Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:SPS gave advice in respect of (a) and (d). No advice was given in respect of the letters referred to in (b) and (c).

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28769 on 2 October 2002. 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/webapp/search_wa.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:From the announcement at the Scottish Grand Committee in June 1996 until the contract was awarded in November 1997.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Such information is not available.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:As this information could prejudice commercial competitiveness in future negotiations, it is commercially confidential.

I refer the member to the answer given in question S1W-30468 on 10 October 2002. 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/webapp/search_wa. No revised date for issuing the consultation paper in relation to delivery of court services in the Peebles area has been set.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The information requested is not available. The number of receptions of 14- to 16-year-olds to the SPS are as follows:

1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	1 April 2002 to date
150	145	192	155

The following is a corrected answer (published on 5 November 2002); see below.: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:There are four possible ways to count the numbers of 14- to 16-year-olds held in penal establishments. The convention used in the prison statistics bulletins is to present the number of receptions to penal establishments. The number of receptions of 14- to 16-year-olds is given in Table 1 below.Table 1: Receptions of 14- to 16-Year-Olds to Penal Establishments¹ by Age, 1999-2000 to 1 April 2002 - 23 October 2002

Age	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02 (prov.)	1 April 2002 to 23 October 2002 (provisional)
14	1	4	2	1
15	9	12	25	18
16	573	391	467	395
Total	583	407	494	414

Note:1. Including Young Offenders Institutions.An offender experiencing a continuous period of imprisonment could be the subject of more than one reception during that time. For example, they may first be received on remand and may then continue in prison as a sentenced prisoner, which would be counted as an additional reception. Table 2 below presents the numbers of times a 14- to 16-year-old commenced an uninterrupted period of imprisonment.Table 2: Number of 14- to 16-Year-Olds¹ Commencing a Continuous Period in Custody², 1999-2000 to 1 April 2002 - 23 October 2002

Age	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02(prov.)	1 April 2002 to 23 October 2002(provisional)
14	1	4	2	1
15	7	11	23	18
16	383	266	337	274
Total	391	281	362	293

Notes:1. 14- to 16-year-olds entering prison more than once in a financial year have been counted for each entry.2. The figures include those entering Young Offenders Institutions.It may happen that an offender is released from a period in custody and is re-imprisoned within the year for a different offence. Table 3 below presents the numbers of individuals aged 14 to16 who were imprisoned at least once during each year.Table 3: Number of Individual 14- to 16-Year-Olds Who Were Imprisoned at Least Once in the Financial Year

Age at first entry in year	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02(prov.)	1 April 2002 to 23 October 2002(provisional)
14	1	4	2	1
15	7	12	20	17
16	290	193	221	201
Total	298	209	243	219

Because 14- to 16-year-old offenders spend only relatively short times in custody, the number in custody at any one time is much lower than the numbers entering custody, as demonstrated in Table 4 belowTable 4: Numbers of 14- to 16-Year-Olds in Custody on 30 June

Age	1999	2000	2001	2002 (prov.)
14	-	-	-	-
15	-	1	-	2
16	53	32	42	56
Total	53	33	42	58

The above information covers 14- to 16-year-olds who entered any penal establishment, including Young Offenders Institutions. Information distinguishing young offenders who were in an adult prison from those in a Young Offenders Institution cannot meaningfully be supplied. This is because many young offenders will pass through an adult prison on their way to reception in a Young Offenders Institution or may be transferred to a Young Offenders Institution after reception in an adult prison. Table 5 presents a breakdown of the number of receptions of 14- to-16-year-olds by the receiving establishment while Table 6 shows a breakdown of the first establishment entered by 14- to 16-year-old offenders commencing a continuous period in custody. Copies of Table 5 and Table 6 have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 24884 ).

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:It was recognised that the Health Care Standards required revision to improve auditibility.The SPS has recently been in contact with the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland to identify how our standards could be improved. We are currently in the process of commissioning this piece of work. It is hoped that the revision of our standards will be completed by March 2003. I will arrange for the revised version to be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

The report draws from a variety of data sources including SCRA, prison records and a survey of young people in secure accommodation carried out in 1998.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:(a) 85 (nine month period, from April to December)(b) 211 (c) 290 (d) 279.