotland have carried out a crime scene investigation.

The following table signifies a closure on the route concerned where police attendance was reported and which may or may not have involved a crime scene investigation. It should also be noted that Police Scotland do on occasion close roads for crime scene investigation without notifying Transport Scotland.

The average closure time does not necessarily reflect how long the police investigation and subsequent clear up takes. Some incidents involve detailed complex investigations while others can be fairly straightforward. In some cases road closures are maintained overnight to allow a more thorough examination in daylight hours. Crime scene investigation does not always relate to road traffic collisions. Vehicle recovery and infrastructure repair can also influence closure times.

The decision by Police Scotland to close a road is never taken lightly and only occurs when the incident itself requires closure to manage an ongoing incident, or where there is a need to protect those who might already have been injured and the emergency service staff who are dealing with the incident.

The impact on local communities and the wider economy is always at the forefront of investigators' minds, but there is a need to ensure that incidents are investigated thoroughly to ensure that families of those killed or seriously injured receive the support and information that they deserve and also to ensure that any safety issues are identified and addressed.

Data on students in colleges in Scotland are collected by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

The SFC Baseline Report for Academic Year 2013-14 shows that the number of funded full-time equivalent (FTE) students at college in 2013-14 increased by three per cent over the year to 119,636, again exceeding the 116,000 commitment.

Table 1 contains the number of students studying on STEM courses, expressed as headcount and FTE, for 2012-13 and 2013-14.

For the purposes of this answer the following superclass summary groups are counted as STEM:

C – Information technology and information

R – Science and mathematics

X – Engineering

Note that the Scottish Government is currently working with partners to develop a more detailed definition of STEM, as a focus on these subjects sits at the heart of the development of Scotland’s young workforce.

Table 1 – Number of students studying on STEM courses at colleges in Scotland, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Source: SFC

Notes:

*At some specialist colleges, general STEM subjects are not part of the core range of subject areas. However, these colleges do offer specialist courses in subjects which are classified as STEM (e.g. welding). Such courses are often very short in duration. For some colleges in the table above this gives rise to a relatively small headcount and an FTE between 1 and 0.

- Data not available

This information is not held centrally. However, data is collected on children with speech and language disorders more generally, as set out in my answer to question S4W-23755 on 14 January 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The requested information is as follows.

Pupils with a main difficulty of learning of ‘language and communication disorder’, 1990-2001

Pupils with records of needs and/or an individualised education plans and a main difficulty in learning of ‘significant language and speech disorder’, 2002-07

Pupils with additional support needs and a reason for support of ‘language or speech disorder’. (Pupils can have more than one reason for support)

Please note that due to changes in legislation, definitions and recording methods over the years, it is not possible to directly compare data from 1991 with 2014. The major changes in this data series are as follows:

1. Changes to definitions (including inclusion criteria) and recording methods between 2001 and 2002.

2. Legislative and recording changes following the introduction of the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004. The main change is that all reasons for support rather than just the main difficulty are recorded; it also covers a wider range of pupils with varying support needs. As a result of the phased introduction of the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, in 2006 and 2007 pupils could be recorded under either the old ‘main difficulty of learning’ or the new ‘reason for support’ basis.

3. Changes to recording in 2010 to include ‘other’ types of support and in 2011 to include ‘child plans’ which increased the number of pupils recorded with an additional support need.

The National Infertility Group, chaired by a Health Board Chief Executive, and whose members include senior infertility consultants, senior infertility nurses, senior planners, and the patient stakeholder group Infertility Network Scotland, reconvened in December 2014.

The expert group will, as part of the 2015 review, reflect on the implementation of access criteria changes from 1 July 2013 and emerging clinical evidence in light of new treatment pathways. The expert group will also look at the recurring service cost, and available capacity before any further criteria changes are considered.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-23703 on 8 January 2015. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Information Services Division published the first IVF Waiting Times for patients who were screened for IVF treatment during the period July to September 2014, in November 2014. This shows that 13 out of 14 NHS boards in Scotland are meeting the maximum 12 month target for IVF, ahead of the 31 March 2015 target date. A copy of the publication is available using the following link:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/IVF-Waiting-Times/Publications/2014-11-25/

The National Infertility Group, chaired by a Health Board Chief Executive, and whose members include senior infertility consultants, senior infertility nurses, senior planners, and the patient stakeholder group Infertility Network Scotland, reconvened in December 2014.

The expert group will, as part of the 2015 review, reflect on the implementation of access criteria changes from 1 July 2013 and emerging clinical evidence in light of new treatment pathways. The expert group will also look at the recurring service cost, and available capacity before any further criteria changes are considered.

The Scottish Government does not hold statistics on the blood/alcohol level of drivers involved in road traffic accidents. However, the Department for Transport (DfT) annually estimates the number of reported drink drive casualties: i.e. those casualties in reported injury road accidents involving drivers with illegal alcohol levels (above the drink-drive limit of 80 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood or 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath which was in force at that time).

DfT estimates for Scotland were published in Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2013 in October 2014 and are provided in the following table:

Source: Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2013 (based on DfT estimates)

Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; columns may not sum due to rounding.

There are no estimates for Scotland of the number of alcohol-related injury road accidents which involve legal alcohol levels (i.e. alcohol levels up to and including the drink-drive limit in force at that time of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood).

Evidence cited in the North report on drink and drug driving, published in 2010, found that a driver was approximately three times more likely to be involved in an accident with a blood alcohol concentration of 50mg per 100ml than with zero blood alcohol. The North report also highlighted that evidence shows a driver is approximately 10 times more likely to be involved in an accident with a blood alcohol concentration of 80mg per 100ml than with zero blood alcohol.