Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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: S2W-03196

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many remand prisoners “slop out” at HM Prison Barlinnie.

Question reference: S2W-03197

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to modernise cells in ‘A' hall in HM Prison Barlinnie with particular regard to the supply of electricity.

Question reference: S2W-03194

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment is carried out on prisoners at HM Prison Barlinnie who spend long periods of time in their cells.

I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

Staff have regular contactwith prisoners at morning ablutions, meal times, recreation, exercise, visits,canteen and where it still exists slopping out times.

Prisoners can request to seeSPS Healthcare staff and are subject to assessment as part of the SPS suicideprevention strategy.

Question reference: S2W-03191

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what further action is planned to modernise HM Prison Barlinnie following the recent report on it by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-03195

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what rehabilitation programmes are ongoing at HM Prison Barlinnie.

Question reference: S2W-03192

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 November 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive when “slopping out” at HM Prison Barlinnie will end.

I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:

The Scottish Prison Service accepts that “slopping out” isan undesirable practice and is committed to ending it as soon as possible.However it will be some time before slopping out can be ended completely. Themost realistic time that slopping out can be ended is about a year after thecompletion of the second of the two new prisons that were announced by the Executive on 5 September 2002 as part of its decisions on the prison estates review.A firm date cannot be given because a number of variable factors are involved;including future trends in prisoner numbers, issues affecting the timescale forcompletion of the new prisons such as the obtaining of planning permission, andthe need to make arrangements for decanting and moving prisoners to allowexisting accommodation to be improved.

Question reference: S2W-03052

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it will give to the re-regulation of buses.

Question reference: S2O-00595

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is planned to combat drug-assisted rape.

The Executive is considering this issue as a matter of priority under its Know the Score campaign, and will be producing materials which highlight the risks of drug-assisted rape in the lead up to Christmas. Details will be announced in due course. In addition, information and advice on how to recognise the risks and signs of drug-assisted rape will be included in forthcoming parents’ guides to talking about drugs and alcohol.

Following up the guidance issued to police forces in October 2002 by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), ACPOS is presently examining the possible use of forensic sampling kits specifically designed and developed for use in the investigation of drug-assisted assault. Additionally, police forces throughout Scotland are engaged in developing their own local initiatives, aimed at providing advice and guidance to the publicon drug-assisted sexual assault.

Question reference: S2W-02893

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Mary Mulligan on 8 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are available to an objector who believes that a planning authority may have breached planning policy or guidelines.

The interpretation of planningpolicy and guidance is a matter for the planning authority, in the first instance.

Complaints about the handlingof applications can be made through the planning authority’s own complaint procedures.Where an objector feels that they have suffered injustice or hardship as a resultof maladministration or service failure on the part of the planning authority, itwould be open to them to make a complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Planning decisions are also opento review in the courts. Neither the ombudsman nor the courts deal with complaintsabout the exercise of the planning authority’s legitimate discretion in reachinga decision.

Question reference: S2W-02896

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Mary Mulligan on 8 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the position would be where planning permission has been granted and it is made known to the planning authority that the information on which the application was assessed was inaccurate.