Parliamentary questions

Roseanna Cunningham

965 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether routine death inquiries and death inquires requiring further investigation, as referred to in target 9 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys, are (a) mutually exclusive or (b) taken…

Answer · Colin Boyd: Routine death inquiries and death enquiries requiring further investigation taken together mean all death enquiries.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of a death inquiry requiring further investigation, as referred to in target 9 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: A death enquiry requiring further investigation is defined as: a suspicious or violent death or any death in which the circumstances are such as to give rise to serious public concern; any death involving a vehicle, including aircraft, ship or train; <P…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of a routine death inquiry, as referred to in target 9 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: A routine death inquiry is one which does not require to be reported to Crown Office for Crown Counsel's instructions.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will retain its existing target for routine death inquiries in addition to its new target for death inquiries requiring further investigation, as referred to in target 9 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals…

Answer · Colin Boyd: No. The new target differs from the former targets in that there is now a target to conclude investigations in complex, rather than just in routine cases, as previously. Although we are not retaining a formal published target for routine cases, we expect proc…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whom it envisages will be surveyed in the customer satisfaction survey for the Victim Information and Advice Service, as referred to in target 8 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The survey will be sent to all victims with whom the Victim Information and Advice Service have had contact after their case is closed.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who will be responsible for developing the customer satisfaction survey for the Victim Information and Advice Service, as referred to in target 8 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Staff of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are drawing on external expert assistance as appropriate.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will define victims, as referred to in target 7 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Target 7 is to communicate bail decisions to 90% of victims in cases in which the accused has appeared from custody within 24 hours of the court decision. The target applies only where there is a Victim Information and Advice office (currently Aberdeen (inclu…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any maximum time limit for communicating court bail decisions to victims in the 10% of cases in which the accused has appeared from custody, as referred to in target 7 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Propo…

Answer · Colin Boyd: The target to communicate court bail decisions to victims was set at 90% in recognition of the fact that it may not always be possible to contact the victim within 24 hours. This might be because an incorrect address or no address is held for the victim. The …

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that resources are not diverted away from meeting statutory time limits for bringing cases to trial in order to meet its targets for the Crown Office, as referred to in target 6 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Bette…

Answer · Colin Boyd: Improvements in the management of cases and enhancements to our systems that are being made following the Pryce-Dyer Management Review are designed to ensure that the targets can be met without any cases failing to be dealt with within the statutory ti…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any target for serving indictments in the remaining 20% of sheriff and jury cases that involve bail, as referred to in target 6 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The remaining 20% of sheriff and jury cases that involve bail will be the more complex cases, where the time required to serve indictments is likely to vary substantially. No formal target has been set, except that an indictment must be served within the stat…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Crown Office target for issue of indictments, abandoned in 2000-01, is now being partially reinstated in target 6 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The target is being partially re-instated as it encourages the earlier indictment of cases and helps contribute to improving the speed at which cases pass through the criminal justice system.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the differences are between the target for issue of indictments used in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and the new target for issue of indictments and what the advantages are of the new target, as referred to in target 6 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a …

Answer · Colin Boyd: Target 6 is the same as the target for the issue of indictments used in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its present target for issue of indictments will continue to apply, in line with target 6 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The requirement to issue 100% of indictments within the statutory time limits will remain. Target 6 aims to help speed up the progress of cases through the criminal justice system by securing the earlier indictment of cases.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of indictments that involved bail, served in sheriff and jury cases, were served within nine months of the first appearance on petition in each year since 1999-2000.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The percentage of indictments that involved bail, served in sheriff and jury cases, that were served within nine months of the first appearance on petition in each year since 1999-2000, a period when the volume of solemn business was increasing, were:<TABLE B…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the public survey to monitor trends in public confidence in the prosecution service will not start until 2003-04, as referred to in target 3 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The public survey will not start until 2003-04 because thought needs to be given to the appropriate questions to ask, to ensure that national standards for quality control are applied properly in developing the survey.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what method will be used in the public survey to monitor trends in public confidence in the prosecution service, as referred to in target 3 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The public survey has yet to be devised. A measure of public confidence and the methodology to be used have yet to be decided.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any maximum period for action on the remaining 25% of crime reports, as referred to in target 2 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Other than compliance with any statutory time limits, there will be no maximum period for action on the remaining 25% of crime reports referred to in target 2 of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Section of Building a Better Scotland. Thes…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be "action" in respect of crime reports, as referred to in target 2 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Action is defined (1) as the marking decision taken by the procurator fiscal in respect of each crime report received, i.e. to prosecute, to issue a fiscal fine, to make a conditional offer, to issue a warning letter, to pass to the Reporter to the Children's…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets on the progress of cases through the criminal justice system will apply to agencies that report offences, as referred to in target 1 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buy…

Answer · Colin Boyd: Andrew Normand, the Crown Agent, has been commissioned by the Justice Minister and the Lord Advocate to propose measures to integrate the aims, objectives and targets of the principal agencies in the criminal justice system, comprising the police, Crown Offic…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets for the progress of cases through the criminal justice system will be in addition to the existing targets for the Crown Office, as referred to in target 1 in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why it is reducing the Scottish Court Service's budget by #2 million in 2005-06, as shown in the table in the justice section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Additional funds have been made available in 2004-05 to enable the Scottish Court Service to accommodate pressures in its capital programme while facilitating the introduction of new court technology and improve access to the court estate to a level which wil…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28770 by Mr Jim Wallace on 19 September 2002, whether it receives information on the number of staff leaving HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs of education services were in each prison operated by the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The Scottish Prison Service established new contractual arrangements for education service delivery from April 2000. The following table provid…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its contracts for education services in each prison operated by the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The provision of education service in prison is complex. Some suppliers have contracted for a single site provision. Other contractors operate …

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to answer each of questions S1W-24120, S1W-24629, S1W-25174 and S1W-25568.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The answers to questions S1W-24120, S1W-24629 and S1W-25174 were not costed. Regarding the answer to question S1W-25568, I refer the member to …

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to audit recorded crime figures supplied by police forces and ensure such figures are recorded correctly following the recommendation in HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland Annual Report 2001-02.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Audit visits to police forces are made by members of the Scottish Executive crime statistics team to monitor police recording practice and confirm that the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) guidance set out in the Criminal Statistics Ha…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a table showing the number of people under 21 with a charge proved, for whom the disposal of the court was (a) custody in a young offenders institution, (b) detention of a child, (c) an insanity or hospital order, (d) a community service order, (e) probation, (f) …

Answer · Jim Wallace: The available information is given in the following tables. Information for 2001 is not expected to be available until around November this year.Males Aged Under 21 with a Charge Proved, by Age and Type of Sentence, 1996-2000<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CEL…

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons were proceeded against under section 142 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 in each of the last five years, broken down by age and sheriff court district.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Proceedings under section 142 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 cannot be separately identified in the data held centrally.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27863 by Mr Jim Wallace on 21 August 2002, whether the records kept by the Scottish Prison Service Incident Reporting Procedures for HM Prison Kilmarnock show the numbers of (a) serious, (b) minor and (c) no injury assaults separately from each other.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No.

23 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27013 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 July 2002, when the errors in the answer to question S1W-26060 in connection with performance points accrued by the operating company of HM Prison Kilmarnock were corrected; in what document the errors were corrected, an…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The error was acknowledged and corrected in the answer given to question S1W-26494 on 20 June 2002, which is in the public domain. All answers …