Kenny MacAskill

27 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what input it has into road traffic regulations and laws; whether there is a standing committee on this issue on which it is represented, and what representations it has made, and on what subjects, about road traffic regulations and laws to Her Majesty’s Government since 1999.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The majority of road trafficregulation legislation is reserved to allow consistency throughout the United Kingdom.There is no formal standing committee.</p><p>Notwithstanding this, the ScottishExecutive is in contact with the Department for Transport and othe…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent by Visitscotland in New Zealand in each year since 1999.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: VisitBritain is the lead agencyin the delivery of the Scotland brand in New Zealand. VisitScotland works in partnership with VisitBritainto market Scotland as a visitor destination in New Zealand, with Scotland a majorpart of the Britain brand. In addition, V…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent by Visitscotland on advertising in the United States of America in each year since 1999; in how many states advertising was displayed; what media were used to advertise Scotland, and, if television advertising was used, in what states and over what period.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: VisitScotland spent the followingsums on marketing Scotland in the US since 1999:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=86 valign=top> <p align=center>Year</p> </td> <td width=60 valign=top> <p align=center>(£000)<…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is the policy of the Crown Office to make a full disclosure to the defence of information obtained by, or available to, it; if not, when the position changed, and, if the position has not changed, on how many occasions full disclosure has not been made and what the reasons were…

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Crown’s policy and practicein relation to disclosure rests on its legal duty as understood in <i>McLeod </i>v<i>Her Majesty’s Advocate</i> in 1997 i.e. it has a subsisting duty to provide to thedefence information disclosed during the course of the invest…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office is required to act in the broader public interest and not only as a prosecution service.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Crown Office isthe head office of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The COPFSis a department of the Scottish Executive, headed by the Lord Advocate, whose positionas the head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation o…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cabinet meetings the Lord Advocate has not attended in each year since 1999.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: All dates when the Scottish Cabinethas met since 1999 are available under the cabinet-related information providedon the Scottish Executive website.</p><p>I am not a member of the Scottishcabinet but usually attend cabinet each week in order to provide legal …

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many qualified lawyers it has employed in each year since 1997.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The number of qualified lawyersemployed by the Scottish Executive is shown in the following tables. Numbers for1997 and 1998 are not available as the Scottish Executive did not exist until 1999.</p><p>Since 1999 all solicitors andadvocates in the Government L…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated security costs are for the Northern Ireland devolution summit held at St Andrews in October 2006 and who will meet these costs.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The final costs of the securityoperation in relation to the multiparty peace talks held at St Andrew’s in October2006 are estimated to be £984,000. These costs have been met by the Scottish Executive,the UK Government, and Fife Constabulary.</p>

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have been employed in Scottish prisons in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The Scottish Prison Service doesnot employ teachers. The provision of education is through a contract of serviceswith appropriate education…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses have been employed in Scottish prisons in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested isonly available from 2000 and is shown in the following table:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes have been committed at Scottish courts in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The following table shows thenumber of crimes which are identifiable as having taken place at court. The figuresincludes recorded crimes of contempt of court, witness offences, prevarication onoath and perjury. Other crimes which may take place in a court roo…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time has been for individuals to commence work on a community service order in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Local authorities are responsiblefor the management of community service order schemes within their areas and sothis information is not held centrally.</p>

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many custodial sentences have been imposed for breaches of community service orders in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Proceedings for breach of a communityservice order which resulted in a custodial sentence being imposed, 1999-2000 to2004-05</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td valign=top>…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many community service orders have been breached in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information onbreach applications of community service orders is given in the statistical bulletin<i>Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics</i> at table 14 of the 2004-05 bulletinand table 16 of the 2003-04 bulletin. Copies of these publication…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what average number of hours of community service has been imposed in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isgiven in table 7 of statistical bulletin <i>Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts,2004-05 </i>published by the Scottish Executive Justice Department in 2006, a copyof which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Cent…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners serving sentences of more than four years there were in each year from 1999 to 2005 and what the estimated numbers of such prisoners are for each year from 2006 to 2010.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The average daily prison populationfor prisoners sentenced to four years or more including life and recalls from 1999-2000to 2005-06 is pro…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have been on methadone medication in each month since May 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The precise information soughtis not available.</p><p>The number of prisoners beingprescribed methadone on specific dates from December 200…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many compensation orders have been imposed in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information onthe number of convictions which resulted in a compensation order being imposed isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Convictions in ScottishCourts with a Compensation Order Imposed¹, 1999-2000 to 2004-05</p><table border…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fines have been remitted in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The decision to remit a fineis always a judicial one and is only taken when there is no realistic prospect ofpayment of an outstanding fine being made. Examples of situations where a judgemay decide to remit a fine include where an offender has died or has be…

26 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders have had fines deducted directly from their (a) benefits or (b) wages and how many have been subject to any other order seeking to recover goods or money in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number ofsheriff court fines marked for recovery by deduction from benefits or wages wasgiven in the answers to questions S2W-24321, S2W-24322 and S2W-24323 on 27 March 2006 .</p><p>The available information ondistrict court fines which res…

25 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funds are available for Scottish artists, writers and playwrights to promote their work in the United States of America.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Scottish artists, writers andplaywrights who wish to promote their work in the United States of America can apply to the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) for support.The SAC, through its continuing partnership with British Council Scotland, is wellplaced to provid…

25 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent promoting Scottish culture in the United States of America in each year since 1999.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Arts Council (SAC)has responsibility for funding and advising those within Scotland’s culturalsectors who seek to promote their work abroad. Figures for work involving UnitedStates of America are only available since 2001 and are as follows:</p><…

25 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated to promote and represent Scottish interests in the United States of America in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive representsand promotes Scotland in the USA through the Scottish Affairs Office based in the BritishEmbassy in Washington DC. That office was established in October 2001. The budgetspend for that office since 1999 is as follows:</p><tabl…

12 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many trained drug sniffer dogs have been deployed in Scottish prisons in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=107 valign=top> <p>Financial Year</p> </td> <td width=92 …

11 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecution witness citations have been served by police officers in each year since 1999.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The total number of witness citationsissued for service by police officers (or by civilian staff employed by the police)on non-police prosecution witnesses is set out in the following table.</p><p>Prosecution Witness Citations(Non-Police Witnesses): Number of…

11 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider using sheriff officers to cite prosecution witnessess and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: There are no plans to use sheriffofficers to cite prosecution witnesses.</p><p>In September 2003 a system ofissuing citations by post was introduced for most witnesses in summary cases. FromApril 2006 postal citation was extended to civilian witnesses in sher…

11 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the amount of police time deployed in serving prosecution witness citations in each year since 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new police recruits have joined Lothian and Borders Police in each month since May 1999.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number ofofficers recruited in each month is not held centrally. Figures are collected onan annual basis and that information is shown in the following table.</p><p>Lothian and Borders Police</p><p>Number of New PoliceRecruits</p><table bo…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers in Lothian and Borders Police are in funded posts and by whom the posts are funded.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isshown in the following table.</p><p>Funded Police Officer Posts inLothian and Borders</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=236 valign=top> <p align=center>Sponsor</p> </td> <td width=110 …

27 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average house price has been in Edinburgh in each year since 1997.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following table givesthe total number of sales, median and mean price for house sales within theCity of Edinburgh local authority area in each year between 1997 and2005. The analysis uses information provided by the Land Value Information Unit(LVIU) at Pa…