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

As at 18 January 2011 the posts that were vacant in each public sector prison and young offenders institution were as follows:

Establishment	Posts	Type	Pay Grades
Aberdeen	1.6	Administration	B
	1.0	Office Manager	E
	15.2	Uniform Prison Staff	C, D & E
Barlinnie	3.9	Administration	B
	1.4	Administration	C
	3	Office Manager	E
	6.8	Uniform Prison Staff	C, D & E
	2	Operational Manager	F+
	0.4	Chaplain	F
	5.5	Nurse	D
Cornton Vale	0.2	Administration	B
	1	Administration	C
	1	Office Manager	E
	0.4	Chaplain	F
	1	Health Care Manager	F
Dumfries	1	Operational Manager	F+
	0.5	Administration	C
Edinburgh	1	Administrator	B
	1.2	Administrator	D
	0.2	Psychologist	F
	2.8	Nurse	D
	2	Nurse Manager	E
Glenochil	0.7	Administration	B
	0.1	Administration	C
	3.3	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	1.4	Nurse	D
Greenock	0.5	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
Inverness	1.9	Uniform Prison Staff	C, D & E
	1	Human Resource Manager	F
Open Estate	2	Administration	B
	1.25	Administration	C
	1	Administration	D
	4.3	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	1	Human Resource Manager	F
	0.74	Chaplain	F
	1	Psychologist	F
Perth	1	Office Manager	E
	0.5	Finance Manager	F
	0.2	HR Manager	G
Peterhead	1.3	Psychologist	D
	0.4	Operational Manager	F
Polmont	0.7	Administration	B
	0.1	Administration	C
	1	Office Manager	E
	1.3	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	2	Psychologist	D
	1	Nurse Manager	E
	1.2	Nurse	D
Shotts	1.2	Administration	B
	6.8	Uniform Prison Staff	C / D & E
	1	Psychologist	F
	0.3	Chaplain	F

 

These figures include vacancies which will be filled through internal appointment and current vacancies where offers of appointment have been made. The SPS have contracted the management of HMP Kilmarnock and Addiewell to the private sector. Both contracts are output based and therefore staffing levels are a matter for the contractor and not the SPS. The SPS do not hold information about staffing levels or the number of vacancies at either prison.

The Scottish Executive has transferred operational responsibility for the delivery of St Andrew''s Day and Winter Festivals commitments to EventScotland from 2010 onwards.

I have asked EventScotland to respond. Their response is as follows:

EventScotland have procured Saltire-branded hand-held flags for distribution to seasonal VisitScotland Tourist Information Centres across Scotland and at Winter Festivals funded events.

The Scottish Executive is committed to promoting Scotland as a great place to live, work, learn, visit, do business and invest in. The St Andrew''s Day celebrations are a time for everyone with a Scottish connection to celebrate Scotland''s people and history, as well as our traditional and contemporary culture.

The following table is a note of what Scottish minister''s were engaged in the following activities across the country.

Date	Minister	Engagement Details
23-11-10	Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning	Visited Heriot Primary School in Paisley to share in the St Andrew''s Day celebrations and to congratulate the local authority (Renfrewshire) on making St Andrew''s Day a school holiday for 2010. He also saw the pupils perform traditional Scottish songs, poetry and dancing.
26-11-10	First Minister	Launched the country''s St Andrew''s Day celebrations with pupils from Glasgow''s Royal High School and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers at Edinburgh Castle. The launch aimed to raise awareness of the St Andrew''s Day programme of events, highlighting the significant contribution these events make to Scottish tourism and our economy.
27-11-10	Cabinet Secretary for Justice	Attended Edinburgh''s family festival in St Andrew''s Square and sampled a range of the activities on offer at this Winter Festival''s funded event which celebrated Scotland''s modern culture, traditions, history and food and drink.
27-11-10	Minister for the Environment	Attended Perth''s Andermass Fair where she celebrated the feast of St Andrew and met a selection of local craft stall-holders. The Fair was part of Perth and Kinross'' St Andrew''s Day Celebrations which was in receipt of Winter Festivals funding.
30-11-10	Minister for Transport and Infrastructure	Attended an event in Union Square, part of Aberdeen''s St Andrew''s Day celebrations, which aimed to encourage mass participation by members of the public in dancing “ a fun way to keep fit and healthy and which can be enjoyed by everyone. Aberdeen Council''s events were in receipt of Winter Festivals funding.
30-11-10	Minister for Children and Early Years	Visited Wallacetown Nursery School in Ayr and St Andrew''s Primary School in Kilmarnock to share in their celebrations, met staff and pupils, and watch the pupils perform traditional Scottish songs, music, poetry and dancing

 

The events I was scheduled to attend “ East Lothian''s Saltire Celebrations on 28 November 2010 and the opening of the Edinburgh''s Grand Ceilidh on 30 November 2010 - had to be cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions. The Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning was due to visit Newton Primary School in Dunblane on 30 November to share in the St Andrew''s Day celebrations, but this had to be cancelled as the school was closed due to the adverse weather conditions.

The Scottish Executive has transferred operational responsibility for the delivery of St Andrew''s Day and Winter Festivals commitments to EventScotland from 2010 onwards.

I have asked EventScotland to respond. Their response is as follows:

EventScotland have distributed Saltire hand-held flags to seasonal VisitScotland Tourist Information Centres across Scotland and at funded Winter Festivals events, as shown in the following table. As the Winter Festivals continue through until the
25 January 2011, the cost of activity is still being correlated.

