Parliamentary questions

Gavin Brown

1,064 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

3 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people most at risk in the Lothians region received a flu vaccination in 2008-09.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: In the NHS Lothian area seasonal flu vaccine uptake for those under the age of 65, in an at risk group reached 48.2% for the 2008-09 flu season. Uptake rates for those aged 65 and over in NHS Lothian area reached 78.8% over the same period.

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct measures were issued for (a) assault and (b) assault to injury in October 2009, broken down by sheriff court.

Answer · Frank Mulholland: The following table shows the number of charges of (a) assault and (b) assault to injury, where the initial decision taken by the procurator fiscal was to deal with the offending behaviour by means of a direct measure. The 300 charges relate to a tot…

2 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct measures were issued for (a) assault and (b) assault to injury in September 2009, broken down by sheriff court.

28 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many human rights cases are pending against the Scottish Prison Service from prisoners at HMP Edinburgh, broken down by type of claim.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The information is not available. However, SPS records show that there are 385 live claims relating to slopping out at HMP Edinburgh. The…

28 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to run and how many prisoners took part in the Alcohol Awareness Programme at HMP Edinburgh in each of the last three years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The cost for delivering the Approved Activity Alcohol Awareness Programme is not separately available. It is contained within the general…

28 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders at HMP Edinburgh were (a) assessed as suitable for and (b) completed each of the prisoner programmes and approved activities that address substance misuse in each of the last three years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=191 valign=top > Drug Action for Change</p…

21 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of (a) how many people claimed for and (b) how much was claimed in tax relief for expenditure on furnished holiday letting properties in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government does not hold this information as taxation matters are currently reserved to the UK Government. We expect HM Revenue and Customs to publish the draft Regulations to implement the change and a Regulatory Impact Assessment with the pre-B…

21 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the impact that the proposed repeal of the furnished holiday lettings rules will have on the holiday lettings industry.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Government officials are currently working with representatives of the self-catering sector to assess the impact the proposed repeal of the furnished holiday lettings rules would have on the holiday lettings industry in Scotland.

21 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government over the repealing of the furnished holiday lettings rules proposed in the UK Budget.

Answer · Jim Mather: I discussed the proposed repeal of the furnished holiday lettings rules with other Ministers at a recent meeting of the UK tourism ministers and I have written to HM Treasury to express concern about the impact of the proposals on the self-catering sector.</p…

12 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people registered unemployed were aged (a) 16 to 24, (b) 25 to 34, (c) 35 to 44, (d) 45 to 54 and (e) over 55 in each of the last five years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Answer · John Swinney: The official source for statistics on people who are registered unemployed is the claimant count, which details the number of people who are claiming Jobseeker''s Allowance. I have placed tables in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49478…

12 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many violent incidents took place in the Lothians region in (a) private domestic settings and (b) public open spaces in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally. The police recorded crime statistics collected centrally are based on an aggregate return from each of the eight police forces in Scotland. The aggregate crime figures held by the Scottish Government do not p…

12 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of all emergency ambulance call-outs in the NHS Lothians area were (a) alcohol-related and (b) drug-related in each of the last five years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.

12 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency ambulance call-outs in the NHS Lothians area were (a) alcohol-related and (b) drug-related in each of the last five years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of funding was in (a) 1999-00, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03, (e) 2003-04, (f) 2004-05, (g) 2005-06, (h) 2006-07 and (i) 2007-08 for affordable housing projects in the Lothians region, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Alex Neil: The level of Affordable Housing Investment Programme funding spent on affordable housing projects in the Lothians region, broken down by local authority area for the years identified, is as indicated in the following tables. The figures contained in the table…

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which secondary schools in the Lothians region have had occupancy rates of 101% or more in the most recent year for which information is available, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Keith Brown: In School Estate Statistics 2009 of the 46 secondary schools in the Lothians region. Seven (15%) were operating at 100 per cent or more capacity. Broken down by local authority, these are: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > …

8 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which primary schools in the Lothians region have had occupancy rates of 101% or more in the most recent year for which information is available, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Keith Brown: In School Estate Statistics 2009, capacity information was available for 223 of the 225 primary schools in the Lothians region. Of the 223 primary schools, 15 (7%) were operating at 100 per cent or more capacity. Broken down by local authority, these …

8 Oct 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to help tourism.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government''s tourism strategy aims to increase tourism revenue to Scotland by 50% by 2015. The government sponsors VisitScotland to market Scotland according its strengths and by what the visitor is looking for. Many other public agencies play a…

7 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides were recorded in the Lothians region in 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency, gender and cause of death.

