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It is a matter for the Procurator Fiscal whether or not a post mortem examination is required following the report of a sudden and unexplained death to The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

The Procurator Fiscal will instruct a post mortem examination for all suspicious deaths; all deaths which remain unexplained after further initial investigation; and in a number of other situations where there are concerns about the circumstances or cause of the death. There is guidance to the Procurator Fiscal in relation to the extent and nature of the investigations which should take place in Chapter 12 of the Book of Regulations published at:

http://www.copfs.gov.uk/images/Documents/Prosecution_Policy_Guidance/Book_of_Regulations/Book%20of%20Regulations%20-%20Chapter%2012%20-%20Deaths%20-%20Part%201.PDF

A post mortem examination should take place as soon as possible after the report of a death to the Procurator Fiscal and will often take place within a few days of the date of death. In the majority of cases we would expect a post mortem examination to occur within three to five working days of the date of instruction of the post mortem examination.

It is not always the case that a sudden and unexplained death occurs around the same time as the death is reported to the Procurator Fiscal. For example a body may be discovered some time after the death, and the death then reported to the Procurator Fiscal who will determine whether a post mortem examination should be instructed.

Information on how many pathologists the Southern General Hospital employs is not centrally held.

However, information on the number of pathologist staff in post, broken down by grade, in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is available and can be found in the following table. These figures include both histopathologists and chemical pathologists.

The number of pathologist vacancies, which is available for consultant pathologists only, in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is 1.0 whole time equivalent.

Whole time equivalent pathologist staff¹ employed in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

as at 30^th September 2014.

1.Includes both histopathologists and chemical pathologists.

2.Includes directors of public health.

3.Clinical, medical and dental.

4.National Training Number.

The information requested is not held centrally. It is for individual boards to assess how best to deliver hospital post mortems which will allow them to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable services.

These are decisions for Creative Scotland to make; Scottish Ministers are prevented by legislation from playing any part in their artistic or cultural decision making. Creative Scotland has not made any of their detailed assessments public, having assured applicants that they would not do so. However, individual organisations could choose to publish their own assessments if they wished.

The Scottish Youth Theatre will be eligible for support from the new £1 million that the First Minister announced on 14 November 2014. In addition, they remain eligible for Open Project Funding from Creative Scotland, worth up to £150,000 per project. They are currently supported by Glasgow City Council through Glasgow Life, and could apply as a national organisation for support from other local authorities, independent trusts and foundations. Creative Scotland could provide them with advice on further sources of funding.

The area where an officer patrols is an operational matter for Police Scotland and its Chief Constable.

The Scottish Government does not hold centrally, figures relating to the number of dogs that have been fitted with an electronic transponder under the terms of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010.

However, the issue of a Dog Control Notice (DCN) under the Act places a statutory requirement for the ‘proper person’ to have an electronic transponder implanted in their dog within 14 days after the effective date of a DCN or provide the issuing local authority with information that shows a transponder was implanted in the dog before the DCN was issued. As this is a statutory requirement, the number of DCNs issued by each local authority can therefore be used as an indication of the number of electronic transponders that have been fitted in terms of the Act. I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22841 on 27 October 2014 which provides this information. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22841 on 27 October 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 decision on where officers carry out patrols is an operational matter for Police Scotland and its Chief Constable.

The distance from an officer’s base to where he patrols is an operational matter for Police Scotland and its Chief Constable.