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Prison Service
Richard Baker (Labour) | Question S3W-40240
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners (a) was assessed as having an alcohol addiction and (b) received support for this in prison in 2010, broken down by prison.
Kenny MacAskill (Scottish National Party)
I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
This information is not available regarding the proportion of all prisoners with alcohol problems. Prisoners do take the opportunity to disclose problems to the prison health services and have access to addiction services to address their needs. Prisoners serving over 31 days in custody, identified with an alcohol misuse problem, are offered a comprehensive substance misuse assessment.
The following table shows the number of assessments completed for alcohol against the proportion of referrals made to the Enhanced Addiction Casework Service (EACS); and the number of Alcohol interventions delivered in 2009-10:
| Prison | No Prisoners Referred to EACS | % Prisoners Assessed for Alcohol Misuse | No Alcohol Interventions Delivered |
| HMP Aberdeen | 306 | 15.03% (46) | 216 |
| HMP Barlinnie | 731 | 29.69% (217) | 862 |
| HMP Cornton Vale | 515 | 17.67% (91) | 617 |
| HMP Dumfries | 216 | 32.87% (71) | 531 |
| HMP Edinburgh | 748 | 15.24% (114) | 424 |
| HMP Glenochil | 334 | 25.75% (86) | 503 |
| HMP Greenock | 379 | 22.16% (84) | 571 |
| HMP Inverness | 210 | 36.19% (76) | 358 |
| HMP Open Estate | 280 | 27.86% (78) | 1179 |
| HMP Perth | 597 | 18.09% (108) | 421 |
| HMP Peterhead | 100 | 28% (28) | 462 |
| HM YOI Polmont | 478 | 57.11% (273) | 2352 |
| HMP Shotts | 126 | 14.29% (18) | 54 |
| Total | 5,020 | 25.70% (1,290) | 8,550 |
The number of alcohol interventions do not correspond with the number who were assessed for alcohol misuse as a prisoner can attend more than one intervention, based on their assessed need as detailed within their community integration plan (CIP).
A further 87 prisoners were identified though EACS as having problematic alcohol issues.
Every prisoner admitted to custody goes through an initial health screening by a nurse. Prisoners are all asked about historical and current alcohol misuse to ascertain immediate clinical need.