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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-33540

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 February 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-32797 and S1W-32400 by Patricia Ferguson and Mr Jim Wallace on 21 and 20 January 2003 respectively, how the answer to S1W-32400 which states that legal advice was obtained is consistent with the answer to S1W-32797 which states that by long-standing convention its general policy is that it does not disclose whether it has taken legal advice.

The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information indicates that certain categories of information are exempt from the commitment to provide information, including internal discussion and advice. By longstanding convention, the general policy of the Scottish Executive is that it does not disclose legal advice or whether legal advice has been or will be obtained.In relation to the answer to question S1W-32400, I was satisfied that it was appropriate on that occasion to disclose that legal advice had been obtained and the reason for doing so.

Question reference: S1W-33538

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 February 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-32815 and S1W-32816 by Hugh Henry on 13 January 2003, whether there has been any case where an incident at HM Prison Kilmarnock has been recorded as a serious assault for the purposes of the Scottish Prison Service's key performance indicators, but where performance points have not accrued to the prison because an adjudication or criminal conviction has not been secured.

Question reference: S1W-33580

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Mary Mulligan on 5 February 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32863 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 16 January 2003, why information on abortions performed in order to save the life of the woman is only available from 1991, given that recording the grounds on which an abortion is being carried out has been required since the Abortion Act 1967 came into force.

Until 1990, all emergency abortions were recorded together, making it impossible to distinguish between those carried out to save the lives of the women and those carried out to prevent grave permanent injury to their health. The grounds for legal abortion set out in the Abortion Act 1967 were amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. This made it necessary to amend the regulations governing the content of the notification form, and a separate category for abortions carried out to save the woman's life was then introduced.

Question reference: S1W-33011

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 February 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive when the decision on whether to contract out a service in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) lies with the Chief Executive of the SPS and when it lies with Scottish Ministers.

As an Executive Agency, the SPS operates under a framework document, the text of which is available on SPS's website at: www.sps.gov.uk. Paragraph 3.1 of that Document says that "The Chief Executive is responsible and accountable for operational and contractual matters involving the Agency and for its performance. He or she is answerable to the Scottish Ministers." Paragraph 3.2 of the document says that "The Chief Executive may make changes in the organisation and management structure of SPS in pursuit of its aims and objectives." As the framework document makes clear, Scottish ministers expect the Chief Executive to manage SPS consistent with the aims and objectives set by ministers and to obtain the best value for taxpayers' money made available by ministers. Within that policy and resources framework, decisions on contracting out services are therefore for the Chief Executive.

Question reference: S1W-33010

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 January 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sheriff court cases in (a) Scotland and (b) each sheriff court were adjourned on the day of commencement in 2002 and what the reasons for any such adjournment were.

Question reference: S1W-32525

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2002
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 29 January 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31971 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 December 2002, when it expects to make an announcement on the site for the new private-build, private-operate prison.

Question reference: S1W-31451

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 24 January 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31082 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 November 2002, when it will publish its contracts for the provision of education services in prisons.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:In the answer given to question S1W-31082, the SPS agreed to make arrangements for the publication of its contracts for the provision of education services in prisons. I also refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-31444 on 22 November 2002, which explained that the SPS was currently in discussion with Medacs Health Care about the publication of the contract for medical services and that, on conclusion of that piece of work, it will commence discussions with local authorities on the publication of contracts for the provision of social work contracts. These tasks are sequenced, and once this work is completed we will commence work on the publication of contracts for education provision.I can report that work on the Medacs Health Care contract is nearing completion and it will be published soon.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.

Question reference: S1W-32878

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 December 2002
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 22 January 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the definition of a persistent young offender in National Standards for Scotland's Youth Justice Services supersedes the definition contained in Spending Proposals 2003-06 - Technical Notes.

Question reference: S1W-33013

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 January 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30033 by Mr Jim Wallace on 4 November 2002, how many prisoners have (a) been offered and (b) received immunisation for hepatitis A in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S1W-33063

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 January 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the controller of HM Prison Kilmarnock has agreed that a cell may be shared by two prisoners under section 23.4.1 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock in each quarter of the operation of the prison and in the current year to date.