Parliamentary questions
Alex Neil
3,059 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current status is of the criminal investigation into the murder of Marion Ross in Kilmarnock in 1997.
Answer · Colin Boyd: The murder of Marion Ross inKilmarnock in 1997 has been investigated by Strathclyde Police. However, they willexamine any further information that becomes available.</p>
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all cases where it has been accepted by the Crown Office that a miscarriage of justice has taken place since 1965; what payments have been awarded in each such case; how much was claimed in each case, and in how many of these cases the amount demanded by the pursuer o…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Section 133 of the CriminalJustice Act 1988 provides that the Scottish ministers shall pay compensation incases where a conviction is reversed on the ground that a new or newlydiscovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriageof j…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases there have been where fingerprint evidence prepared or presented by the Scottish Criminal Record Office has been withheld or withdrawn in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Fingerprint evidence isprepared at the request of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service(COPFS). The decision about the use of this evidence is a matter for COPFS. the Scottish Criminal Record Office know of two cases in the last 10 years wherethe rel…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all public inquiries which have been commissioned since 1960 in Scotland relating to matters of a criminal nature, giving the dates, terms of reference, use of judges and others from other jurisdictions outwith Scotland and indicating whether the decision of the Lord …
Answer · Colin Boyd: There is no central record of public inquiries so far as we are aware. There has been no public inquiry which has looked at the decision of the Lord Advocate whether or not to prosecute.</p> <p>In 1959, a tribunal was established under the Tribunals of Inquir…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines exist for guaranteeing the independence of the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General from political interference in their judicial decisions and whether these will be published.
Answer · Colin Boyd: The independence of the Lord Advocate is enshrined in section 48 of the Scotland Act 1998. This independence is fundamental to the role of the Lord Advocate as head of the system of criminal prosecution in the public interest. It is a cornerstone of any democ…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Cabinet meetings the current Solicitor General has attended (a) for the duration of the meeting or (b) for part of the meeting; and how many times she has spoken at Cabinet on (i) specifically legal matters and (ii) political matters.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Solicitor General will attendCabinet when the Lord Advocate is not able to do so.</p><p>Information relating to the proceedingsof the Scottish Cabinet is considered exempt from disclosure under Sections 29 (a)and (b) and 30(a) and (b) of the Freedom of In…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Cabinet meetings have taken place since May 1999; how many of these the current Lord Advocate has attended (a) for the duration of the meeting or (b) for part of the meeting either in his capacity as Solicitor General or Lord Advocate, and how many times he has spoken at Cabinet …
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The dates when the Scottish Cabinethas met since 1999 are available under the Cabinet-related information providedon the Scottish Executive website.</p><p>The Lord Advocate is not a memberof the Scottish Cabinet but usually attends Cabinet each week to provid…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the current Solicitor General’s (a) membership of any political party, (b) financial contributions to any political party and (c) attendance at meetings of any political party since May 1997.
Answer · Colin Boyd: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the current Lord Advocate’s (a) membership of any political party, (b) financial contributions to any political party and (c) attendance at meetings of any political party since May 1997.
Answer · Colin Boyd: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions hospitals have been forced to close to new emergency admissions due to a lack of beds in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested isnot available centrally.</p><p>The majority of temporaryclosures to new admissions occur when a hospital is under particularly severepressure, for example due to a substantial increase in emergency admissionsduring the winter month…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many elective surgical cancellations there have been in hospitals in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on the number of cancellations, prior to in-patient and day case admission in selected surgical specialties by health board area and hospital for the years ending 31 March 2000-05 is shown in table 1.</p><p>Table 1: Cancellation of Planned Admissi…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency admissions there have been to hospitals in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Table 1a</p><p>Emergency In-Patient Discharges from Acute (Non-Obstetric, Non-Psychiatric) Hospitals; Year Ending 31 March 2001 to 2005</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>NHS Board of Treatment</p> </td> <td colspan=…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22728 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 February 2006, whether this answer indicates that the Scottish Prison Service is unable to determine the amount of taxpayers’ money saved by placing prisoners in open prisons rather than regular prisons.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SPS considers, for the reasonsset out in the answer to question S2W-22728, on 8 February 2006, that it is selfevident that costs…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22531 by Patricia Ferguson on 3 February 2006, whether this answer indicates that it considers Glasgow and Edinburgh to be “world cities”.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: As I stated in my previous answer, the Scottish Executive is aware that several of our major cities, of which Glasgow and Edinburgh are two, have world class facilities. As I stated in my response to S2W-22466 on 31 January 2006, the IOC have given no definit…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22531 by Patricia Ferguson on 3 February 2006, how this indicates whether it shares the view of the International Olympic Committee that being a “world city” is a prerequisite for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive agrees that it is necessary for cities wishing to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games to meet certain requirements. It also agrees that this is for the International Olympic Committee to consider.</p>
