Parliamentary questions
Michael Matheson
1,154 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Jul 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-972 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2003, what the process would be if the Prime Minister did not accept one of the First Minister's nominations to fill the vacant office of (a) Lord President of the Court of Session and (b) Lord Justice Clerk.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The Statute envisages that the First Minister and Prime Minister will come to an agreement on these matters and there is no precedent for their not doing so.
4 Jul 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-972 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2003, how many nominations the First Minister makes to the Prime Minister to fill the vacant office of (a) Lord President of the Court of Session and (b) Lord Justice Clerk.
Answer · Hugh Henry: There is no statutory requirement but it is normal practice for the First Minister to offer the Prime Minister a choice of names to fill vacancies for the office of Lord President and Lord Justice Clerk. When appointments were being considered in 2001 the Pri…
4 Jul 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it paid for its financial interest in Partnerships UK.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive paid £2 million for a 4.4% stake in Partnerships UK in 2001.
4 Jul 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in which of its projects Partnerships UK has been involved since the foundation of Partnerships UK.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Partnerships UK has been directly involved in the Scottish Executive M74 Public Private Partnership project.
4 Jul 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has paid to Partnerships UK in each year since the foundation of Partnerships UK.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The following table shows how much the Scottish Executive has paid to Partnerships UK in each year since the foundation of Partnerships UK (PUK).<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="9%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Year</TD><TD WIDTH="17%" VA…
4 Jul 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what performance points were accrued by the operating company of HM Prison Kilmarnock, broken down for each heading and subsection in Schedule F to the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Mana…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Performance Points:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=576><TR><TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>2.1 (e)</TD><TD WIDTH="75%" VALIGN="…
27 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the statement by Mr Colin Laverty in the April 2003 edition of the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland that, in a recent trial at Coatbridge District Court of a person charged with assault, the Procurator Fiscal failed to view videotape evidence before deci…
Answer · Elish Angiolini: Procurators fiscal make decisions on proceedings on the basis of reports received from the police, which contain a summary of the evidence including the contents of any video evidence. It will not always be practicable to view a video prior to taking a decisi…
20 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the absolute exemption in section 36(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to the general entitlement to information in section 1 of that act would apply to the release of information other than permitted disclosures relating to a school public private partnership w…
Answer · Tavish Scott: Clause 59 of the Scottish Schools Standard Contract is designed to ensure the co-operation of any contractor in supplying the information that a public authority may require in order to respond to a request made to them under the Freedom of Information legisl…
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27403 by Mr Jim Wallace on 2 August 2002, whether it has received any further notices under paragraph 6.8 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Ltd for the Design, Construction, Manageme…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Yes. The notice was dated 30 January 2003.
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that the contracts for all existing public private partnerships projects, including those made by public authorities other than by it, are available to the Parliament subject to deletion of matters that are commercially confidential.
Answer · Andy Kerr: All public authorities should comply with best practice on openness. The majority of PPP projects are with public authorities other than the Scottish Executive. It is the responsibility of individual public authorities to develop their own proposals for makin…
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether including HM Prison Kilmarnock in schedule 1A of the Race Relations Act 1976 by an order under section 71(5) of the act would constitute prison legislation altering the costs incurred by the contractor in fulfilling its obligations under the Minute of Agreement between the Secreta…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>No.
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether designating HM Prison Kilmarnock as a public authority under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 would constitute prison legislation altering the costs incurred by the contractor in fulfilling its obligations under the Minute of Agreement between the Secret…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>No.
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether including existing public private partnership schools in schedule 1A of the Race Relations Act 1976 by an order under section 71(5) of the act would constitute either a discriminatory change of law or a specific change of law, as defined in the Scottish Schools Standard PPP Contra…
Answer · Margaret Curran: Only the Secretary of State has the power to make an order under 71(5) and therefore, any question of extending Schedule 1A is a matter for the UK Parliament.<P>It is for the courts to interpret the Scottish Schools Standard PPP Contract (SSSC), as with any o…
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether designation of operators of existing public private partnership schools as public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 would constitute either a discriminatory change of law or a specific change of law, as defined in the Scottish Schools St…
Answer · Andy Kerr: Although the Scottish Schools Standard PPP Contract (SSSC) is a standardised contract, there are project specific issues and the SSSC is tailored into a contract which is agreed individually for each Schools PPP project. It is for the courts to interpret any …
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will use to determine which operators of public private partnership hospitals will be designated as public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-278 today. 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/search_…
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will use to determine which operators of private prisons will be designated as public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-278 today. 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/search_…
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will use to determine which operators of public private partnership schools will be designated as public authorities under section 5 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer · Tavish Scott: No such criteria have yet been drawn up. As indicated to Parliament during the passage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the power to designate private companies exercising public functions as a public authority for the purpose of the act is …
19 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will lodge a Sewel motion in respect of the Disabled People (Duties of Public Authorities) Bill seeking the consent of the Scottish Parliament for the United Kingdom Parliament to (a) legislate in a devolved area and (b) transfer powers to the Executive in respect of this matte…
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive is considering the Disabled People (Duties of Public Authorities) Bill and will advise of any Sewel motion that it intends to lodge if and when it concludes, following discussion with the UK Government, that provisions in the bill which relate t…
19 May 2003 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve the diet of schoolchildren.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive published <I>Hungry for Success</I>, the report from the Expert Panel on School Meals in February 2003. The Executive and local authorities are taking action across the range of recommendations.
