§ Mr. MooreTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for what reason figures on the cancellation of hospital admissions by health boards for the quarters ending 31 March 1997 to 31 December 1998 are not available for hospitals in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area. [78228]
§ Mr. GalbraithInformation on the cancellation of hospital admissions in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area is not available for the periods requested because of concerns over the accuracy and completeness of the available data, and the consequent misrepresentation of
Average daily population of sentenced young offenders by length of sentence, 1993–1997 Number and Percentage Length of sentence 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 % change196–97 Total2 819 720 719 770 787 2 Less than 6 months 246 209 249 194 144 -26 6 months—less than 2 years 287 223 227 282 301 7 2 year—less than 4 years 151 160 114 132 146 11 4 years or over (excluding life) 105 103 98 131 154 18 Life 17 15 14 17 19 12 Section 205 sentences (indeterminate) 9 9 14 10 18 80 Section 206 sentences (fixed) 4 1 2 4 4 — 1Based on rounded figures 2Components may not add to totals due to rounding
Average daily population of adult sentenced prisoners by length of sentence, 1993–1997 Number and Percentage Length of sentence 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 % change 1 96–97 Total2 3,795 3,785 3,823 4,026 4,282 6 Less than 3 months 333 226 209 206 165 -20 3 months—less than 6 months 462 434 437 428 406 -5 6 months—less than 2 years 815 775 740 853 889 4 2 years—less than 4 years 533 627 614 616 654 6 4 years or over (excluding life) 1,240 1,293 1,390 1,480 1,686 14 Life/Section 205 411 430 433 443 481 9 1 Based on rounded figures 2 Components may not add to totals due rounding Interim figures for the period April 1998 to February 1999 indicate that 25 per cent. of prisoners are testing positive for drugs of abuse, down from 29 per cent. in the financial year 1997–98. Final figures for the financial year 1998–99 will be reported in the 1998–99 Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts.
There is no direct information available on the current number of inmates with alcohol problems. However, the following information may be of value.
In a study involving a representative sample of prisoners (Cooke, 1994), the level of alcohol dependence among the population was found to be 18.3 per cent. for females and 38.1 per cent. for males. In a more recent study (Gilchrist and Hooke, 1997) conducted in Greenock 476W the true position. This is due to difficulties associated with the computerised Patient Administration Systems. Greater Glasgow Health Board and the NHS Trusts are currently working together to resolve this problem, and they expect to be able to provide accurate information on cancellations of hospital admissions, via the new national data collection process to be introduced shortly.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.