Parliamentary questions

Kenny MacAskill

2,611 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the maximum limit of 5% of contract price for performance revenue deduction, as referred to in the second paragraph of Schedule F to the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management …

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answers to the answers to questions S2W-1868 on 1 September 2003 and S1W-33964 on 24 February 2003. The position…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15775 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2005, who it considers should be consulted regarding the effect of an order designating the operator of HM Prison Kilmarnock as a public authority under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16483 on 26 May 2005. 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/webapp/wa…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-283 and S2W-15775 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 June 2003 and 4 May 2005, why it did not carry out a consultation on the effect of an order designating the operator of HM Prison Kilmarnock as a public authority under section 5 of the Freedom of Informatio…

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Executive has not carried out such a consultation because it has not to date made a decision to propose any order under section 5. Ministers are still considering a number of issues relating to the use of section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland)…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-283 and S2W-15775 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 June 2003 and 4 May 2005, whether it intends to consult anyone to whom an order designating the operator of HM Prison Kilmarnock as a public authority under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland)…

Answer · Margaret Curran: Ministers are considering a number of issues relating to section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15607 by Colin Boyd QC on 18 April 2005, whether the operators of HM Prison Kilmarnock will incur performance points under Schedule F to the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for th…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16479, answered on 25 May 2005.All answers to written parliamentary questions are …

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-15607 by Colin Boyd QC on 18 April 2005 and S2W-16102 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2005, whether the alleged falsification of watch logs constitutes a failure to comply with agreed reporting procedures at HM Prison Kilmarnock incurring performance po…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: No. HM Prison Kilmarnock adhered to the agreed reporting procedures and notified SPS as soon as they became aware of the alleged incident.…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16107 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2005, why the Scottish Prison Service sees no benefit in making an assessment of the progress of the operation of the contract for HM Prison Kilmarnock in comparison with the financial projection contained in Schedule…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: It is a matter for the contractor, not SPS.

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it reconciles the answer to question S1W-33992 by Mr Jim Wallace on 3 March 2003 with the answer to question S2W-16103 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2005 in respect of the number of instances in which a serious assault has occurred in HM Prison Kilmarnock but no performance points have a…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The answer to S1W-33992 covered the period up to 3 March 2003. The answer to question S2W-16103 conveyed the fact that no instances have s…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it reconciles the answer to question S1W-33063 by Mr Jim Wallace on 21 January 2003 with the answer to question S2W-16105 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2005 in respect of how often the controller of HM Prison Kilmarnock has agreed that a cell may be shared by two prisoners under section …

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The answer provided to questions S1W-33063 and S2W-16105 were correct. The answer to question S2W-16105 was intended to convey the fact th…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome has been of each European Arrest Warrant issued by a Scottish court.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-16298 on 12 May 2005 in which I gave details of the outcome of the 16 European Arrest Warrants so far issued by Scottish Courts. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the …

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a European Arrest Warrant has been issued for any person in Scotland for an act that is not an offence in Scots law.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer to my answer to the previous question posed by the Member for Lothians, S2W-16299 answered on 12 May 2005 and confirm that all the five European Arrest Warrants so far received by Scotland relate to acts that are offences known to Scots law. Al…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the length of detention prior to surrender of each person whose surrender has been requested in a European Arrest Warrant issued by authorities in Scotland.

Answer · Colin Boyd: It is difficult to be certain in all cases exactly the length of detention undergone by those in respect of whom Scotland has issued a European Arrest Warrant, before their eventual return to Scotland. However, from the information available to me I ca…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how long each person for whom a European Arrest Warrant has been issued was held in custody before surrender.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Only one European Arrest Warrant has been executed so far in Scotland. In response to a request from Poland, a man was arrested and held overnight before being granted bail by the Court in Edinburgh.

