Parliamentary questions
Lewis Macdonald
2,224 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been given to (a) police forces and (b) the Scottish Court Service regarding the use of fines as an alternative punishment to community service orders or custodial sentences.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Decisions of the courts on the use of fines are a matter for judges and are made independently of Government, within the framework set by legislation. Police fixed penalty notices are alternatives to prosecution and are not alternative punishments to communi…
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been given to the Scottish Court Service regarding the use of enforcement measures to recover unpaid fines and arrears and how long to wait before imposing them.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has not given the Scottish Court Service any guidance on this, as it is an operational matter.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average the Scottish Court Service has waited before implementing enforcement measures for the recovery of unpaid fines and arrears in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the Scottish Court Service has recovered through the use of (a) seizure of vehicle orders, (b) arrestment of funds orders, (c) deduction from benefits orders and (d) earnings arrestment orders from unpaid and in arrears fiscal penalties each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the Scottish Court Service has recovered through the use of (a) seizure of vehicle orders, (b) arrestment of funds orders, (c) deduction from benefits orders and (d) earnings arrestment orders from unpaid and in arrears Sheriff Court fines in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the Scottish Court Service has recovered through the use of (a) seizure of vehicle orders, (b) arrestment of funds orders, (c) deduction from benefits orders and (d) earnings arrestment orders from unpaid and in arrears Justice of the Peace court fines in each year since …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the Scottish Court Service has recovered through the use of (a) seizure of vehicle orders, (b) arrestment of funds orders, (c) deduction from benefits orders and (d) earnings arrestment orders from unpaid and in arrears antisocial behaviour fixed penalty orders in each yea…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Scottish Court Service has used (a) a seizure of vehicle order, (b) an arrestment of funds order, (c) a deduction from benefits order and (d) an earnings arrestment order to recover unpaid fines and arrears from fiscal penalties in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Scottish Court Service has used (a) a seizure of vehicle order, (b) an arrestment of funds order, (c) a deduction from benefits order and (d) an earnings arrestment order to recover unpaid fines and arrears from Sheriff Court fines in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Scottish Court Service has used (a) a seizure of vehicle order, (b) an arrestment of funds order, (c) a deduction from benefits order and (d) an earnings arrestment order to recover unpaid fines and arrears from Justice of the Peace Court fines in each year since…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Scottish Court Service has used (a) a seizure of vehicle order, (b) an arrestment of funds order, (c) a deduction from benefits order and (d) an earnings arrestment order to recover unpaid fines and arrears from antisocial behaviour fixed penalty orders in each y…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has made available to assist the Scottish Prison Service in dealing with stress-related illnesses among staff in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The SPS has not requested specific funding from the Scottish Government to deal with stress-related illnesses among staff. These costs are m…
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to assist the Scottish Prison Service in dealing with stress-related illnesses among staff in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Since the late nineties the SPS has funded (from its government allocation) an Employee well-being programme which provides 24/7 telephone s…
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Prison Service has spent on sick pay for (a) absences and (b) stress-related illnesses in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The information requested in relation to point (a) is provided in the following table. The notional costs shown in the table have been calcu…
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Prison Service staff have been absent due to stress-related illness in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) prison and (b) staff category.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The information requested is provided in the following tables. Number of Scottish Prison Service Staff Absent due to Sickness Absence, Decl…
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many working days have been lost due to stress-related illnesses among Scottish Prison Service staff in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) prison and (b) staff category.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The information requested is provided in the following tables. Number of Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence, Declared as Stress Rela…
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of sickness absence for Scottish Prison Service employees has been in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) prison and (b) staff category.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: We do not collate the data in the manner requested, however the following table shows the rate of working days lost due to sickness absence …
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) what percentage of the Disclosure Scotland applications sent to Scottish police forces for additional checks has been processed outwith the 14-day period required by the service level agreement in each year since 2007.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Information about the number and percentage of force enquiries to Scottish police forces from Disclosure Scotland that were processed outwith the service level target of returning 90% of force enquiries within 14 calendar days for each year since 2007 is set …
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties can be imposed on Scottish police forces that fail to meet the 14-day service level agreement for processing Disclosure Scotland applications for two consecutive months.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The service level agreement that Disclosure Scotland has with ACPOS (Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland) provides for the possibility of imposing penalties on Scottish police forces that fail to meet the service level target for force enquiries …
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-07309 by Aileen Campbell on 31 May 2012, whether any Scottish police force has failed to meet the 14-day service level agreement for processing Disclosure Scotland applications for two consecutive months since February 2011 and, if so, for what reaso…
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Disclosure Scotland’s service level target with Scottish police forces is that forces should return 90% of force enquiries within 14 calendar days and 100% within 21 calendar days. Penalties are available for persistent unsatisfactory performance; however, t…
7 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) civilian staff and (b) police officers were employed by each police force to carry out checks on Disclosure Scotland applications in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) 2009 and (iv) 2010.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Disclosure Scotland has held information about civilian staff and constables employed in relevant police forces in Scotland to carry out checks on Disclosure Scotland applications only since the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme went live on 28 February 201…
7 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what duties other than monitoring people working in the proposed prison monitoring service will be assigned.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The duties of the senior monitors will be detailed in the section 14 order under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.
7 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers relating to prison visiting committees and the proposed prison monitoring service will be (a) modified and (b) transferred as part of a Section 14 order under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The section 14 order under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 will detail what powers and duties have been modified and/or transferred.
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be a minimum number of monitoring visits per (a) week, (b) month or (c) year to each prison under the proposed prison monitoring service and, if so, what that minimum number will be.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Under the new monitoring service the monitors will visit their allocated prisons no less than once every three weeks.
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether monitors in the proposed prison monitoring service will be required to report to (a) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, (b) the Parliament or (c) both.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The monitors will report directly to the Chief Inspector who has a duty to report annually to the Scottish Parliament. The annual report will include a separate section on monitoring. The Chief Inspector also meets regularly with the Cabinet Secretary for Jus…
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the proposed prison monitoring service will meet the legal requirements of the national preventive mechanism.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I wrote to the Chair of the National Preventative Mechanism (NPM), Nick Hardwick on 24 May outlining the proposal for independent monitoring. Officials are liaising with NPM officials on the proposals.
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual budget is of the prison visiting committee system and what the estimated annual cost is of the proposed prison monitoring system.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The current annual budget of the prison visiting committee system is £70,000. This budget currently sits under the Scottish Prison Service. This budget will be returned to central government to fund the new monitoring service along with an estimated additiona…
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether monitors in the proposed prison monitoring service will be able to challenge unacceptable practices found during visits.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Yes, the monitors will notify the governor and the Chief Inspector of any circumstances relating to the condition of the prison or treatment of any prisoner or group of prisoners.
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether monitors in the proposed prison monitoring service will be able to engage with governors.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Under the new monitoring service the monitors will have regular meetings and liaison with the governors and other prison managers and staff.
6 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether monitors in the proposed prison monitoring service will be able to deal with prisoner complaints.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The monitors will speak to prisoners as they carry out their monitoring duties. Should a prisoner raise a complaint with the monitor the monitor will take the appropriate action depending on the scale of the complaint. This action will range from resolving th…