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: S4W-13407

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on reducing reoffending in each year since 2007.

A number of Ministerial portfolios including justice, housing, health and education make important contributions towards reducing reoffending. However, we do not hold an aggregate figure for those contributions.

Within justice, a number of budgets contribute to reducing reoffending including those of Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). This funding is used to provide a range of services delivered by Local Authority Criminal Justice Social Work, the SPS itself and Third Sector partner organisations.

CJAs were established by the Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 to help reduce reoffending. Their responsibilities include the co-ordination of work across partner organisations, the promotion of good practice with a view to reducing reoffending and the appropriate allocation of funding to relevant local authorities.

Funding provided to CJAs over the last five years is provided in the following table.

Financial Year	Community Justice Authority Budget (£)
2008-09	92,786,314
2009-10	95,726,923
2010-11	98,863,003
2011-12	97,934,246
2012-13	96,832,691

The Government has also established the Reducing Reoffending Change Fund which will issue £10 million in grant funding in 2012-2015, to support organisations that deliver mentoring services to offenders, providing practical, one to one support to help offenders rehabilitate themselves and to desist from crime.

It is not possible to extract from the overall SPS budget the amount dedicated to reducing reoffending.

Question reference: S4W-13408

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-12231 by Kenny MacAskill on 24 January 2013, from what countries the research comes that evaluates the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes.

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

There are a number of countries that, over many years, have contributed to the research evidence available in relation to the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes. The main contributors to what is known come from North America – the United States and Canada – and the United Kingdom and Germany. Whilst this list is not exhaustive, academics and practitioners from these countries have been seminal in progressing our understanding of the effectiveness of these types of programme.

Question reference: S4W-13410

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to set up a Scottish sentencing council.

Question reference: S4W-13412

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many first-time offenders there have been in each year since 2007.

The information requested is shown in the following table.

Number of individuals convicted during the period with no prior convictions in previous 10 years: 2006-07 to 2011-12

2006-07	18,939
2007-08	18,695
2008-09	17,304
2009-10	16,350
2010-11	15,053
2011-12	13,607

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services criminal proceedings database.

Notes:

1. Figures include criminal court convictions during past 10 years for crimes or common assault, breach of the peace, racially aggravated conduct or harassment, firearms offences or social security offences. Convictions outwith Scotland are excluded.

2. The data presented in this publication are drawn from an administrative IT system. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, they are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the last whole number shown in the tables. They are also updated and quality assured on an on-going basis, and the figures shown here may therefore differ slightly from those published previously.

Question reference: S4O-01924

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will protect courses for adults with learning difficulties during college regionalisation.

Question reference: S4W-13405

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what costs have been incurred in each year since 2007 as a result of children being taken into care following a parent being sent to prison.

Question reference: S4W-13404

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many children with a parent in prison are in (a) foster, (b) residential and (c) kinship care.

Question reference: S4O-01934

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve services for people with neurological conditions and their carers.

Question reference: S4W-13406

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 11 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance social workers are given regarding preparing social enquiry reports for courts in relation to children of convicted offenders in order to assist sentencing.

Social Enquiry Reports were replaced in February 2011 by Criminal Justice Social Work Reports (CJSWRs). Practice guidance for report writers and managers was published in December 2010 and is available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/offender/community/16910/Standards/GuidanceCJSWR.

In detailing an offenders’ personal and social circumstances, report writers are encouraged to include any caring responsibilities that the individual may have (including part-time or weekend contact) and whether any significant family relationships are at risk of breaking down as a consequence of any relevant sentencing option (paragraph 6.17.1).

Additionally, where a custodial sentence is possible, the guidance notes that report writers should consider the likely impact of such a sentence on the individual’s family, including any children, taking into account such variables as whether they are the sole breadwinner, if the family home may be in jeopardy, and if caring responsibilities could no longer be fulfilled (paragraph 6.25.1).

Question reference: S4O-01868

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on public sector severance payments in the last five years.