Parliamentary questions

Roseanna Cunningham

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

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Council of Ministers of the European Union with regard to ensuring that the rule of Scots law preventing imprisonment before trial for more than 110 days is preserved or a similar limitation on imprisonment is included in the implementation of the E…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer to the member to the answer given to question S1W-23443.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what commitments it has obtained from the European Commission with regard to ensuring that the rule of Scots law preventing imprisonment before trial for more than 110 days is preserved or a similar limitation on imprisonment is included in the implementation of the European arrest warran…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23443.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the European Commission with regard to ensuring that the rule of Scots law preventing imprisonment before trial for more than 110 days is preserved or a similar limitation on imprisonment is included in the implementation of the European arrest warrant.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23443.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what commitments it has obtained from Her Majesty's Government with regard to ensuring that the rule of Scots law preventing imprisonment before trial for more than 110 days is preserved or a similar limitation on imprisonment is included in the implementation of the European arrest warra…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23443.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government with regard to ensuring that the rule of Scots law preventing imprisonment before trial for more than 110 days is preserved or a similar limitation on imprisonment is included in the implementation of the European arrest warrant.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23443.

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that the rule of Scots law preventing imprisonment before trial for more than 110 days is preserved or a similar limitation on imprisonment is included in the implementation of the European arrest warrant.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Under present extradition arrangements with European member states, the 110-day rule does not apply to a fugitive committed to custody in Scotland pending a decision as to their extradition but it applies to fugitives extradited to Scotland once they have bee…

18 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated number is of summary criminal cases now unable to proceed as a result of the decision in Shaun George Reynolds v Procurator Fiscal, Linlithgow on 14 February 2002, broken down by sheriffdom.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: It is not possible to provide any reliable estimate because there are several possible permutations of circumstances and the outcome in each case will depend on the precise circumstances applicable in the individual case. Even if an existing complaint cannot …

6 Feb 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions there have been with Audit Scotland to ensure that performance indicator comparisons made across all police forces and fire brigades are accurate and consistent.

Answer · Richard Simpson: Scottish Executive officials meet regularly with Audit Scotland through two Working Groups on Performance Indicators, one for the fire service and one for police service. The concerns about consistency and accuracy which the member raises fall to be dealt wit…

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports of river pollution have been made to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency; how many such reports resulted in a prosecution, and what the verdicts and disposals were in respect of such prosecutions, in each of the past five years.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The information requested is not held centrally. Information on some successful prosecutions is published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on its website, at:<P><A HREF="http://www.sepa.org.uk/data/prosecutions/">http://www.sepa.org.uk/data/prose…

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts, and to what value, it has awarded to (a) Arthur Andersen, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young, (d) KPMG and (e) PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year since 1997.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive does not keep a central record of contracts placed by individual departments and agencies with particular suppliers. However, the value of payments made in each year is set out in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WID…

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a list of all employees of (a) Arthur Andersen, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young, (d) KPMG and (e) PricewaterhouseCoopers who have been seconded to work for it in each year since 1997.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested can be found in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=453><TR><TD WIDTH="38%" VALIGN="TOP"> </TD><TD WIDTH="10%" VALIGN="TOP"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">1997</TD><TD WIDTH="10%" VA…

24 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) continuing and (b) welfare powers of attorney have been submitted to the Public Guardian since the coming into force of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000; how many were rejected at first instance, and what the reasons were for these rejections, broken down by cat…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>According to information held by the Office of the Public Guardian, the number of cases in each category as at 24 January 2002 are as follows: <TA…

7 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanism is in place to prevent a conflict of interest arising when solicitors employed by the civil service receive instructions in the same matter from both the Lord Advocate and the Advocate General.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Lord Advocate and the Advocate General are supported by separate civil service offices. There is no joint office which works for both of them. No question of conflict of interest therefore arises.

24 Dec 2001 · Written Question

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-20320 answered on 18 December 2001.

24 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new offences have been created in Scots law since 1 July 1999 to date (a) by Westminster legislation under reserved powers, (b) by Westminster legislation with consent of the Scottish Parliament in devolved areas and (c) by Acts of the Scottish Parliament.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive does not keep a record of Westminster legislation creating UK or GB offences. Since 1 July 1999, 16 Acts have been passed at Westminster with the consent of the Scottish Parliament in respect of devolved areas. In the same time there have been 2…

24 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office has any special procedures in place for any prosecution of (a) the First Minister, (b) a Scottish minister and (c) an MSP of a governing party.

