Friday 30 October 2015

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

Learning and Justice Graeme Pearson (South ) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have been prescribed methadone in each year since 2006-07, broken down by prison. (S4W-27817) Paul Wheelhouse: The following table provides a snapshot of data relating to the numbers of prisoners prescribed with methadone in each prison in Scotland from May 2006. This data is a count of the number of prisoners recorded as receiving a methadone prescription on a single day. This information was gathered by (SPS) and the NHS to provide an indicative figure of the number of people in prisons in receipt of methadone. This data was collected by SPS up until 2010. There is a hiatus in data collection (2011-13) following the transfer of service provision from SPS to NHS, however, this data is now being collected twice a year by National Prisoner Healthcare Network. Further work is currently underway to determine the most effective model for incorporating and delivering the requirements which will allow future detailed reporting. Data collected by Scottish Prison Data collected by Service NHS Dec- Dec- Dec- Dec- Dec- Sep-14 Apr-15 06 07 08 09 10 Prison HM Prison Aberdeen¹ 62 64 68 62 80 N/A N/A HM Prison Peterhead² 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A HM Prison Grampian N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 82 107 HM Prison Addiewell³ N/A N/A * 159 148 149 149 HM Prison Barlinnie 349 304 357 286 308 265 219 HM Prison Castle Huntly4 45 69 39 39 35 20 18 HMP & YOI Cornton Vale 75 80 104 98 104 57 66 HM Prison Dumfries 24 26 25 28 33 31 23 HM Prison 141 141 192 159 187 192 175 HM Prison Glenochil 96 136 178 189 137 107 87 HM Prison Greenock 48 47 47 74 64 72 81 HM Prison * 8 17 14 * 14 10 HM Prison 117 202 138 154 203 119 122 HM Prison Low Moss5 72 N/A N/A N/A N/A 168 167 HM Prison Perth 40 101 143 162 180 175 174 HMP & YOI Polmont * 8 * 9 * * * HM Prison Shotts 142 168 170 153 145 161 180 N/A - indicates where information isn't available due to prison not yet being open or prison closure * - indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure and to help maintain confidentiality. 1. HM Prison Aberdeen closed in January 2014, merged with HM Prison Peterhead to become HM Prison Grampian which opened in March 2014. 2. HM Prison Peterhead closed in December 2013, merged with HM Prison Aberdeen to become HM Prison Grampian which opened in March 2014. 3. HM Prison Addiewell opened in December 2008. 4. HM Prison Castle Huntly was merged with HM Prison Noranside to form HM Prison Open Estate. This prison opened in November 2011 at the Castle Huntly site. The figures provided from 2006-10 encompass those from both HMP Castle Huntly and HMP Noranside. 5. HM Prison Low Moss closed in May 2007, re-opening in March 2012.

Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many protective expenses orders have been used in court cases in each of the last three years. (S4W-27845) Paul Wheelhouse: In March 2013 court rules came into effect to allow protective expenses orders (PEOs) to be applied for in certain environmental cases in the Court of Session. Since then, there have been a number of applications for protective expenses orders. Data on the number of applications for PEOs applied for in the Court of Session is not currently able to be extracted. However, the Scottish Government is aware of at least nine opinions in cases involving PEOs in the Court of Session. The Scottish Government is currently in discussions with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service on a range of issues relating to data collection.

Strategy and External Affairs Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what financial support Creative Scotland has provided to (a) Freight Books and (b) Cargo Publishing in each of the last four years, broken down by (i) what the support was for and (ii) when it was provided, and whether any other public sector funding was provided during this period and, if so, what the support was for and when it was provided. (S4W-28016) Fiona Hyslop: Creative Scotland has provided the following information about support Freight Books and Cargo Publishing: a) Freight Books In 2011-12, Creative Scotland awarded £2,000 towards the cost of publishing the debut short story collection Furnace by award-winning writer and poet Wayne Price, who lectures in English Literature at the University of Aberdeen, and a further £2,000 towards the publication of the debut novel Ramshackle by Elizabeth Reeder who lives and works in . In 2012-13, Creative Scotland awarded £14,500 in support for Gutter magazine and key parts of Freight Book’s publishing programme, £1,300 for publication of the debut poetry collection Fabulous Beast by award-winning poet Patricia Ace and £20,000 towards the editing and publishing of high quality Scottish and international literary fiction and poetry. In 2013-14, Creative Scotland awarded £12,000 for financial support for key parts of Freight Books’ publishing programme for the second part of 2013. In 2014-15, Creative Scotland awarded £40,000 in support for key parts of Freight Books’ publishing programme for the second part of 2014. In 2015-16, Creative Scotland has awarded £69,889 in support for key parts of Freight Books’ publishing programme for 2015. b) Cargo Publishing In 2012-13, Creative Scotland awarded £75,000 towards the 'Erebus' multimedia project, £9,000 towards Tales from the Mall by BAFTA award winning director Ewan Morrison, in paperback, Android and iPhone/iPad, and enhanced ebook, and £22,000 towards a four book collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival and US publisher McSweeney's. In 2013-14, Creative Scotland awarded £7,500 towards the publication of Some of Me & Others, the autobiography of Alasdair Gray. In 2014-15, Creative Scotland awarded £40,000 towards support for Cargo's complete list of fiction and non-fiction for 2014, and £10,000 to support for an innovation trainee who had the opportunity to learn traditional publishing and digital publishing skills. In addition, Scottish Enterprise provided advice and guidance historically to both companies, and Business Gateway met with Cargo Publishing in November 2014 to discuss the support available through their Growth Advisory Service.

Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to registered social landlords. (S4W-28223) Joe FitzPatrick: I have today (30 October 2015) laid the first report in the Scottish Parliament on the use of the powers to extend coverage of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation to bodies carrying out public functions. The report notes the strong opinions expressed by tenants, Registered social landlords (RSLs) and others on the issue of whether RSLs should be subject to FOI legislation. Therefore, in order to fully explore the complex issues involved, I intend to formally consult the RSL sector next year with a view to extending coverage of FOI legislation to RSLs – linked to the review of the Scottish Social Housing Charter.

The following question received a holding answer: S4W-27864