Euan Robson

13 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to exempt weaponry of an historic nature from legislation to control knife crime and, if so, how.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Existing legislation on knives and swords already provides for exclusions or exemptions for antique weapons and weapons with blades for religious, cultural or historic purposes. The Executive has no plans, in bringing forward proposals to strengthen legislati…

13 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether records are kept of crimes involving the use of swords or claymores rather than knives and, if so, whether it will publish relevant figures for the last 10 years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The statistics availablecentrally on crimes recorded by the police do not distinguish the circumstancesof the crime, such as the type of any weapon involved.</p>

9 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a statutory duty to replace common or public land used for recreational purposes where a trunk road is constructed on such land and, if so, on whom that duty falls and what the statutory reference is.

Answer · Tavish Scott: There is no statutory duty on the Scottish ministers to replace public land which has been used for road building.</p>

16 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any relevant information on the cessation of skin preparation before injection as a possible contributing factor in the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

Answer · Andy Kerr: A literature review commissioned by the Scottish Executive is available on Health Protection Scotland’s (HPS) website:</p> <p><a href="http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/infectious/hai/infection_control/ic_guidance_publications.htm">http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk…

16 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the recent cessation of skin preparation before injection is a contributing factor in the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

Answer · Andy Kerr: In June 2004, the Scottish Executive asked Health Protection Scotland (HPS) to conduct a literature review of published scientific studies on this issue. Its findings are re-evaluated when new studies are published. In light of the evidence gathered to date, …

27 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the measures taken to raise the awareness of (a) general practitioners and (b) NHS staff in respect of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Answer · Andy Kerr: In 2001, the Chief Medical officer wrote to all NHS boards, Directors of Public Health and former NHS trusts to draw attention to the leaflet <i>Carbon Monoxide: the forgotten killer</i> produced by Scottish Gas. British Gas also directly distributed over 1.4…

27 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the resources available to statutory, private or voluntary organisations to publicise the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.</p>

27 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Health and Safety Executive to publicise the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and in what manner.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive and The Health and Safety Executive are in regular discussion about a range of health and safety issues including the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.</p>

28 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish its draft Freedom of Information Bill.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I can today announce the publication of the Executive's consultation paper <I>Freedom of Information - Consultation on Draft Legislation </I>as the next stage in bringing forward a distinctive and effective Scottish freedom of information regime.<P>The consul…

7 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities it will make available to enable members of the public in rural areas to contact route managers about matters relating to trunk roads, including complaints, from 1 April 2001.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The new contracts will have a national free phone customer contact number from 1 April to allow members of the public to raise issues related to the operation and safety of the trunk road network. The number will be advertised on signs positioned at strategic…

2 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to remove the power of Scottish Ministers to alter the security categorisation of prisoners and invest such power in another place; if so, in what place and whether it will introduce amendments to the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Jim Wallace: There are currently no plans to do so.

2 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 26 transferred life prisoners in Scotland are categorised as (a) unrestricted in terms of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997, (b) unrestricted and transferred from jurisdictions where the government is not a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, (c) restricted…

Answer · Jim Wallace: Five life prisoners were transferred on an unrestricted basis and seven on a restricted basis under the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. 13 life prisoners were transferred on a permanent basis under section 26(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1961, which preceded th…

2 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the members of the Parole Board for Scotland, giving their age and length of service.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The names and length of service of those currently serving on the Parole Board for Scotland are listed in the table. Data protection legislation does not permit disclosure of the ages of those concerned without their consent having first been obtained. <TABLE…

12 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses were repossessed through the courts in each year from 1990 to 2000 in (a) Scotland and (b) each court.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is not available. Data is collected with respect to the number of repossession orders granted by the courts, but not in respect of the number of houses which are actually repossessed.