Distribution of Saltire Hand-Held Flags to St Andrew''s Day Events

Agency/Organisation/Public Body	Number of Flags
East Renfrewshire Council''s St Andrew''s Day event	200
Angus Council''s St Andrew''s Day Festival	200
Highland Council''s C¨ilidhean Naoimh Anndra / St Andrew''s C¨ilidhs	200
Dumfries and Galloway Council''s Fling event 2010	1,000
City of Edinburgh Council''s St Andrew''s Day Celebrations	1,500
Perth and Kinross Council''s St Andrew''s Celebration Weekend	800
Glasgow City Council''s Shindig in the Square 2010	1,500
Aberdeen City Council''s St Andrews Day Celebrations	500
Renfrewshire Council''s St Andrews Day Celebrations;	200
West Dunbartonshire Council''s St Andrews Day Event 2010;	200
South Ayrshire Council''s St Andrews Day Festival	800
Fife Council''s St Andrews Festival 2010;	1,000
Stirling Council''s St Andrew''s Day celebrations	1,000
East Lothian Council''s The Saltire	800
Total	9,900

Note: *Of these flags, the highlighted ones were then reused by the relevant local authority for their Hogmanay events.

The Scottish Executive has transferred operational responsibility for the delivery of St Andrew''s Day and Winter Festivals commitments to EventScotland from 2010 onwards.

I have asked EventScotland to respond. Their response is as follows:

In line with public sector procurement and to ensure cost effectiveness, EventScotland and VisitScotland placed a joint order for hand-held Saltire flags for use at events and in VisitScotland information centres. The order for materials was placed with a company who supply flags and are based in Scotland, that company itself contracts the flags manufacture to company in Northampton.

The research report Community Policing: A review of the Evidence by Mackenzie and Henry, demonstrates that effective community policing is associated with a reduction in crime and disorder. This report was published by the Scottish Government in 2009, and is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/11/19091609/0.

There are now 17,371 police officers in Scotland. This is an increase of 1,137 since March 2007. This government''s investment in police officer numbers has enabled chief constables to deploy significant new resources towards making our communities safer. This has helped to reduce Scotland''s crime rate to a 32 year low.

Police forces in Scotland report cases to procurators fiscal. Changes in the reporting of crime over the past five years have been driven by Lord Advocate''s Guidelines.

In terms of the actual recording of crimes, the Scottish Crime Recording Standard (SCRS) was introduced throughout all Scottish police forces on 1 April 2004. The main aim of the SCRS is to provide a more victim orientated approach that ensures greater consistency and uniformity in crime recording standards throughout Scotland. Further to this, the list of crime codes used to record crimes is consistent across all police forces in Scotland, and allows Scotland-level statistics to be created. This ultimately ensures a greater degree of comparability between forces than there was previously.

The Scottish Crime Recording Standard (SCRS) was introduced throughout all Scottish police forces on 1 April 2004. The main aim of the SCRS is to provide a more victim orientated approach that ensures greater consistency and uniformity in crime recording standards throughout Scotland. Further to this, the list of crime codes used to record crimes is consistent across all police forces in Scotland, and allows Scotland-level statistics to be created. This ultimately ensures a greater degree of comparability between forces than there was previously.

The Scottish Crime Registrars Group (SCRG), created to oversee change in all forces, has helped achieve a standardised approach to recording. The group consists of the eight police force crime registrars, as well as representatives from British Transport Police, the Ministry of Defence Police and the Justice Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The group meets every two months to review, maintain and improve the SCRS and its use and implementation.

The Scottish Government continually strives to improve the way in which crimes and offences are recorded in Scotland, and will work with all police forces across Scotland, the SCRG and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to ensure that the rules in place ensure as much consistency and uniformity as possible.

During the last five years, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) has undertaken a thematic inspection to review how the SCRS has developed within the police service in Scotland since 2005, and more recently, has conducted crime audits in each police force. The SCRG has responded to any recommendations published in these reports which relate to the recording of crimes and offences. In the last five years, the list of crime codes will have been updated to reflect new legislation which has been introduced within that time period. A recent example of this would have been changes to codes which relate to crimes of indecency, following the introduction of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 on 1 December 2010.

A person who has a Community Health Index (CHI) number, or who is the holder of a valid entitlement card, is eligible to buy a Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC). The people most likely to benefit from buying a PPC include those with long-term medical conditions who may need regular prescribed medicines, and who are not exempt from prescription charges.

Four hundred and thirty-seven thousand, eight hundred and seventy-three PPCs were sold in 2009-10, broken down as 375,627 four-month certificates and 62,246 12-month certificates. However, patients can buy up to three four-month PPCs each year and as a result we do not hold data which shows how many individuals bought those certificates.

Since 2007-08, the year prior to the introduction of our policy of phasing out prescription charges, the cost of a four-month certificate has been reduced from £35.85 to £10, and the cost of a 12-month certificate has been reduced from £98.70 to £28. The number of PPCs bought has increased over that period by 160%, benefitting all that buy them, particularly those with long-term conditions, for whom the cost of prescriptions may act as a barrier to maintaining good health.

This barrier will be removed in Scotland when prescription charges are abolished on 1 April 2011, subject to parliamentary approval.

Responsibility for the operations of the Forth Road Bridge is a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA).