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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: S3W-12057

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 1 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money Scottish Enterprise has invested in Ayrshire in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency since May 1999.

Question reference: S3W-12063

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all MMR vaccines used by the NHS, showing the date of (a) their first use in vaccination programmes and (b) withdrawal from use of any vaccines, together with the reasons for such withdrawal.

The Department of Health purchases stocks of the MMR vaccine under the national childhood vaccine contract to meet the needs of the entire UK vaccination programme.

Combined MMR vaccines were first introduced into the routine childhood immunisation programme in 1988. At that time, the vaccines used were Pluserix and MMR II. Immravax was used from 1989. Pluserix and Immravax were withdrawn from use in September 1992 following confirmation that the rate of aseptic meningitis associated with these vaccines was higher than that of other available MMR vaccines. Priorix was used in the routine programme from 1997.

Priorix and MMRII are currently used in the immunisation programme.

Question reference: S3W-12061

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-303 and S3W-8837 by Tom McCabe on 4 June 2003 and by Shona Robison on 5 February 2008 respectively, what progress has been made since June 2003 in compiling a Scotland-wide database of diagnoses of autistic spectrum disorder at NHS board or local authority level.

The Scottish Government has recently published guidance for commissioners of services for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The guidance states that local authorities and health boards should work in partnership to identify and keep a record of people with ASD in their area.

Information about the number of children with ASD in education is available from the pupil census, Pupils in Scotland, and should be used to plan future demand on services. Pupils in Scotland, 2007 is on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/02/25145216/0.

Question reference: S3W-12062

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 29 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to amending the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Question reference: S3W-12054

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the costs associated with reoffending by former prisoners met from the Scottish block grant.

Question reference: S3W-12053

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when the health and wellbeing profile will be available for the East Ayrshire Community Health Partnership area.

Question reference: S3W-12055

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) male and (ii) female prisoners in each year since 2002 used Category A drugs in the year before entering prison.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The Annual Prisoner Survey asks the question did you use illegal drugs in the 12 months before being in prison. The self-reported responses from prisoners regarding the use of Class A drugs during this period are set out in the following table. The question was first used in 2004. Therefore, data for 2002 and 2003 are not available.

	2004	2005	2006	2007
Overall Survey Response Rate (%)	77%	77%	73%	74%
Those answering yes to the question: Did you use illegal drugs in the 12 months before being in prison? (% and n=actual number)	*	67% (n=2780)	67% (n=2830)	69% (n=2844)
Male
Male respondents answering yes to the question: Did you use illegal drugs in the 12 months before being in prison?	79% (n=3007)	67% (n=2541)	67% (n=2449)	68% (n=2374)
Heroin	37% (n=1423)	52% (n=1309)	51% (n=1240)	51% (n=1221)
Cocaine	36% (n=1372)	56% (n=1415)	58% (n=1416)	61% (n=1442)
Ecstasy	31% (n=1166)	43% (n=1100)	42% (n=1020)	46% (n=1088)
Methadone	14% (n=535)	19% (n=477)	20% (n=502)	21% (n=510)
Other Opiates	24% (n=893)	29% (n=731)	27% (n=665)	27% (n=632)
Female
Female respondents answering yes to the question: Did you use illegal drugs in the 12 months before being in prison?	85% (n=208)	70% (n=173)	73% (n=143)	67% (n=137)
Heroin	57% (n=139)	79% (n=137)	72% (n=103)	77% (n=106)
Cocaine	39% (n=94)	51% (n=88)	49% (n=70)	48% (n=66)
Ecstasy	25% (n=61)	31% (n=53)	23% (n=33)	23% (n=31)
Methadone	24% (n=59)	31% (n=54)	29% (n=42)	26% (n=36)
Other Opiates	30% (n=74)	34% (n=59)	28% (n=40)	31% (n=42)

Source: SPS Prisoner Surveys 2004 to 2007.

Note: *In 2004, prisoners were not asked if they used drugs in the 12 months before being in prison, but were asked what drugs they used in the 12 months before being in prison.

Question reference: S3W-12056

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 28 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners participated in drug rehabilitation while in prison in each year since 2002 and what proportion of the total prison population they represented in these years.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The available information is provided in the following table, which details drug-related interventions provided in Scottish prisons. The information provided is based on entries to prison, rather than average population numbers, as this is a more accurate reflection of the annual throughput.

	2005-06	%	2006-07	%
Total recorded entries into prisons	23,593	100%	26,195	100%
Number of prisoners who attended the National Harm Reduction Awareness Session on Admission¹	17,373	74%	17,078	65%

Note: 1. The National Harm Reduction Awareness Session is offered to all prisoners on admission (unless they have attended within the previous six months).

	2005-06	%	2006-07	%
Number of eligible prisoners offered an addictions assessment²	5,657	100%	4,546	100%
Number of prisoners that accepted and undertook an addictions assessment	4,400	78%	4,051	89%

Note: 2. Addiction assessments are offered to prisoners serving a sentence of 31 days or more. Prisoners serving less than 31 days are not offered this assessment due to the short length of stay, but are referred to either voluntary throughcare or national throughcare addictions service, dependent on criteria.

	2005-06	2006-07
Number of one-to-one motivational support sessions delivered³	9,668	12,298
Number of prisoners who attended pre-release harm reduction groupwork session⁴	580	775
Number of prisoners who attended a drug rehabilitation programme⁵	636	661

Notes:

3. Motivational Interventions are delivered on an individualised assessed need basis.

4. In these years, only prisoners serving sentences of two years or more were offered to participate in a Pre-Release Harm Reduction Groupwork Session prior to release.

5. The 636 completed drug rehabilitation programmes during 2005-06 equates to a total of 19,939 learning hours, compared to 661 completed in 2006-07 equating to a total of 21,447 learning hours.

Question reference: S3W-12059

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 24 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what change has taken place in unemployment, as measured by the claimant count in each month since May 2003, for (a) Scotland and (b) the Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency.

Table 1 shows the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits in each month since May 2003 in Scotland and the Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency.

Information on the claimant count is available free of charge from the National Online Manpower Information System (NOMIS) at the following web address www.nomisweb.co.uk.

Table 1 Claimant Count in Scotland and the Kilmarnock and Loudoun Parliamentary Constituency, May 2003 to March 2008

	Scotland	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
May 2003	102,365	2,345
June 2003	101,730	2,281
July 2003	105,014	2,273
August 2003	104,247	2,316
September 2003	96,990	2,171
October 2003	95,026	2,099
November 2003	95,449	2,093
December 2003	96,166	2,113
January 2004	105,928	2,388
February 2004	106,896	2,263
March 2004	103,519	2,239
April 2004	99,027	2,171
May 2004	94,507	2,068
June 2004	92,406	2,014
July 2004	94,080	2,094
August 2004	94,494	2,132
September 2004	88,401	1,915
October 2004	86,025	1,894
November 2004	86,053	1,851
December 2004	86,043	1,889
January 2005	95,627	2,331
February 2005	96,108	2,162
March 2005	93,577	2,213
April 2005	90,411	2,073
May 2005	88,491	1,981
June 2005	87,044	1,963
July 2005	88,480	2,109
August 2005	89,395	2,157
September 2005	83,782	1,926
October 2005	82,049	1,833
November 2005	82,827	1,816
December 2005	83,628	1,820
January 2006	92,591	2,023
February 2006	95,190	2,048
March 2006	95,361	2,041
April 2006	92,661	1,969
May 2006	90,832	1,929
June 2006	90,091	1,894
July 2006	92,105	1,976
August 2006	92,196	2,017
September 2006	85,861	1,892
October 2006	84,101	1,848
November 2006	83,274	1,813
December 2006	82,818	1,830
January 2007	88,623	1,937
February 2007	89,798	1,966
March 2007	87,397	1,923
April 2007	82,803	1,875
May 2007	79,521	1,738
June 2007	76,393	1,719
July 2007	76,955	1,767
August 2007	77,269	1,711
September 2007	71,504	1,576
October 2007	68,683	1,530
November 2007	68,538	1,536
December 2007	69,165	1,567
January 2008	74,411	1,693
February 2008	76,111	1,689
March 2008	75,249	1,711

Source: Claimant Count, Office for National Statistics.

Notes:

1. Data are not seasonally adjusted.

2. The Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency is based on the 1995 revision definition.

Question reference: S3W-11830

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 24 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many mature entrants there were to the teaching profession in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender.

There is no standard definition of a mature entrant to the teaching profession. The following table shows the age and gender of teachers on the probationer induction scheme over the past three years.

	2005		2006		2007
Age	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male
Up to 25	1,110	270	1,409	329	1,785	412
26	99	29	171	60	145	42
27	76	29	114	27	89	38
28	64	21	90	23	85	37
29	48	25	85	42	62	32
30	43	12	46	22	59	23
over 30	438	183	539	266	651	257