Parliamentary questions

Christine Grahame

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

8 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to calling in the proposed development of two supermarkets in Galashiels.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Scottish ministers were askedto call in a planning application for the proposed Tesco supermarket at the formerGovernment Buildings, 53 Market Street. Ministers took the view that no issues ofsignificant national importance had been raised to warrant their in…

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which agencies it considers have failed to deliver their commitments in reducing the number of persistent young offenders in the last year.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: All agencies who work with childrenhave a responsibility to contribute to the prevention and reduction of youth offending.Key national partner agencieshave made clear public commitments about their determination to make the necessaryimprovements.<p…

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what year it expects the number of persistent young offenders to fall below (a) 900 and (b) 600.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The youth justice performancebaseline for 2003-04 indicated that there were 1,201 persistent young offendersin Scotland at that time. The target was to reduce that by 10% byend 2005-06.

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether PA Consulting, previously employed by Scottish Ministers to validate persistent young offender data produced by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, is being used to validate existing data and, if so, whether ministers are confident that the data produced gives a robus…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No – PA Consulting are not currentlybeing employed to validate Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration data. Theywere engaged between April 2004 and May 2006 to support performance improvementin youth justice agencies at both local and national level.

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and COSLA are now sharing resources, information and best practice to tackle persistent young offending, as outlined by the Minister for Justice in July 2005.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The police, local authorities,and the Children’s Hearings system have all made clear national commitments to deliverimprovements for communities – and for young people themselves. Where agencies havea clear, joined-up vision to reduce youth offending, results…

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the latest performance figures on tackling persistent offending, broken down by local authority area, for each year since 2001.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The figures on persistent youthoffending in Scotland were first collated for 2003-04. The statement I madeto Parliament on 4 November 2004 made it clear that the 2003-04 youth justice report representedthe agreed baseline. Data gathered in previous years cann…

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities achieved a decrease from 4% to 50% in the number of persistent young offenders between April 2005 and April 2006.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested bythe member is not yet available. National and local youth justice performance informationfor 2005-06 will be published in July 2006.The data will be included inthe 2005-06 youth justice report to be published by the Scottish…

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how frequently the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and COSLA publicly report on the number of persistent young offenders with whom they are dealing.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Children’s ReporterAdministration publish validated youth justice data both quarterly and annually.They also circulate monthly managementdata to local youth justice agencies on offence referral patterns and timelinessindicators.

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what deadline the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration initially set for publication of its annual report.

Answer · Robert Brown: This is a matter for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration intends to publish its next annual report.

Answer · Robert Brown: This is a matter for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

7 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date it achieved its target of reducing the number of persistent young offenders by 10% from the baseline of 1201, as set out in its press release of 14 July 2005.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The 10% target reduction inthe number of persistent young offenders in Scotland was to be achievedbetween 2003-04 and the end of 2005- 2006.The 2005-06 youth justicedataset was published on 11 July 2006 and laid in the Scottish Parliamen InformationCen…

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department of Trade and Industry regarding the withdrawal of funding for the Scottish National Minimum Wage helpline.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is inregular contact with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). This is a pilotproject which the Department of Trade and Industry believes will have run its courseand where in the DTI’s view resources would be better targeted at e…

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals have been made to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal since its inception, broken down by month.

Answer · Robert Brown: Six referrals have been madeto the Additional Support Needs Tribunal since its inception as follows:one in December 2005two in January 2006two in May 2006two in June 2006.In addition, tribunal staff havehad a significant pro…

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal since its inception; what its running costs are, and how often it has sat.

Answer · Robert Brown: The funding allocated to theAdditional Support Needs Tribunal since its inception to 31 March 2006 totals£626,543. This figure includes running costs of £274,862.The Additional Support NeedsTribunal has sat on two occasions to date.

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15096 by Peter Peacock on 19 March 2005, how much funding Enquire has received in each year since its inception and how much it is projected to receive in future.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Enquire were awarded (a) £261,586in 1999-2000; (b) £181,387 in 2000-01; (c) £177,479 in 2001-02; (d) £254,421 in2002-03 (e) £321,963 in 2003-04 (f) £367,361 in 2004-05 (g) £326,951 in 2005-06.The agreed grant for 2006-07 is £309,321. No decisions have been ta…

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15629 by Peter Peacock on 15 April 2005, how many calls have been received by Enquire in each year since its inception, broken down by local authority area and expressed also in percentage terms.

Answer · Peter Peacock: It is not possible to providea complete answer, as many callers opt not to provide addresses or other identitydetails. In addition, between the inception of Enquire in November 1999 and 30 June 2005 the Enquiredatabase did not store this information with rega…

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15630 by Peter Peacock on 15 April 2005, whether it has completed its review of Enquire and, if so, whether the findings have been published and what issues have arisen as a result of the review.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The report of the independentreview, carried out by the Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversityat Edinburgh University, is being finalised. The full evaluation report willbe available on the Executive website in due course.

2 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations Scottish Ministers have received from the Scottish Information Commissioner in respect of additional resources.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Scottish ministers have receivedno representations from the Scottish Information Commissioner in respect of additionalresources. The statutory responsibility for funding the Commissioner rests withthe Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

1 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for the Scottish Information Commissioner to consider and reach a decision on appeals made to him.

23 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the information it holds on the benefits of fiscal autonomy, financial independence and full fiscal power as referred to in its Brix note, Fiscal Autonomy, Financial Independence, Full Fiscal Power.

Answer · Tom McCabe: A decision not to publish theinformation is currently subject to review under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act2002.

23 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many briefing papers it holds, including previous versions, on the possible impact of fiscal autonomy, financial independence or full fiscal power.

Answer · Tom McCabe: <a name="se_IndexHeading"></a>Office of the Permanent Secretary Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive <a name=QuestionText>howmany briefing papers it holds, including previous versions, on the possible impact…

23 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions its officials have met to discuss the possible impact of fiscal autonomy, financial independence or full fiscal power in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not heldcentrally.