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22531 by Patricia Ferguson on 3 February 2006, why it now does not rule out a bid for a Scottish city to host the Olympics in future when it has previously stated that no Scottish city was in a position to do so and that the Olympic Games and Paralym…
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: As I said in response to S2W-17566,answered on 18 July 2005, it was presently only feasible for a UK Olympic Games to be held in London. As Scotland’s sports facilities and infrastructure continue to improve that position will change.</p> <p>As I said in resp…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22025 by Tavish Scott on 10 February 2006, how it will expedite the delivery of the new car park at Croy railway station.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Strathclyde Passenger TransportAuthority is working with First ScotRail to deliver the car park extension at Croyrailway station. I have made clear that I expect the project to be completed bythe end of March 2007, since there is no budgetary provision beyond…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of unbiased information about education and career opportunities in science have been developed or established since 2001.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Careers Scotland supportsthe career planning needs of individuals across Scotland. Professional Careers Advisersoffer impartial guidance and support to young people and are trained to recognisethe diversity of opportunities and to challenge stereotyping.</p><…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since 2001 in establishing courses in science communication and how many students have enrolled on such courses in each year since 2001.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is committedto promoting science communication education. Whilst institutions are individuallyresponsible for the content and nature of courses on offer, there is evidence thatprogress is being made by a range of differenttraining provi…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since 2001 in ensuring that all higher education science courses provide opportunities to acquire business skills and work experience.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Funding Council are committed to promoting entrepreneurial education andencouraging higher education institutions to provide opportunities for studentsto obtain work experience and business skills However, institutions …
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what date it commissioned Future Skills Scotland to analyse the supply and demand for people with different levels of science qualifications and when and where the full results of the analysis were published.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: My officials asked FutureskillsScotland to investigate the supply and demand for scientists, engineers and mathematiciansin Scotland as part of its 2005-07 workplan. A project steering groupincluding representatives from the Scottish Executive, FutureSkills S…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who set up the inquiry in 1965, popularly known as the Thurso Boy Inquiry, and what its terms of reference were.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The tribunal was appointed bythe Secretary of State for Scotland on 18 February 1959 under the Tribunals of Inquiry(Evidence) Act 1921. Its remit was to inquire into the allegation of assault onJohn Waters by members of Caithness police on 7 December 1957.The…
27 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current Lord Advocate was a member of any political party prior to his appointment as Solicitor General in May 1999 and, if so, which party.
23 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to investigate the reports in the press that Federal Bureau of Investigation officials requested that David Grieve not give evidence in defence of Shirley McKie at the trial in which she was acquitted of having committed perjury in 1999 and what the reasons are for its …
Answer · Colin Boyd: There is no basis for me orany other Scottish Minister to instruct an investigation into these reports. The comments in the press attributed to Mr Grievesuggest that he believed there to be a link between the Shirley McKie andLockerbie prosecutions. There is …
23 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the Shirley McKie case.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: None.</p>
23 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs were to it of legal representation which it sought in defence of the claim for compensation against it by Shirley McKie.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The final costs will be determined when the court resolves the outstanding issues in relation to expenses.</p>
22 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for refusing companies grants under the regional selective assistance scheme, if jobs are likely to be created regardless of any such grant.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The purpose of regional selective assistance (RSA) is to support viable projects that will strengthen the employment base but might not, without support, take place within the Assisted Areas of Scotland, those areas designated for regional aid under European …
22 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it an appropriate use of public funds to award HSBC a grant worth £1 million under the regional selective assistance scheme, in light of the size of the company’s net income.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Yes. regional selectiveassistance (RSA) can be used to support businesses of all sizes provided projectssatisfy the criteria of the scheme. The criteria include demonstrating the needfor assistance to make the project happen in an assisted area rather than el…
10 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement made by the then Minister for Justice on 22 June 2000 on the Scottish Criminal Records Office (Official Report, c. 681) what the conclusions and outcome were of the report commissioned.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The then Deputy FirstMinister and Minister for Justice’s statement concerned an inspection of the ScottishCriminal Record Office (SCRO) Fingerprint Bureau by Her Majesty’s ChiefInspector of Constabulary (HMIC). The inspection began on 20 March 2000. On 22 Jun…
10 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20247 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 November 2005, whether the material which is the subject of the dispute between the Aberdeen Fingerprint Bureau and the Scottish Criminal Records Office has been peer reviewed or independently assessed at any time; if so,…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The fingerprint mark which was the subject of the report by three members of the Aberdeen Bureau of the Scottish Fingerprint Service has been reviewed and independently assessed by a number of people over the last nine years. Experts have reached different co…