12 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice is given to Sheriffs on equal opportunities issues and whether advice similar to that in the Equal Treatment Bench Book, recently produced for judges in England and Wales by the Judicial Studies Board with the support of the Lord Chancellor, will be made available to Sheriffs.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Responsibility for judicial training rests with the independent Judicial Studies Committee who are currently considering equal treatment issues with a view to issuing guidance to Sheriffs.

3 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the clear-up rate of recorded crimes was (a) in each category of crime and (b) in total for (i) each police force and (ii) Scotland in 1979, 1987 and in each year since 1992.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information requested is given in the table.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crimes cleared up by the police as a percentage of those recorded <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=588><TR><TD WIDTH="29%" VALIGN="TOP" BGCOLOR="#ffffff" HEIGHT=17><FONT FACE="A…

3 Jan 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the development of its strategy to address problems arising from timber traffic.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I hope to visit areas affected shortly to see problems at first hand and thereafter to work with local authorities, forestry and freight interests and road safety experts to examine practical ways of responding to this issue.

11 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments has responsibility for emission levels of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department has general responsibility for issues associated with sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide in Scotland.

11 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments has responsibility for, or an interest in, the emission level of methane into the environment.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department has general responsibility for issues associated with emissions of methane in Scotland.

6 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by (a) central government and (b) local government on crime prevention in each year since 1979.

Answer · Iain Gray: The following expenditure has been incurred by the Scottish Executive in support of crime prevention measures in the financial years 1986-87 to 1999-2000. Separate figures for expenditure on crime prevention prior to these years are not available. The increas…

6 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when public satisfaction with police services was last surveyed, what the results were and what plans it has to conduct any future surveys.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The results of the year 2000 Scottish Crime Survey were published recently by the Scottish Executive's Central Research Unit. A representative sample of the Scottish public were interviewed about a range of crime-related topics including their attitudes to th…

6 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have left the service in each year since 1990.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information is provided in the following table:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=425><TR><TD WIDTH="35%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=36><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="CENTER">Year</TD><TD WIDTH="65%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=36><FONT FACE="Arial" SI…

6 Dec 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new recruits entered the police force in each year since 1980 and what the projected numbers of new recruits are for those future years for which figures are available, broken down by police force.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The available information is shown in the following table:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Number of New Recruits to the Scottish Police Service<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=444><TR><TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="CENTER">Year</TD><TD WIDTH="23%" V…

25 Oct 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I met with representatives of The Scottish Fishermen's Federation in Aberdeen on 30 October. The main issue discussed was the conservation of fish stocks and, in particular, the experience to date with the use of square mesh panels.

18 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will answer question S1W-6361 lodged on 26 April 2000.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: PQ S1W-6361 was answered substantively on 20 October 2000.

27 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6777 by Susan Deacon on 9 June 2000, what progress has been made on developing a national leaflet to provide advice to schools and parents on the treatment of headlice and when the leaflet will be published.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The development of a national leaflet on headlice will be taken forward later this year.

14 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider, either on its own or in co-operation with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, funding safety testing of cross loaded timber carrying vehicles by the Transport Research Laboratory.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the safe loading of road vehicles and has no plans to fund the safety testing of cross loaded timber carrying vehicles.

14 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is guidance on any kind of part cross loading of vehicles carrying timber such as, for example, where three sections of logs are loaded on to an articulated vehicle and the middle section only is cross loaded.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The safe loading of road vehicles and any related guidance are matters reserved to the Westminster Parliament.

14 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any statements or issued any guidance since 1 July 1999 on the cross loading of vehicles carrying timber.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has not made any statements or issued any guidance on the cross-loading of vehicles carrying timber. Matters relating to the safe loading of road vehicles are reserved to the Westminster Parliament.

30 Aug 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has prepared any contingency plans to deal with the possibility of the USA imposing tariffs on Scottish goods as a result of the US Carousel Act of May 2000.

Answer · Henry McLeish: We have been working closely through Scottish Trade International with the Scotland Office and the Department of Trade and Industry, to do all we can to avert the threat of US tariffs. We will continue to lobby hard until this dispute is resolved.