Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30489 on 21 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

<>The Police Scotland reports make clear these statistics are provisional, based on management information drawn from a live operational database – therefore, the report should not be seen as an indicator of the official trend.

Official recorded crime statistics show that there has been a 67% fall in the number of handling offensive weapon offences between 2006-07 and 2014-15. Between 2013-14 and 2014-15, official recorded crime statistics also show a 13% fall in such offences.

The Scottish Government’s strategy on knife crime is focused on tough enforcement coupled with education and diversion activity to discourage people from carrying knives and other weapons.

The Scottish Government is committed to moving away from ineffective short term prison sentences towards robust community alternatives. In June 2016 the Scottish Government announced an additional £4 million to support local community justice and voluntary sector partners to increase the use of community sentences as part of the Scottish Government’s drive to reduce reoffending, including strengthening the use of electronic monitoring.

The exact resource implications of extending the current electronic monitoring service and of introducing new technology, such as GPS, are currently being considered.

Any incident of violent crime is totally unacceptable and the Scottish Government’s strategy is focused on tough enforcement coupled with education and diversion activity by working with various partners who deliver a number of programmes and initiatives to support people away from offending violent behaviour.

For example, the Scottish Government has put significant investment into the national Violence Reduction Unit which aims to reduce violent crime and behaviour by working with partner agencies to achieve long-term societal and attitudinal change, and, by focusing on enforcement, to contain and manage individuals who carry weapons or who are involved in violent behaviour. The unit also aims to explore best practices and develop sustainable, innovative solutions to the problem of violence.

Whilst the Police Scotland Force report provisionally suggests a small increase in violent crime in 2015-16, the report also advises users to refer to the official statistics on recorded crime for longer term trends.

For overall context, the latest official statistics on recorded crime report a 55% decrease in levels of non-sexual violent crime between 2006-07 and 2014-15, to its lowest level since 1974. This includes a 6% reduction between the latest two years of 2013-14 and 2014-15. Statistics for 2015-16 will be published in September 2016.

The number of people sentenced to a Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLO) by court where a domestic aggravator was recorded as the main offence in each year since 2010-11 are presented in the following table.

Year	Number
2010-11	44
2011-12	53
2012-13	50
2013-14	99
2014-15	110

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Service

Scottish Government statistics show that there has been an increase in the number of RLOs given for proceedings with a domestic aggravator. This may be reflective of more cases reaching the courts as a result of a strengthened emphasis on tackling domestic abuse in Scotland by both Police Scotland and The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

The existing electronic monitoring contract between the Scottish Government and G4S Care & Justice Services (UK) Limited commenced in April 2013. This contract has been agreed for a period of five years and will be in place until March 2018. Decisions on future procurement processes will be taken in due course.

The detail of the electronic monitoring contract, including the breakdown of the pricing schedule, is 'Commercial in Confidence'. The Scottish Government publishes a unit cost for electronic monitoring which can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Publications/costcrimjustscot/costcrimjustdataset.

The resource implications of extending the current electronic monitoring service and introducing new technology, such as GPS, are currently being considered.

Access to specialist assessment for dysautonomia is through existing arrangements with NHS England. National services can arrange referral for clinically appropriate patients. Treatment is usually a guided programme of self-care which would be delivered by the patient’s NHS board of residence with input from a specialist centre in England.

Dysautonomia is an imprecise diagnosis that describes a long term condition that has a number of underlying conditions. It includes postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (postural tachycardia syndrome; Ehlers Dahnlos syndrome; variants of chronic pain; as well as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and other syndromes which are characterised by severe unpredictable fatigue; postural hypotension (fainting); and a general disruption to activities of daily living. There is no specific treatment but a clear diagnosis allows patients and their families to take back control and begin to self-manage their condition. Depending on the patients symptoms, there are a wide range of NHS services available to provide the necessary support. Any specialist input would be to offer a detailed assessment and diagnosis and advice on a self-care treatment plan which would be administered as locally as possible.

As the majority of cases of dysautonomia are diagnosed in an outpatient or GP setting, the number of people diagnosed with this condition is not held centrally. However, the following table shows the number of continuous inpatient stays with a diagnosis of dysautonomia from 2010-11 to 2014-15 by NHS health board of treatment.

Health Board of Treatment	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Golden Jubilee National Hospital	-	*	-	*	*
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	39	24	26	29	30
NHS Borders	*	10	17	*	9
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	22	16	17	8	11
NHS Fife	74	34	37	27	19
NHS Forth Valley	22	11	21	21	7
NHS Grampian	58	48	46	43	42
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	113	94	96	137	133
NHS Highland	16	30	42	25	12
NHS Lanarkshire	15	35	38	62	81
NHS Lothian	80	104	74	82	90
NHS Orkney Islands	-	-	-	*	*
NHS Shetland Islands	-	-	-	-	*
NHS Tayside	23	18	22	40	49
NHS Western Isles	-	*	*	*	-
Non-NHS Provider	-	*	*	*	*

Key:

‘*’ Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure and to help maintain patient confidentiality.

‘-‘ Indicates that there have been no stays recorded.

Source: Information Services Division Scotland, SMR01

Extracted: 6^th June 2016