Parliamentary questions

Pauline McNeill

2,367 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure consistency of approach by police forces and the sharing of best practice in tackling offences against cash and valuables in transit workers in different parts of Scotland.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are agreed procedures throughout all Scottish police forces in respect of police action when dealing with vehicles carrying high-risk loads. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) chairs a Scottish cash-in transit working …

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by police forces specifically to reduce the incidence of offences against cash and valuables in transit workers.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This is an operational matter for relevant chief constables.

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with the banking industry about reducing cash and valuables in transit offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No discussions with the banking industry have taken place. However, we have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how …

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities about reducing cash and valuables in transit offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No such discussions with local authorities have taken place. However, we have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on ho…

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government about reducing cash and valuables in transit offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No such discussions have taken place. However, we have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business c…

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with trades unions representing cash and valuables in transit workers about reducing the number of offences committed against drivers and operatives.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Minister for Police and Community Safety wrote to GMB Scotland on 7 February encouraging them to discuss their concerns through the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland Cash-in Transit Working Group.

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that offences against cash and valuables in transit workers are comprehensively recorded and classified.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Financial Crime Group (SFCG) monitors offences against and cash and valuables in transit workers through the British Security Industry Association. They pay particular attention to any migration/displacement of such crimes and any local and regio…

20 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences took place in Scotland in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007 involving cash and valuables in transit, broken down by (i) type of offence and (ii) local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

8 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what ministerial visits have been undertaken by Scottish ministers in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency since 17 May 2007, broken down by portfolio, venue and date, and which other MSPs or ministers were in attendance at each such event.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is listed below: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td valign=top > Minister </td> <td valign=top > Location </td> <td valign=top > <…

8 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of cases have transferred from the high court to the sheriff court in each year since the Criminal Procedure Amendment (Scotland) Act 2004 came into force.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Section 3 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 was amended by the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 on 1 May 2004 and increased the maximum sentencing powers of the sheriff, sitting with a jury from three to five years imprisonment, meaning th…

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the extension of bail supervision schemes is restricted to certain categories of accused persons.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The £500,000 investmentin bail supervision recently announced and the updated guidelines issued extendslightly the categories of accused identified as priorities for this measure. Theguidelines suggest priority for those with mental health problems, women acc…

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the extension of bail supervision schemes restricts the freedom of sheriffs to determine who is suitable for bail supervision.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No. The updated guidelinesfor supervised bail identify certain priority groups for this measure but subjectto considerations of public safety and capacity issues do not preclude other accusedfrom being granted supervised bail. The decision on whether an accus…

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the review of HM Prison Castle Huntly will be conducted and who will be involved in it.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The review undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service will be in two parts. It will consider the individual circumstancesof the decision…

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a ministerial statement on the open prison system and on HM Prison Castle Huntly in particular.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I will consider the requirementfor a ministerial statement when I have seen the review currently being undertakenby the Scottish Prison Service.

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is delaying the implementation of ending unconditional automatic early release until the Scottish Prison Commission has reported.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We remain committed to thedelivery of our offender management strategy but we must ensure that any changedoes not compound current problems of unrelenting pressure on high prisonnumbers and put intolerable pressures on prisons, courts and community justiceser…

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The information you requested is not available, because we do not hold information on the start date of the trial.

25 Jan 2008 · Written Question

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked MikeEwart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond.His response is asfollows:The information yourequested is not available, because we do not hold information on the start dateof the trial.

18 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Review of Civil Judicial Statistics Advisory Board last met and when it will publish its recommendations.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Project Board for the Reviewof Civil Judicial Statistics last met on 13 April 2006.Correspondence with the board has occurred since this meeting via email, with themost recent communication taking place during summer 2007.As part of the review, res…

18 Jan 2008 · Written Question

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The forecast liability for policepensions depends on assumptions about the numbers of police officers who actuallyretire when they are entitled to assumptions made about police rates of pay andestimates of pension entitlements. As a result, the forecasts can …

18 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has done to establish the number of cases under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 where contact with a parent has been agreed but not implemented.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: These figures are not availablecentrally. However, the Scottish Court Service (SCS) is working with Justice AnalyticalServices to improve the accuracy and level of detail of the civil judicial statisticsit collects, and as part of this work SCS has recently b…

18 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure parents seeking contact with children under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 have the appropriate support.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Support is provided tofamilies experiencing difficulties with contact issues through funding of thefour national family support organisations - Relate Scotland, Family MediationScotland, Stepfamily Scotland and Scottish Marriage Care - as well as 13 localfami…

18 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has undertaken on establishing pilot schemes for the appointment of court facilitators, as promised as part of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The proposed pilot projects wereto run in two sheriff courts and therefore agreement was reached with relevant sheriffson the terms of reference. Voluntary sector bodies - Scottish Women’s Aid, FamiliesNeed Fathers and Children 1st - were given the opportunit…

18 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in establishing pilot schemes on the appointment of court facilitators to help to increase contact with children in Scottish courts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Pilot projects to place a FamilyContact Facilitator in two sheriff courts were developed and terms of referenceagreed with sheriffs. Unfortunately, the procurement exercise did not attract atender which met the specifications. It was therefore not possible to…

14 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-6928 by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2007, when monies will transfer from the Safer Communities budget to NHS boards.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-7911 on 17 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

14 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-6928 by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2007, exactly how much of the Safer Communities budget which relates to drugs misuse will transfer to NHS boards in each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We intend to allocate the majorityof resources in the Drugs Misuse budget within the Justice portfolio for the period2008-09 to 2010-11 to health boards to fund drug treatment and rehabilitation services,with a small amount being retained to fund centrally de…

5 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate the success of the Glasgow free school meals pilot and what the timescale for evaluation and report will be.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We have appointedIPSOS Mori to conduct an independent evaluation of the free school meal trial forprimary 1 to 3 pupils. We will take into account the findings of the evaluationincluding the change in uptake of free school meals by primary 1 to 3 pupils andan…

26 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what training is planned or has been undertaken for JPs prior to business being transferred to the new JP courts in Grampian Highlands and Islands.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: During the last threemonths almost all JPs throughout Scotland, including thosein Grampian Highland and Islands, have undertaken a three day course of residentialtraining organised by the Judicial Studies Committee.Since 10 December 2007, planning and …

26 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when business will be transferred from sheriff courts serving Grampian Highlands and Islands to new JP courts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: JP courts will beestablished in Grampian Highland and Islands when the existingdistrict courts come under the management of the Scottish Court Service. We expect this to happen in June 2008.Business will be transferredfrom sheriff courts to JP and dist…

26 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the decision to unify the courts in Grampian Highlands and Islands, who will make the decision to move business from sheriff courts to the new JP courts.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The CrownOffice and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is the sole public prosecution authorityin Scotland. It is for the Procurator Fiscalto decide, in the public interest, on the appropriate summary court where prosecution in court is merited. As ismade clea…

23 Nov 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to increase the number of community wardens.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-6929 on 29 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…