Answer · Shona Robison: The figures requested are as follows. East Lothian is not included, as this sits in the south of Scotland region, as per parliamentary instructions on constituencies and regions. Deaths From Intentional Self Harm and Events of Undetermined Intent, b…

7 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been killed in accidents on roads in the Lothians region in each month since May 2007, broken down by road.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The following table shows the number of people who have been killed in road accidents in Edinburgh and the Lothians, by road, in each month since May 2007. January to June <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td w…

6 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were convicted in relation to the 2,720 cases of housebreaking recorded in Edinburgh between April 2008 and March 2009.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on convictions in 2008-09 is not yet available. The data on court proceedings is planned for release in February 2010. Please refer to tables 2 and 4 in the 2007-08 Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts statistical bulletin for the lates…

6 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what disposals were issued to people convicted in cases involving domestic abuse in the Lothian and Borders police force area in each of the last three years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The available information is given in the following table. Persons Convicted for an Offence with a Domestic Aggravator Recorded1, in Lothian and Borders Police Force Area, 2005-06 to 2007-08 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=…

6 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 16 have been charged by police in the Lothians region in each of the last three years, broken down by age (a) five and under, (b) 6 to 10 and (c) 11 to 15.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government does not centrally hold information relating to the age of perpetrators of crime. For information, the majority of charges against under 16''s are dealt with by the Children''s Reporter…

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of shoplifting were recorded in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is given in table 1 of Police Recorded Crime - Additional tables (1) following the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, published by the Scottish Government in October 2009, a copy of which is available in the …

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has cost NHS Lothian to treat patients admitted to hospital as a result of drug misuse in each of the last five years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This information is not held centrally. Funding is allocated from the Scottish Government to health boards for drug treatment and rehabilitation services. The following table sets out the funding that has been made available to NHS Lothian in each o…

1 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) longest, (b) shortest and (c) average prison sentence was at HMP Edinburgh for someone incarcerated for carrying an offensive weapon.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: As of 5 October 2009, there was a total of nine convicted prisoners in HMP Edinburgh with an offence of Offensive Weapon, the longest sen…

28 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-25381 by Nicola Sturgeon on 20 July 2009, whether it can now advise what proportion of NHS Lothian patients experiencing strokes was admitted to a specialist unit within 24 hours in 2008.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is available from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit 2009 National Report, published on 29 September 2009. For the National Report: <a href="http://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/Downloads/files/2009%20Report/SSCA-…

28 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been collected in fiscal fines imposed since December 2008 and in how many cases (a) no payment has been made and (b) payments are overdue, broken down by sheriffdom.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on fiscal penalty payment rates is published on the Scottish Court Service website and can be accessed at <a href="http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine">www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine</a>.

24 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what parameters were given to the organisation carrying out the independent assessment of the energy options open to Scotland, as recommended by the Council of Economic Advisers.

Answer · Jim Mather: The organisation carrying out the independent assessment of energy options were asked to outline the scope, costs and emissions abatement potential of the various generation technologies available to Scotland, seeking to identify which sources are likely to b…

24 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who carried out the independent assessment of the energy options open to Scotland, as recommended by the Council of Economic Advisers.

Answer · Jim Mather: The independent assessment of the energy options open to Scotland was carried out by Wood Mackenzie.

24 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the independent assessment of the energy options open to Scotland, as recommended by the Council of Economic Advisers, was delivered to the Council of Economic Advisers.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27692 on 6 October 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/Apps2…