Parliamentary questions

Christine Grahame

3,532 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were treated by the NHS for alcohol dependency in each year since 1999.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Tables providing thisinformation are available in, the Scottish Parliaments Information Centre.Table 1 (Bib. number 40168)shows the number of people discharged from Scottish general acute hospitalswith an explicit diagnosis of alcohol dependence for ea…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many females were convicted of being under the influence of a substance other than alcohol and in charge of a motor vehicle in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.Females with a Charge Provedin Scottish Courts for Being in Charge of a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence ofDrink/Drugs1,2, 1999-2000 to 2004-05.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellp…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals convicted of drink driving in each year since 1999 had been involved in a road traffic accident whilst under the influence of alcohol at the time of being charged, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot held centrally.

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many females were convicted of drink driving in each year since 1999, expressed also as a percentage of total drink-driving convictions in each year and broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following tables.Females with a Charge Provedin Scottish Courts for Drink Driving Offences1,2:Number and Percentage ofTotal Persons with a Charge Proved for Drink Driving Offences, by Force Are…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many males aged under 18 were victims of violent assault in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) age group and (b) police force or NHS area and expressed also as a percentage of the total under-18 male population.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not heldcentrally. The recorded crime statistics are based on an aggregate return, and sodetails of individual crimes, such as the age and gender of victim and perpetrator,are not available.

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many females aged under 18 were victims of violent assault in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) age group and (b) police force or NHS area and expressed also as a percentage of the total under-18 female population.

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many males aged under 18 were (a) cautioned for and (b) charged with violent assault in each year since 1999, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) police force area and expressed also as a percentage of the total under-18 male population.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isshown in the following tables.Males Under 18 Proceeded1Against for Serious Assault2 in Scottish Courts, by Age Group, 1999-2000to 2004-05<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> …

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many females aged under 18 were (a) cautioned for and (b) charged with violent assault in each year since 1999, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) police force area and expressed also as a percentage of the total under-18 female population.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isshown in the following tables.Females Under 18 Proceeded1Against for Serious Assault2 in Scottish Courts, by Age Group, 1999-2000to 2004-05<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td nowr…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is confident that the figures published by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration in respect of persistent young offenders provide the most accurate picture of the scale of offending behaviour among young people.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: We are content that thequarterly and annual youth justice figures published by the Scottish Children’sReporter Administration represent an accurate picture of offence referralsreceived by the administration.Minor or one-off incidencesof offending behav…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review its position on the provision of additional resources for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration to support front-line staff in tackling persistent young offending, in light of recently published figures showing an increase in the number of offenders.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Children’s ReporterAdministration (SCRA) is not responsible for managing or delivering services totackle the needs and behaviour of persistent young offenders. SCRA’s overall annualgrant-in-aid has increased by over £10 million since 2001 to over…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures its own performance in tackling the rising trend of persistent young offending.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: On 11 July 2006, the Scottish Executivepublished a summary report outlining progress to March 2006 on the completion of the 10-point Action Plan on Youth Crime and achievements against National Standardsfor Scotland’s Youth Justice Services, including reporti…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources it will commit to ensure that the number of persistent young offenders does not increase next year.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is fundinga range of activity to prevent and address youth crime and disorder to the extentof £63 million this year, this having increased from a £3.5 million baseline in2001.Details of the Grant Aided Expenditure(GAE) are set ou…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the basis was of its decision to set a target of a 10% reduction in the number of persistent young offenders by March 2006.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: We identified thedisproportionately negative impact that the behaviour of a small minority ofyoung people were having on victims, communities and their own life chances.We remain determined toprevent that behaviour wherever possible, and confront it wh…

17 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what new targets it has set for reducing the numbers of persistent young offenders, in light of a 10% reduction by March 2006 not being achieved.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No new targets have yet beenset with regard to persistent young offenders – we have made it clear we expectall agencies to work to meet the target set for the end of March 2008.

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it now expects to reach the target set in August 2005 of reducing the number of persistent young offenders to 1,080 by March 2006.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The target to reduce the numberof persistent young offenders in Scotland by 10% was set in 2002 and the necessary reduction quantifiedin November 2004. Building a Better Scotland set a further target in 2004 to reducethe total number of persistent young offen…

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether PA Consulting Group was involved in the generation of figures on persistent young offenders included in the data published by the Executive and the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on 11 July 2006.

Answer · Hugh Henry: No. The Scottish Children’s ReporterAdministration collated the data.

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why different agencies involved in tackling youth crime are still using different methods to define who is and is not a persistent young offender and when this situation will be ended.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The national definition of persistentyoung offender was set out in the national standards for Scotland’s youthjustice services and confirmed in the Scottish Youth Justice Performance Baseline2003-04 announced on 4 November 2004. This definition was acc…

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what confidence it has in the data analysis and publication of figures by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), in light of the press release by Moray Council of 11 July 2006 which said that its most prolific, persistent offenders were not included in SCRA’s baseline dat…

Answer · Hugh Henry: We are satisfied that the quarterlyand annual data published by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA)is robust.

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of class A drugs in circulation in Scotland it estimates originate from Afghanistan.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Information on thepercentage of class A drugs in Scotland estimated to originate from Afghanistanis not held centrally.  At the UK level, however,the “UK Threat Assessment 2006-07”, published by the Serious Organised CrimeAgency (SOCA) on 3…

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered class A drug users there have been in Scotland in each year since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Answer · Hugh Henry: There is no central registerof problem drug misusers in Scotland.

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into the impact of any increase in the supply of class A drugs in Scotland originating from Afghanistan following the invasion by US, UK and other NATO forces in 2001.

Answer · Hugh Henry: No such research has beencarried out by the Scottish Executive.

11 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to preventing people with alcohol addiction from having children.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: There is no consideration beinggiven to preventing people with alcohol addiction from having children. Instead,action by NHSScotland is being focused on ensuring that accessible maternity servicesare available to ensure service users with drug and alcohol pro…

10 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on grounds of “lack of parental care” in each year since 2001 came from the top 10 most economically inactive communities, expressed (a) in real terms and (b) as a percentage of the total number of referrals for…

Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA). The figuresprovided below by SCRA represent the children who were referred to the Children’sReporter under section 52(2)(c) of the Children’s (Scotland) Act1995 …

10 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on grounds of “lack of parental care” in each year since 2001 came from the top 20 most deprived communities, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, expressed (a) in real terms and (b) as a pe…

Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Children’sReporter Administration (SCRA) does not hold information on children referredas defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.Information provided by SCRAis for children referred to the Children’s Reporter under section 5…

10 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what figures it holds on the number of children who have died as the result of “bad parenting”.

Answer · Robert Brown: This information is notcollected or held centrally by the Scottish Executive.

10 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines a “good parent”.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive’s visionis that children and young people should be safe, healthy, nurtured, achieving,included, active and respected and responsible to achieve the best outcomes inlife. The role of parents in achieving these positive outcomes for chil…

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what direction was given to Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) at the meeting scheduled with SCRA officials on 16 May 2006 about what should be reported in its next annual report in terms of national standards.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27270 on 2 August 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what direction was given to Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) about what data should be analysed in its next annual report at the meeting scheduled with Scottish Children's Report Administration officials on 16 May 2006.

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what direction was given to Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) about what data should be presented in its next annual report at the meeting scheduled with Scottish Children's Report Administration officials on 16 May 2006.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27270 on 2 August 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

5 Jul 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, following the meeting scheduled with Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) officials on 16 May 2006, what level of analysis the SCRA is now required to provide to ministers regarding youth justice reporting.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27270 on 2 August 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…