Questions · James Kelly

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the performance of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We have no plans to carry out a review of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission at this time. It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the commission as it has only been operational since October 2008 and transitional processes remain ongoing. <…

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the percentage of their time that police officers spent (a) on patrol and (b) dealing with paperwork in 2008-09 and 2009-10, broken down by police force.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for chief constables. The information requested is not held centrally.

18 Mar 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are in place to support doctors who take time out to visit schools and teach children about the dangers of knife-related crime.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is providing £80,000 in funding to support Medics Against Violence, a charity set up by three Scottish surgeons to tackle the problem of youth violence. They have recruited over 100 healthcare professionals who have pledged to voluntee…

11 Mar 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what reforms the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning plans to implement to address illiteracy and improve the standards of reading and writing in schools.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is committed to improving literacy for everyone in Scotland. Curriculum for Excellence has literacy at its heart and, for the first time, is now the responsibility of all teachers. It is designed to improve the quality of learning and …

9 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue, in association with organisations representing blind and partially sighted people and COSLA, a core list of community aids and equipment for blind and partially sighted people that all local authorities should provide.

Answer · Shona Robison: New guidance, issued on 1 December 2009, encourages local health and social care partnerships to agree the range of equipment and adaptations they will provide, for all care groups, including those with a sensory impairment, and the funding streams for these.…

9 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it (a) has considered or (b) would consider issuing formal guidance to local authorities on the types of aids and equipment that should be available to blind and partially sighted people.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Executive issued new guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations by NHS and local authority partnerships on 1 December 2009. This guidance is applicable to all care groups, including those with a sensory impairment. To accompa…

9 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any analysis has been conducted on the provision of aids and equipment to blind and partially sighted people and what its position is regarding the consistency in the provision of such items across local authorities.

Answer · Shona Robison: There has been no specific analysis of the provision of aids and equipment to blind or partially sighted people. The Scottish Government continues to work with our third sector partners in ensuring that people who require aids and equipment will receive appro…

9 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure consistency in the provision of aids and equipment to blind and partially sighted people.

Answer · Shona Robison: New guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations was issued on 1 December 2009. This guidance aims to promote a consistent approach to assessment of need, and the provision of appropriate services, including equipment and adaptations to all care gro…

8 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the procedure for recall of a direct measure mentioned by the Solicitor General in evidence to the Justice Committee on 26 January 2010 (Official Report c. 2661) has been used by Scottish courts since the coming into force of the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland)…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Court Service assumed responsibility for collection and enforcement of fiscal penalties (fines, compensation and a combination of both) as of 10 March 2008 by virtue of the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007. In evidence …

8 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fixed penalty notices have been issued in relation to antisocial behaviour offences in the last three years and in how many of these cases (a) the penalty was paid within the requested timescale, (b) the offender did not pay and (c) enforcement action was sought, broken down by p…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The following table shows the number of police fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour offences issued in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Police Fixed Penalty Notices for Antisocial Behaviour Offences <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > …

4 Feb 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to tackle alcohol and drug misuse in schools.

3 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people rescued from fires by the fire service in the last three years were (a) injured and (b) uninjured in each (i) region and (ii) fire brigade area.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The number of persons rescued from fires1 by the Fire and Rescue Services for the latest three years for which data is available is shown in table (a) below for those recorded as a non-fatal casualty2. <table border=1 cellspacing=0…

29 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many DNA samples have been retained since 1 January 2007 relating to defendants who have been prosecuted but not convicted.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Between the dates of 1 January 2007 and 1 February 2010, 2,424 DNA samples have been retained from those who have been prosecuted but not convicted for a relevant sexual or violent offence under section 18A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

23 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many support staff were employed by each police force in each quarter from April 2008 to December 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. Number of Police Staff1, 2 Employed By Each Police Force in Each Quarter3 From April 2008 to December 20094 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 …

30 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many football banning orders have been (a) requested and (b) implemented since 1 September 2006.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Since September 2006, 570 cases requesting Football Banning Orders (FBOs) have been reported to procurators fiscal across the country. A total of 67 FBOs have been issued as at 1 December 2009. The Scottish Government announced an evaluation of Footb…

11 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate the Child Sex Offender Community Disclosure Scheme in Tayside and when it expects the evaluation to be completed.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Tayside Community Disclosure Pilot will be subject to an independent evaluation to assess its effectiveness. Following an open competition, the contract for the evaluation has been awarded to Ipsos MORI. The evaluation will be completed by 31 August 2010.…

11 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals have been made to the police by a parent, carer or guardian as part of the Child Sex Offender Community Disclosure Scheme in Tayside since the pilot was launched on 21 September 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Currently, Tayside police have received 13 applications. A further four enquiries were received which did not meet the pilot criteria and suitable child protection advice was given. These figures are encouraging and represent 13 pieces of new information that…

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of invoices from suppliers were paid by its directorates within 10 days of receipt in October 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28564 on 10 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of invoices from suppliers were paid by its directorates within 10 days of receipt in September 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28564 on 10 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many invoices from suppliers were paid by its directorates within 10 days of receipt in August 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28564 on 10 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of invoices from suppliers were paid by its directorates within 10 days of receipt in July 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28564 on 10 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many invoices from suppliers were paid by its directorates within 10 days of receipt in June 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to helping businesses by paying invoices early and aspires to making payments within 10 working days. During the month of June 2009 the Scottish Government''s directorates paid 4,416 invoices within 10 working days, which …

2 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of invoices from suppliers was paid by directorates under Services and Groups listed on its website within 10 days of receipt in June 2009.