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15876 by Mr Tom McCabe on 25 April 2005 and given the requirement for confidentiality of discussions on EU matters between it and the UK Government as set out in article 19 of the Memorandum of Understanding, what opportunity the Parliament has for s…

Answer · Tom McCabe: Scottish Executive ministers and officials are subject to full scrutiny by the Parliament on European Union issues. I recently appeared before the European and External Relations Committee to give evidence on Scotland’s contribution to the G8 summit and the U…

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-15187 and S2W-16048 by Ms Margaret Curran on 10 and 3 May 2005, what issues ministers are considering in relation to S2W-15187, given that the question concerns a request for information under section 3 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act …

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-15184 and S2W-16049 by Ms Margaret Curran on 10 and 3 May 2005, what issues ministers are considering in relation to S2W-15184, given that the question concerns a request for information under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act …

10 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are to be incurred by (a) Lothian and Borders Police, (b) Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade, (c) the Scottish Ambulance Service, (d) NHS Lothian and (e) the City of Edinburgh Council as a result of the G8 summit.

Answer · Tom McCabe: It will not be possible to give an accurate figure for G8-related expenditure until after the summit.

3 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, for each offence listed in Article 2(2) of Council Framework Decision 2002/584/SHA on the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender procedures between member states, for which offences in Scots law it considers a European Arrest Warrant could be issued without verification of double crim…

Answer · Colin Boyd: Scots Criminal Law is largely based on the common law. As a result there is a wide variety of offences and aggravations available to meet a very large number of circumstances. It is not possible to compile an exhaustive list of the offences in Scots Law and i…

3 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the European Arrest Warrants received have been for acts that are not offences in Scots law.

Answer · Colin Boyd: Scotland has so far received five European Arrest warrants. I can confirm that they all relate to acts that are offences known to Scots Law.

3 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15878 by Colin Boyd QC on 21 April 2005, whether it will provide a breakdown of the European Arrest Warrants issued by (a) country to which they were addressed and (b) offence in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005.

Answer · Colin Boyd: In 2004 Scotland issued 14 European Arrest Warrants (EAW) so far in 2005 two European Arrest Warrants have been issued. Of those issued in 2004, eight have been executed and two were withdrawn by Crown Office before they were executed, as the fugitives…

3 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15878 by Colin Boyd QC on 21 April 2005, whether it will provide a breakdown of the European Arrest Warrants received by (a) issuing country and (b) offence in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005.

Answer · Colin Boyd: In 2004, Scotland received three European Arrest Warrants and to date in 2005 Scotland has received a further two European Arrest Warrants. Two of those received in 2004 were from Portugal, but were subsequently withdrawn. One of the warrants re…

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) mean and (b) median travel times by car were from Edinburgh city centre to Glasgow city centre in (i) 1975, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1995, (iv) 1999, (v) 2000, (vi) 2001, (vii) 2002, (viii) 2004 and (ix) 2005.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not hold the information requested.

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are applied in measuring congestion on the Forth Road Bridge and what information it has on mean and median travel times for crossing the bridge at peak times in each year since construction.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not monitor congestion or journey times on the Forth Bridge. This is a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA). The information is not held centrally.

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is available for employers in respect of provision for learning English as a second language.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The majority of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) provision in Scotland, as elsewhere, is learner-centred. However, we recognise the benefits to employers of a highly skilled and flexible workforce, which includes fluent communication skills and …

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers from England or Wales will be deployed in Scotland during the G8 summit in July 2005.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Chief Constables can call on mutual aid from other forces in Scotland and in the rest of the UK as appropriate and planning for this is in hand. Decisions on the number and deployment of such officers are operational matters for the Chief Constable of …

27 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bed spaces in Edinburgh are estimated to have been block-booked by countries or individuals attending or participating in the G8 summit.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Booking bed spaces for individuals attending or participating in the G8 summit is a matter for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. My understanding is that around 650 bed spaces have been booked in total in Edinburgh for members of official delegations.

20 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by prison of the prison discipline offences and punishments figures contained in the table in Appendix 6 of Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2003-04 and whether it will provide a similar breakdown for 2004-05.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The available information for 2003-04, has been placed in the Parliament’s reference Centre (Bib. number 36286). The information for 2004-…

20 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the progress of the operation of the contract for HM Prison Kilmarnock in comparison with the financial projection contained in Schedule P to Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Desi…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The SPS sees no benefit in doing such an assessment.

20 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates a written notice has been served under section 34.1 of Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock requiring the contractor to provide …

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Date of Request</td> <td> <p align…

20 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how often the controller of HM Prison Kilmarnock has agreed that a cell may be shared by two prisoners under section 23.4.1 of Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:There are no recorded instanceswhere section 23.4.1 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State forScotland and Kilmarnock Pr…