- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26897 by Mr Jim Wallace on 3 July 2002, whether any assessment has been made of targets 1.1.5, 1.1.7, 1.1.10, 1.2.1, 1.3.1, 2.2.2, 2.4.1, 3.4.1, 4.0.2, 5.1.2, 5.1.8, 5.2.7, 5.2.10, 5.3.2, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.5.3, 7.1.4, 7.1.7, 7.1.11, 7.2.1, 7.4.1, 7.5.3, 8.1.2, 8.2.1, 8.4.4, 8.7.5 and 9.2.3 in Standards of Health Care for Prisoners.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No service-wide assessment has been undertaken.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 10 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has regarding delay in the transfer of Scottish Borders Council housing stock.
Answer
The transfer of the Scottish Borders housing stock to Scottish Borders Housing Association is progressing. The independent valuation required to be updated to reflect the basis of the sale e.g. intervening right to buy sales, rent increases and capital investment undertaken by the council. This work has been completed and Scottish Borders Housing Association is in the process of updating its business plan which is now due for submission by 31 October. The formal consent of ministers' should be available thereafter, allowing the transfer to complete by the end of the year. All parties remain fully committed to concluding this complex process as soon as possible in order that the significant commitments to tenants can be actioned.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive with regard to comments made by Sheriff Principal Nicholson in the case Thomson v Thomson at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 10 June 2002, whether it plans to amend the Ordinary Cause Rules to facilitate the attachment of a power of arrest to common law interdicts that pre-date the coming into force of the Protection From Abuse (Scotland ) Act 2001.
Answer
I understand that Sheriff Principal Nicholson's comments in Thomson v Thomson have been considered by the Sheriff Court Rules Council, the statutory body responsible for proposing rules on civil procedure in the sheriff court, and that a change to the rules will be recommended to the Lords of Council and Session as the rule making authority in response to those comments.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 requires amendment and what interim measures it is taking following the earlier suspension of the powers to impose additional days added or loss of remission, in the light of the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights on 15 July 2002 in the case of Okechukwiw E'eh.
Answer
On 11 June 2001, Scottish Ministers decided to suspend the use of additional days and loss of remission in Scottish prisons. The European Court held on 15 July 2002 in the case of Ezeh & Connors v United Kingdom that there were Article 6 difficulties with the procedure for awarding Additional Days Added (ADAs).The decision to suspend the use of ADAs on 11 June 2001 didn't lead to disciplinary problems. It was therefore decided that the time was right to complete the abolition of ADAs. On 16 August 2002, ministers remitted all ADAs which prisoners in Scotland were serving or were still liable to serve, provided these days had been awarded to a person sentenced by a Scottish court.No decision has yet been taken as to whether the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 and other legislation will be amended to remove references to additional days. The Ezeh & Connors judgement does not require the legislation to be amended.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to reduce the number of people held on remand.
Answer
Only the courts and the Lord Advocate have the direct power to reduce the number of accused held on remand, by means of the grant of bail to individual accused.The Executive has, however, provided funding and guidance to all local authorities to allow bail information and supervision schemes to be provided to courts within their areas.Bail information schemes are intended to assist procurators fiscal and courts through verification of information in respect of cases where bail might otherwise have been opposed or refused. Bail supervision is intended to increase the confidence of courts of successful completion of bail periods through the availability of supervised bail with the intention of reducing the number of accused remanded to custody.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive with regard to paragraph 2.4 of the Annual Report 2001-02 by the Over 21's Visiting Committee at HM Prison and Young Offenders' Institute Cornton Vale, whether delay in releasing women in shared cells to use toilet facilities, with particular regard to women with serious medical conditions, is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:We do not consider that there is a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. Access to toilet facilities during the day is generally unrestricted. At night, an automated system allows prisoners in single cells to access toilet facilities. For security reasons, prisoners who are sharing a cell cannot make use of the automated system. Staff require to supervise the unlocking of their doors. Night shift staffing has recently been increased to reduce the delay in unlocking doors. Furthermore, procedures are in place to ensure that women with serious medical conditions are not required to share a cell.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-8781 and S1W-9352 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 August and 12 September 2000 respectively, how many people had a charge proved relating to (a) house-breaking, (b) assault and robbery and (c) drug-related offences in Scotland in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001 and (iv) 2002 to date and how many of these were charged where the main offence involved was aggravated by having been committed while the offender was on bail.
Answer
Information on persons with a charge proved in 1999 and 2000 where a bail aggravation was recorded in the sentence is included in Table 14 of the annual statistical bulletins Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts published for those years (Bib. numbers 11289 and 17818 respectively). Data for the year 2001 are expected to be available in November 2002. Assault and robbery falls within the Scottish Executive Justice Department's crime category of robbery.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what standard procedures the Scottish Prison Service has for sharing information between drugs service providers and prison staff.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Scottish Prison Service (SPS) procedures for information sharing in the drugs field are outlined in the SPS Drug Strategy Partnership and Co-ordination (SPS, 2000), copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. Joint protocols have been developed for information sharing between SPS and Drugs Action Teams (DATs). All client information is subject to the Data Protection Act.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any employees of the Scottish Prison Service are members of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what requirements it places on the contractor, in its contract for medical services in prisons, for the retention of doctors experienced in prison medicine.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:None.