Parliamentary questions
Christine Grahame
3,532 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18178 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2001, whether the definition of personal care contained in its guidance circular CCD 4/2002, which states that "food preparation and provision of meals are not included", contradicts the recommended definitio…
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive do not believe that there is any discrepancy between the Care Development Group Report, the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 schedule 1 and the subsequent guidance CCD/4/2002 issued to councils on the implementation of the …
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet representatives of Scottish Borders Council and Scottish Water, the Water Commissioner for Scotland and relevant MSPs to address the capacity of waste water treatment works in certain towns and villages in the Scottish Borders Council area.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28957 today. All answers to written PQs are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">http://www.sco…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how Scottish Water has re-prioritised its investment programme following the recent contamination of water supplies by the cryptospiridium bacterium.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Cryptosporidium Directions required Scottish Water to carry out a risk assessment on all its supplies and introduced sampling appropriate to the assessed risk. The Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) audits the requirements of the directions annually.…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether development is being delayed in the Scottish Borders Council area owing to lack of further sewerage capacity in some towns and villages and what action it is taking in respect of this matter.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The information requested is not held centrally. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28957 today. All answers to written PQs are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scotti…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will meet representatives of Scottish Borders Council to discuss the authority's concerns regarding lack of spare capacity in waste water treatment works in a number of settlements there, including Duns, Ayton, Earlston, Newtown St Boswells, Lauder, Stow, Peebles, West Linton and …
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive has been aware of the issues relating to constraints on water and waste water infrastructure for some time. A number of meetings were held earlier this year with representatives of the house building industry, the then water authorities, represe…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the remarks by the Deputy First Minister in the debate on Peebles Sheriff Court on 27 June 2002 (Official Report, col 13282), when the Scottish Court Service will issue the consultation paper on alternatives for the provision of court services in Peebles given that it was to b…
Answer · Jim Wallace: The consultation paper on the delivery of court services in the Peebles area is currently being finalised and should be issued by the end of September. It will be circulated to a wide range of bodies and individuals who have expressed an interest in this topi…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the quality of delivery of service in sheriff courts.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The ministerial targets set for the Scottish Court Service include targets relating to quality of service. Quality of service in the sheriff courts is measured by the percentage of sheriff courts achieving administrative standards agreed with the Sheriff Prin…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which courts do not currently have custody suites and what action is being taken to provide such suites.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>A number of rural courts have custody suites within the court building. Eleven rural sheriff courts do not have custody holding facilities within …
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration was given to the impact of (a) the imminent increase in the Small Claims level to #1,500 and Summary Cause level to #5,000 with an increase in representation by party litigants and (b) the proposed Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Bill on the proposals to rem…
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>All major new legislation is reviewed to identify resource implications for the Scottish Court Service. The impact of increasing the financial thr…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27460 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 August 2002, what criteria are applied to determine "level of business".
Answer · Jim Wallace: In determining the level of business conducted in any sheriff court consideration is given to the wide range of criminal and civil business which may be conducted in the court. This covers procedural hearings as well as those required for determining the case…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what special arrangements are being made to facilitate access for disabled people to all courts.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The Scottish Court Service is currently undertaking an audit of the Court estate to determine the scale and extent of work required throughout the…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what alternatives to facilitating access for disabled people to court-related matters have been considered for Peebles Sheriff Court.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The feasibility study, which was commissioned after the discovery of dry rot, was prepared with regard to the requirements of the Disability Discr…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities for access for disabled people there are in Lochmaddy, Tain, Dingwall and Portree Sheriff Courts.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Tain Sheriff Court has no facility to allow easy access for disabled persons. However Lochmaddy, Dingwall and Portree all have disabled access int…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are derogations from the requirement to provide access for disabled people in buildings to which the public have access and, if so, what these derogations are.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires that, from October 2004, service providers may have to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.<P>In Scotland, all new buildings…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any sheriff courts except Peebles where access for disabled people is still required, giving in each case the access requirements and the cost of providing such access.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, the Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The Scottish Court Service is currently assessing the scale and extent of the work required to bring the court up to the level of compliance r…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a bail hearing in respect of an indictable offence and a bail application in an appeal against a conviction on indictment should be heard in public and what action it is taking on this issue.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Where a person is accused on petition, all pre-trial procedures are held in private including the consideration of applications for bail. This is because bail applications are considered at hearings which also cover confidential matters.<P>Where a person conv…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue bail guidelines.