Answer · Colin Boyd: By convention such cases would be dealt with by Procurators Fiscal and Crown Counsel without reference to the Law Officers.

14 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20329 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 2001, what the turnover of (a) uniformed and (b) non-operational staff has been at each Scottish Prison Service prison expressed as (i) number of leavers and (ii) percentage of total staff in each of the last fiv…

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The available information is:<P>(a) Operational Staff<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=538><TR><TD WIDTH="21%" VALIGN="MIDDLE" HE…

12 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money in the form of grants from the Forestry Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage has been paid to the owners of Glen Feshie Estate in the Cairngorms since 1967.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Scottish Natural Heritage, which was founded in 1992, and its predecessor bodies have not awarded any grants to the owners of Glenfeshie Estate.<P>The Forestry Commission whose records date back to 1976 has awarded grants as follows;<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=…

31 Oct 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Scottish Prison Service and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The last key meeting was on 24 October when Iain Gray and I met with members of the Prisons Board at a reception at Edinburgh Castle which recognised exceptional work across a range of areas carried out by Scottish Prison Service (SPS) staff. SPS officials ha…

30 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what factors lead to a patient being classified as high-risk for the purposes of podiatry and chiropody.

Answer · Susan Deacon: It is not possible to list all the high risk factors which would lead to referral for chiropody/podiatry. It is up to the individual clinician to determine the clinical priority based on their assessment of the patient.

30 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average waiting times are for podiatry and chiropody services for (a) high-risk patients and (b) non high-risk patients, broken down by health board.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The treatment of patients by a podiatrist or chiropodist is generally undertaken in a primary care setting by the Community Chiropody Service (CCS), or at sessions at NHSScotland hospitals, clinics or other health service facilities staffed by Professions All…

11 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17713 by Mr Jim Wallace on 19 September 2001, how many people have been (a) arrested and (b) charged under section 50A of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 in each year since the Act came into force.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Information on the numbers of people arrested and charged by the police is not held centrally. The number of offences under section 50A of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, recorded by the police, was four in 1998, 386 in 1999 and 917 in 2…

11 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of the report The Public Defence Solicitors' Office in Edinburgh: An Independent Evaluation, giving a breakdown of the costs for (a) research, including researchers' fees, (b) printing and production and, (c) time expended by (i) the Central Research Unit and (ii) …

Answer · Iain Gray: The total contract for the evaluation of the public defender system was £362,115 across the 30 months of the project. Researcher's fees are not separately identified in this total since the contract costs were primarily for the engagement of the research team…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was made available to each prison for "home leave" in each year since 1997 and how much money was actually spent.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The table shows the expenditure on "home leave" in each financial year since 1997-98.<P>The original budget details for these years a…

1 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints by inmates have been received regarding levels of drug misuse in prisons in each year since 1997, broken down by prison.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>This information is not collected in the form requested. However, details of prisoners' complaints by prison and by the most common subjects ra…

25 Apr 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Justice last met the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I periodically meet with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to discuss matters affecting the Service. My last such meeting was on Monday 30 April 2001.

16 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Crown Office Quality and Practice Review of Road Traffic Deaths will be published.

Answer · Colin Boyd: A summary of the findings and recommendations will be published before the end of April.

28 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the facilities in Scotland which provide supported accommodation for people with learning difficulties who need full-time permanent care, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish Homes produced a supported accommodation database, SCOTSPEN, in March 1999 reflecting the provision of supported accommodation as at 31 March 1998. The database is the result of a national census of supported accommodation providers. It provides info…

27 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many contraventions of Article 9 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 have resulted in criminal proceedings in each year from 1995 to present, in total and broken down by Sheriffdom.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Figures on the number of prosecutions for the relevant offence under section 23 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 cannot, from the information held centrally, be separately identified from those for other offences under Town and Country Pla…

15 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many legal staff are currently employed in non-operational legal work in the Quality and Practice Review Unit, categorised by (a) grade and (b) number of years of service in the Crown Office or Procurator Fiscal Service.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Legal staff currently employed in the Quality and Practice Review Unit comprise: <P>Head of Unit, who is a member of the Senior Civil Service, and two Principal Deputes. All have more than 10 years service.