- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 6 June 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has written to NHS Greater Glasgow to express any concern at the 85% reduction in the number of staffed beds in its accident and emergency departments (A&E) between June 1999 and December 2004.
Answer
No, this is about the classificationand designation of beds. The reduction in the number of staffed beds attributedto A&E across NHS Greater Glasgow over this period is based on the closureof Ward 29 at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 2002. This ward closed when A&Eservices transferred from theold hospital into the brand new Jubilee Building. From this time, patients have been treated in modernpurpose-built accommodation, in new wards for head injuries patients, orthopaedicsand medicine. These beds, however, are not classified as A&E beds butcounted within their host specialty.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 6 June 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) men and (b) women held in prison completed a rehabilitation course prior to release in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
The information is notavailable in the form requested, but SPS Annual Reports since 2002-03 givedetails of average prisoner numbers and of prisoner programmes and approvedactivities completed by SPS, copies of which are available on the SPS websiteat www.sps.gov.uk and in the Parliament’sReference Centre. Additionally, Exhibits 11, 14, 15, 20 and Appendices 1 and 2of the Audit Scotland Report Scottish Prison Service CorrectionalOpportunities for Prisoners give a variety of information on programmes andapproved activities and SPS performance in this area.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 6 June 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on addressing sexual discrimination in the workplace in each year since 1999.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is working in partnership with arange of organisations representing employers and employees to support the
Closethe Gap campaign which was launched in March 2001. The Executive has contributed £150,000 to thiscampaign since 2001.
In addition, measures to combatgender segregation in employment will contribute to reducing the gender pay gapas will the provision of flexible, affordable childcare. We are not yet in aposition to quantify total spend in this very broad cross-cutting area. However, the Executive is developing guidance that will assist in assessing thegender equality impact of spending plans across its departments. Experiencefrom other countries indicates that this is a long-term process and we areseeking to sustain progress each year.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 June 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage and support volunteering for older people across the voluntary sector, along the lines of the Home Office-backed Volunteering Initiative in the Third Age project.
Answer
The Scottish Executive’s Volunteering Strategy sets out our way forward to embed a robust culture of volunteering across Scotland, including volunteering by older people. This includes the provision of resources for Volunteer Development Scotland and the network of volunteer centres to provide advice and support to all volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations, as well as specialist projects such as the CSV Retired and Senior Volunteers Programme and the Scottish Business in the Community Senior Executive programme.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 2 June 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what average time was taken to re-apprehend prisoners who absconded in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
This information is not collected.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 2 June 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of men to women held in prisons was in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The ratio of men to women for the years in question is as follows:
1999 27:1
2000 28:1
2001 24:1
2002 22:1
2003 21:1
These figures are abstracted from the Statistical Bulletin. The 2004 edition is not yet published.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 31 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the search facility on its official website to provide greater access to public information.
Answer
Keyword searches are regularly analysed to determine the importance of content which can then be promoted as current and relevant search returns. The Executive also plans to improve the search facility on the corporate website by offering more refined searches within specific areas
The full adoption of a new content management system this summer with comprehensive metadata across the site will allow the return of ‘suggested pages’ to complement actual search results.
Within the official publications section, the search facility is currently limited to the publication title only but a new way of indexing publications will allow it to cover metadata fields and content as well.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 31 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of "hits" the discrimination section of the Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland website has had in the last year.
Answer
This is a matter for the Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland. The information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding, excluding staff costs, has been invested in rehabilitation programmes for (a) female and (b) male prisoners in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The information is not available.
Nearly all costs associated with rehabilitation programmes are staff.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total (a) female and (b) male prison population has been recorded as having a drug addiction problem in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The information sought is not available but the table, based on samples, gives the percentage of prisoners testing positive for drug use on reception into prison, during prison sentence, and those prisoners who have presented with a substance misuse issue (drugs and alcohol). The data is not collated by gender.
| | % |
| | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 |
| Positive at Reception | 75 | 77 | 75 | 66 |
| Positive Mandatory Drug Test | 22 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Percentage of Addiction Presentations | N/A | 61 | 67 | 73 |