Answer · Jim Wallace: As indicated in the answer given to question S1W-28351 on 9 September 2002, the Executive does not issue guidelines to the judiciary on judicial matters. In Scotland, judicial decisions on bail are governed by the relevant legislation and case law.<P>The Lord…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funds have been (a) allocated to and (b) spent on bail schemes in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Funding allocated to local authorities for bail information and supervision schemes increased from £313,322 in 1999-2000, to £426,553 in 2000-01, £945,536 in 2001-02 and to £971,859 in 2002-03.<P>The expenditure for bail schemes in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 was £…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-8781 and S1W-9352 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 August and 12 September 2000 respectively, how many people had a charge proved relating to (a) house-breaking, (b) assault and robbery and (c) drug-related offences in Scotland in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) …
Answer · Jim Wallace: Information on persons with a charge proved in 1999 and 2000 where a bail aggravation was recorded in the sentence is included in Table 14 of the annual statistical bulletins Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts published for those years (Bib. numbers 1128…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) total budget and (b) underspend for HM Prison Cornton Vale has been in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02 and (iv) is in 2002-03 to date.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is contained in the following table.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=330><TR><TD WIDTH="31%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Financial Year</TD><TD WIDTH="23%" V…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been (a) allocated for and (b) spent on drug rehabilitation at HM Prison Cornton Vale in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02 and (iv) 2002-03 to date.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Due to the multiplicity of the tasks involved it is not possible to disaggregate funding allocation or spend.
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive with reference to the Autistic Spectrum Disorders Needs Assessment Report of December 2001, what progress has been made in regard to targeting funding for autistic spectrum disorder services throughout Scotland and, in particular, to local authorities.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Public Health Institute for Scotland's <I>Autistic Spectrum Disorders Needs Assessment Report</I>, published on 7 February 2002, recommended that resources for the systematic development of services for those with ASD should await completion of an audit o…
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether professionally trained staff working for local authorities who are engaged in determining care packages and services for adults with autistic spectrum disorder receive any specialised training in the disorder.
Answer · Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28757 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa. Th…
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether those delivering medical services within the Scottish Prison Service are trained in identifying and diagnosing autistic spectrum disorder.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20730 on 20 December 2001. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available …
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics are available in regard to the incidence of autistic spectrum disorder within the prison population.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>None.
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are applied to ensure the proper accreditation of service providers responsible for adults with autistic spectrum disorder and whether such criteria are uniform across the country.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Accreditation is a term that refers to the Autism Quality Audit and Accreditation Programme, run by the National Autistic Society. This supports and accredits services that cater for the needs of people with autistic spectrum disorder. Providers of such servi…
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the level of training to service providers for adults with autistic spectrum disorder.
Answer · Frank McAveety: <I>The same as you?</I> review of services for people with learning disabilities recognised the need to improve support for people with autistic spectrum disorder and recommended that local agencies should identify the training needs of front-line staff, to i…
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the findings of Professors Knapp and Jarbrink of the Centre for Economics of Mental Health that the average lifetime costs resulting from autism and associated learning difficulties is estimated to be #2,940,538 per person; what figure it estimates such lifetime co…
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive is aware of the findings of Professors Knapp and Jarbrink. It has not estimated the lifetime costs of people with autistic spectrum disorders, with or without associated learning disabilities.
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many adults are currently diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder and, if the information is unavailable, what steps it is taking to collect such information.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The information requested is not available centrally. The proposed learning disability database will include people with autistic spectrum disorders, but will not provide information on all individuals diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder since it is tho…
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Scottish Prison Service targets for standards of routine and psychiatric care as they apply to HM Prison and Young Offenders' Institution Cornton Vale, what steps it has taken in regard to the targets of (a) routine cases referred to psychiatrists within 4 weeks in …
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The factual information requested is not available. Discussions are on-going with Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust about how appropriate psy…