Chamber and committees

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

“The following table shows the average total design capacity across the SPS prison estate, and the average prisoner population, for each year since 2006:”

Year	Average Total Design Capacity	Average Prisoner Population
2006	6,405	7,027
2007	6,899	7,258
2008	7,274	7,761
2009	7,470	7,842
2010	7,496	7,806
2011	7,287	7,993
2012	7,742	8,136
2013	7,820	7,841
2014	8,157	7,795
2015*	8,165	7,579

* Denotes year to date

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

Leaving Reasons

Financial Years 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Death In Service	2	3	7	3	6
Dismissal	50	55	33	29	28
End of Contract	27	79	24	14	13
Resignation	175	168	151	95	69
Retirement	46	40	52	49	41
Voluntary Exit Scheme	0	0	3	16	9
Public Sector Transfer	0	0	0	0	0
	300	345	270	206	166

In years 2006-07 and 2007-08, figures were not held separately for ‘Voluntary Exit Scheme’ and therefore any leavers in this category have been subsumed into the ‘Retirement’ figures.

Leaving Reasons

Financial Years 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Death In Service	5	4	5	5
Dismissal	41	35	37	25
End of Contract	23	14	19	22
Resignation	73	99	98	141
Retirement	54	59	58	59
Voluntary Exit Scheme	0	1	9	0
Public Sector Transfer	249	0	0	0
	445	212	226	252

In year 2011-12, the 249 leavers attributed to ‘Public Sector Transfer’ were SPS nursing staff who transferred to the employment of the NHS.

It is for individual health boards to decide how best to deploy available resources to meet the healthcare needs of their local population, and we expect safe, effective and person-centred care to lie at the heart of all such decisions whatever the circumstances.

It is therefore the responsibility of NHS Tayside to ensure that adequate numbers of staff with the appropriate skills are on duty at all times.

The Scottish Government is closely monitoring the impact of the industrial action to ensure disruption to patient care is kept to an absolute minimum.

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

(a) Inmates Training

Financial Years 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Education Contract Spend (£)

3,396,416

3,468,934

3,644,071

3,678,991

3,710,458

 

(a) Inmates Training

Financial Years 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Education Contract Spend (£)

3,596,872

3,902,948

3,993,157

4,245,441

At this time, SPS is unable to identify costs that can be directly related to training inmates.

(b) Staff Training

Financial Years 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

SPS College Staff Costs, External Training Fees and Expenses (£)

2,460,392

2,450,289

2,523,948

2,436,817

2,356,508

 

(b) Staff Training

Financial Years 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

SPS College Staff Costs, External Training Fees and Expenses (£)

2,336,240

3,109,141

3,172,099

3,733,777

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

“The following tables illustrate the total number of prisoner on staff assaults since 2006 broken down by establishment and the nature of injury sustained. The data is correct to March 2015.”

Serious Assaults

	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Aberdeen	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Addiewell	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0
Barlinnie	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0
Cornton Vale	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	1
Dumfries	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edinburgh	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Glenochil	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Grampian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greenock	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Inverness	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kilmarnock	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Low Moss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Open Estate	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Peterhead	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Polmont	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Shotts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	0	4	2	3	8	5	1	2	9

 

Minor/No Injury Assaults

	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Aberdeen	6	2	6	8	7	2	10	7	0
Addiewell	0	0	14	48	22	13	17	12	5
Barlinnie	32	19	28	21	29	22	12	20	27
Cornton Vale	23	23	49	41	66	50	43	13	30
Dumfries	0	3	3	1	1	3	2	4	1
Edinburgh	15	13	9	14	67	13	28	9	15
Glenochil	4	8	3	3	2	3	4	13	3
Grampian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16
Greenock	5	1	0	4	3	3	1	2	2
Inverness	3	3	1	0	5	0	1	0	5
Kilmarnock	12	19	11	9	11	21	20	13	8
Low Moss	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	20	7
Open Estate	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Perth	9	14	11	15	11	5	20	13	13
Peterhead	4	1	2	0	7	2	2	5	0
Polmont	17	7	7	14	8	19	19	23	22
Shotts	8	3	10	6	15	5	9	7	6
Totals	138	116	154	184	254	161	203	161	161

Under this government, staffing levels in NHS Tayside have increased by 915.6 whole time equivalent, or 8.3% since September 2006.

The Scottish Government is clear that it is right for any member of staff in NHS Scotland with concerns about any aspect of delivering healthcare to raise them with their managers, and that managers have a duty to respond to and address those concerns.

The Evening Telegraph article of 22 May 2015 reported that the number of ‘concerns’ raised by NHS Tayside employees had increased from 27 in 2012-2013 to 399 in 2013-14. This issue was addressed by an NHS Tayside spokeswoman in the same article:-“Prior to September 2012 there was no electronic system to record staffing concerns. NHS Tayside then introduced a new incident management system. Senior charge nurses have been encouraged to escalate concerns regarding staffing, which can include issues caused through sickness and absence or unexpected changes in patient numbers or conditions, through the new incident management system.”

“The introduction of this new way of reporting is directly reflected in the rise in the number of incidents recorded.

“We must be clear that it does not indicate the significant rise in incidents that the numbers suggest.”

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/news/local/dundee/sharp-rise-in-nhs-tayside-staffing-concerns-1.877081

<>Recruitment of staff is a matter for each NHSScotland board as an employer. NHSScotland boards are required to have the correct staff in place to meet the needs of the service and ensure high quality patient care. The Scottish Government works closely with boards to support their staff recruitment efforts.

Under this government, staffing levels in NHS Tayside have increased by 915.6 whole time equivalent, or 8.3% since September 2006.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service central case management system does not hold information in a format which specifically identifies cases which involve victims of human trafficking. The information is recorded informally and further detail is provided in answer to question S4W-25132.

Full guidance is available for all Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff on how to deal with cases involving potential victims of human trafficking. This guidance outlines the process which must be followed which includes the referral of all of these cases to the National Lead Prosecutor for Human Trafficking. The guidance also outlines the factors which prosecutors should consider when assessing whether the individual is a genuine victim of human trafficking and also instructs that prosecutors should seek the assessment of the UK Human Trafficking Centre to assist with any decision. This guidance is sufficiently robust and detailed to ensure that the prosecution service in Scotland adheres to both the terms and the spirit of Article 8 of the directive.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have considered a number of prosecutions in relation to seven different individuals who have been reported as victims of human trafficking. The National Lead Prosecutor for Human Trafficking made the final decision in relation to the continuation of all of the cases for these seven individuals. In one case the prosecution was continued against the individual as he was not considered to be a genuine victim of human trafficking. In relation to the remaining six individuals their cases were discontinued or no action was taken as the conclusion was reached that they were genuine victims of human trafficking. The UK Human Trafficking Centre provided assessments in each of these cases, all of which were followed by the National Lead Prosecutor for Human Trafficking.