Parliamentary questions

Gil Paterson

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

7 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place at present to prevent known sex offenders from relocating to avoid registration on the sex offenders register.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Under the Sex Offenders Act 1997, sex offenders liable for registration have to inform the police when they move house or if they stay at an address for more than 14 days. Failure to do so is an offence.

7 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to amend the Sex Offenders Act 1997.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill currently before the UK Parliament will strengthen the existing regime to include:<UL><LI>initial registration in person within 72 hours;</LI><LI>powers for t…

3 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take to prevent any possibility of the Violence Intervention Programme closing due to lack of funding.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Violence Intervention Programme is a local group. The Scottish Executive does not provide core funding for local groups, this is the responsibility of local authorities.

3 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to local authorities on projects they fund through the Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund regarding funding of projects working with men.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: All local authorities received the same application guidance for the Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund regardless of the nature of the project they wished to support. No specific guidance was issued regarding the funding of projects working with men.

3 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the money allocated to the Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund has been committed to programmes working with men.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: An award of £13,800 was made to the Edinburgh Domestic Violence Probation Programme, which works with abusive men. This money was match funded by Edinburgh City Council and is to be used to employ a Partner Worker to provide information, advice and support to…

3 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what projects or programmes it funds which work with men who have used domestic violence in the past or consider that they risk doing so in the future and what the current level of funding is of each.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: Various programmes are provided in prison and in the community by Criminal Justice Social Work Services to assist offenders convicted of or at risk of committing domestic violence. The Executive currently funds two projects specifically focused on offenders c…

20 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5858 by Mr Jack McConnell on 28 April 2000, what the timescale is for the publication of the Notes on Sections to the Scotland Act 1998 and why they have not yet been published.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive has made considerable progress towards publication of Notes on Sections. However, due to demands in other high priority areas, we are not yet in a position to publish the Notes but will do so as soon as possible. Copies will then be mad…

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list each (i) nursery school, (ii) primary school (iii) secondary school and (iv) further education college which have in place abuse prevention projects, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not held centrally.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities currently have abuse prevention programmes in use in educational settings.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: This information is not held centrally.

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce abuse prevention projects into schools, pre-school establishments and informal education centres and whether it will: (a) provide training for teachers and other staff in these settings on the implementation of these programmes; (b) fund the training and imp…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce abuse prevention projects into schools.All education authorities in Scotland have guidelines and procedures for child protection to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young peopl…

8 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to ensure that a review is conducted of the law on sexual offences similar to that set out in Setting the Boundaries issued by the Home Office in July 2000 and, if so, what the timescale is for this review and which organisations it intends to consult.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer to the answer I gave to question S1W-8945 on 18 August.

6 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8043 by Mr Jim Wallace on 31 August 2000, what date or approximate timescale is envisaged for announcing its decisions on the future of the Diversion from Prosecution scheme.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I announced my decision on the future of the Diversion from Prosecution scheme on 22 September.Diversion will be made available to procurators fiscal throughout Scotland as an alternative to prosecution from next January. The expanded schem…

5 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of alleged rape, in each of the last 10 years, in which a verdict of not guilty was returned and in which investigations were subsequently conducted into whether the allegations had been made, were the original complainants charged in relation to the making of false alle…

Answer · Jim Wallace: This information is not available.

5 Sep 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of alleged rape, in each of the last 10 years, in which a verdict of not guilty was returned were investigations subsequently made into whether the allegations had been made falsely and what percentage of cases in which not guilty verdicts were returned this number repre…

Answer · Jim Wallace: This information is not available.

4 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of the recent reports that CJD may be passed through sterilised dental equipment, it has any plans to investigate the possibility of any risk that the disease could be passed through equipment used in abattoirs.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Regulation of abattoirs is primarily within the remit of The Food Standards Agency. The Agency has informed me that the chances of infectivity entering an abattoir are very small. Checks operated by the Meat Hygiene Service ensure that each bovine animal ente…

28 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in (a) how many and (b) what percentage of rape cases where the accused people have represented themselves was a verdict of (i) not proven, (ii) not guilty and (iii) guilty returned.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information sought is not routinely collected and collation of this information would incur disproportionate costs.

28 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people accused of rape have chosen to represent themselves in court in each of the last ten years; what percentage of people accused of rape this represented in each year, and what percentage of people accused of other crimes represented themselves in each year, broken down by cr…

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information sought is not routinely collected and collation of this information would incur disproportionate costs.

28 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations were or will be consulted on The Development of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse and Recent Work in Scotland, the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland and the proposed Action Plan on the Prevention of Domestic Violence; whether any of these…

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The report The Development of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse and Recent Work in Scotland was not issued as a consultation paper but it did draw upon information gained from a questionnaire circulated by the Partnership to local authorities,…

15 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether domestic abuse offenders, sex offenders and child abusers will continue to be considered appropriate referrals for diversion from prosecution.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer Mr Paterson to the answer I gave to question S1W-8043 on 31 August 2000.

15 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of pilot schemes under the Diversion from Prosecution to Social Work and other Service Agencies pilot programme will be increased.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer Mr Paterson to the answer I gave to question S1W-8043 on 31 August 2000.

15 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to provide 100% funding to the Diversion from Prosecution to Social Work and other Service Agencies pilot programme.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive, in conjunction with Crown Office, is currently considering policy on Diversion from Prosecution following the evaluation of 18 pilot schemes. We hope to be in a position to make an announcement about the future of Diversion from Prosec…

7 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any consultation, studies and reports it has commissioned to date which deal with the issues of domestic violence and rape including details of the dates when they were or are expected to be published and the estimated costs of each.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Executive published a report on The Development of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse and Recent Work in Scotland in February 2000. Research and publication costs totalled £17,000. The report is available from the Stationery Office Bookshop…