15 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what control and restraint training the Scottish Prison Service has provided to the operator of Dungavel House immigration removal centre.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>None. The centre provides services to the Home Office and is therefore a reserved matter.
15 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what occasions HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland has visited Dungavel House immigration removal centre.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has not visited Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre. However, representatives from HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland visited the centre during the inspection of that establishment by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Eng…
14 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will submit a response to the European Commission's green paper on Procedural Safeguards for Suspects and Defendants in Criminal Proceedings throughout the European Union by the deadline of 15 May 2003 and, if so, whether it will publish that response.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-34 today. 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/search_w…
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29801 by Colin Boyd QC on 7 October 2002, whether it will give a breakdown of the non-court costs for the Crown Office in 2002-03.
Answer · Colin Boyd: As the answer given to question S1W-29801 explained, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service records the nature of case costs, but does not attribute this to individual cases. Staff time spent on individual cases is not recorded but costing calculation…
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33923 by Mrs Elish Angiolini on 10 March 2003, how many cases have been marked "no proceedings" in 2002-03 because of a non-court disposal, broken down into warnings, conditional offers, fiscal fines and diversions from prosecution
Answer · Elish Angiolini: As indicated in the answer given to question S1W-34894 on 27 March 2003, cases in which there has been a non-court disposal are not marked "no proceedings" and do not form part of any no proceedings data provided by Crown Office. All answers to writ…
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports procurators fiscal received from HM Customs and Excise in 2002-03 and, of these, how many (a) were marked "no proceedings" on account of delay on the part of HM Customs and Excise and (b) proceeded to trial
Answer · Elish Angiolini: During the financial year April 2002 to March 2003 HM Customs and Excise submitted 22 reports to procurators fiscal. <P>(a) None of these cases were marked "no proceedings" on account of delay on the part of HM Customs and Excise, and<P>(b) nine cas…
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30310 by Mr Jim Wallace on 18 October 2002, how many offences of (a) illegal importation of drugs, (b) producing, manufacture or cultivation of drugs and (c) supply or possession with intent to supply of drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 the p…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics collected centrally can not identify individual sections of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The most detailed crime categories available are shown in the following table. These contain crimes recorded under various statutes and sev…
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30312 by Mrs Elish Angiolini on 17 October 2002, how many reports to procurators fiscal were marked "no proceedings" for a reason of (a) time-bar, (b) delay by police/reporting agency, (c) lack of court resources, (d) procurator fiscal staff shortage…
Answer · Elish Angiolini: The information requested is as follows:<P>April 2002 to March 2003<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 WIDTH=602><TR><TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="BOTTOM" HEIGHT=51><P></TD><TD WIDTH="9%" VALIGN="BOTTOM" HEIGHT=51><P>Timebar</TD><TD WIDTH="19%" VALIGN="BOTTOM" HEIGHT=51><P…
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34889 by Mrs Elish Angiolini on 31 March 2003, under what circumstances a drink-driving offence would be recorded as such by police but not reported to the procurator fiscal.
Answer · Elish Angiolini: The police should report all such offences where they consider there is corroborated evidence of the crime having been committed and of the identity of the driver.
13 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of drink-driving were reported to the procurator fiscal in each year since 1997, broken down by sheriff court district.
Answer · Elish Angiolini: The following tables give the number of charges of drink driving related offences that were reported to the Procurator Fiscal throughout Scotland in each of the financial years from 1999 to 2003, broken down by Procurator Fiscal Office. The charges shown rela…
12 May 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33583 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 February 2003, what the expenditure outturn was for the delegated budget for each prison and young offenders institution in 2002-03.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The information will not be available until the accounts for the year have been audited and published later this year.