Parliamentary questions

Richard Baker

2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

22 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what obligations Marine Scotland has under the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 to publish details of inspection reports on salmon farms, in particular relating to (a) sea lice infestations and (b) fish escapes.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: There is no legal obligation under the terms of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 to publish the details of any inspections carried out. The Scottish Government are currently discussing the detail of a scheme to publish the results of inspecti…

22 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) outbreaks of sea lice infestation and (b) fish escapes have been found at salmon farms in each of the last three years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Sea lice are natural parasitic fauna of farmed and wild salmon populations and as such some evidence of infection is apparent on any population of farmed salmon when inspecting populations held on aquaculture sites in Scotland. The number of inspections carri…

22 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many salmon farm inspections have taken place in each month in each of the last three years and what the results of each inspection were, broken down by farm.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The number of salmon farm inspections which have taken place in each month in each of the last three years is summarised in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td valign=top > <…

22 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Salmon and Trout Association and what matters were discussed.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Officials are in regular contact with the Salmon and Trout Association on a range of issues.

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions it has given approval for more homes to be built on new housing developments than originally applied for in each of the last five years.

Answer · Alex Neil: When Scottish ministers or a reporter from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) issue a decision on a planning application or appeal it should not be for more than was originally applied for to the planning authority, as this would ge…

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-domestic knives have been sold since 1 June 2010, broken down by (a) month and (b) local authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-domestic knives were sold on average in each (a) of the six months before and (b) month after 1 June 2010.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many retailers were (a) estimated to be selling non-domestic knives before 1 June 2010 and (b) have applied for licences since 1 June 2010 under the licensing scheme for knife dealers to sell non-domestic knives, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Regulatory Impact Assessment that accompanied the weapons provision of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 estimated that around 300 retailers would require a licence. No data is available centrally on the number of licences applied fo…

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made implementing the licensing scheme for knife dealers.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Knife Dealers Licensing Scheme came into force on 1 June 2010 and we will evaluate the operation of the scheme in due course. It is for local licensing authorities to deal with implementation within their area.

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the comments of the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police reported in The Times on 3 December 2010 who described making police support staff redundant and then back-filling with officers taken off the street, as an “unsustainable” and “crazy situation” that…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish budget is good for policing. The police have accepted that it will enable them to maintain police numbers at a level 1,000 above that of March 2007. It is up to police authorities and joint boards how to live within their budgets and how many sup…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the criminal justice social work statistical bulletin will next be published.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics 2009-10 will be published on 21 December 2010. This National Statistics bulletin presents information on community sentence and other aspects of criminal justice social work in Scotland. This year, the bulletin …

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours have (a) prisoners and (b) offenders serving community service orders been engaged in clearing and gritting snow and ice since 26 November 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The most current information held by the Scottish Government on those prisoners and offenders involved in snow clearing has been placed within the Scottish Parliament Information Centre with (Bib. number 52182). Pr

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to reports in The Herald on 22 November 2010, whether it has had discussions regarding prison closures.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: No decisions have been made regarding the closure of any prison within the Scottish Prison Service estate. The SPS is considering a…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of those convicted for an offence with a domestic aggravator received a custodial sentence of three months or less in 2009-10, broken down by (a) police force area and (b) main crime.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2009-10 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published on 25 January 2011. The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statis…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders received a custodial sentence of three months or less in 2009-10, broken down by (a) main offence and (b) police force area and what proportion of all crimes this represents.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2009-10 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published on 25 January 2011. The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statist…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the homicide in Scotland statistical bulletin will next be published.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The statistical bulletin Homicide in Scotland, 2009-10, was published by the Scottish Government on 13 December 2010, and is available at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00875">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stat…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many homicides there have been in 2009-10, broken down by (a) police force area, (b) victims’ gender, (c) victims’ age and (d) main method of killing.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of homicides recorded in Scotland in 2009-10 broken down by (a) police force area, (b) age and gender of the victim and (c) main method of killing is given in Tables 2, 5 and 7 respectively of the statistical bulletin Homicide in …

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36670 by Kenny MacAskill on 25 October 2010, when it anticipates section 17 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 will be commenced.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-36669 on 8 November 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Busin…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36670 by Kenny MacAskill on 25 October 2010, what further consideration it has given the commencement of each section of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In addition to the provisions already in force (as listed in the answer to S3W-36670), further provisions within the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force/will come into force as detailed in the following table. <table bord…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to courts opening on Saturdays; what assessment it has made of the potential cost or savings associated with such a proposal, and when could it be implemented.

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.

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many whole-time equivalent police support staff are currently employed by (a) each police force, (b) the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and (c) the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Details are as follows: Police Support Staff (Full-time Equivalent) at 30 September 2010 <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=311 valign=top > Central </td> <td width=55 valign=top > <p align=right …

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the implications of the judgment of the UK Supreme Court on Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate on cross-border operations.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The detention periods in cross-border cases and domestic cases have been different for some time, so this is not a new issue. The existing protocols between Scottish and other UK forces will remain in place and, together with police and Crown colleagues, we a…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have failed as a result of the judgment of the UK Supreme Court on Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate, broken down by (a) month and (b) main charge.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is currently monitoring the impact of the decision in Her Majesty''s Advocate v Cadder. There were 3,471 cases in which the absence of access to a solicitor prior to interview at a police station had be…

18 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the planned completion date is for each phase of the construction of HMP Grampian.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: I refer the member to the answer to question of S3W-37638 on 2 December 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availab…

18 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the planned expenditure on HMP Grampian will be financed from the Scottish Prison Service’s capital budget.

18 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the planned annual expenditure on HMP Grampian is for each year of the projected time span of the construction period.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is committed to building HMP Grampian. The SPS lodged an application for planning permission with Aberd…

15 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 18 have been granted a shotgun licence in each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by age.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

19 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what dialogue it has had with the UK Government on the impact in Scotland as a result of the decision by the UK Government that the work of the Security Industry Authority should be subject to a “phased transition to new regulatory regime”.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has had and is continuing to have discussions with the UK Government, the Security Industry Authority, industry representatives, law enforcement agencies and other partners to ensure that regulation of the security industry in Scotland…

19 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent it was consulted on the decision by the UK Government that the work of the Security Industry Authority should be subject to a “phased transition to new regulatory regime”.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Home Secretary wrote to the Scottish Government on 8 September 2010 seeking my views on the UK Government''s intentions for the future of the Security Industry Authority. I responded on behalf of the Scottish Government on 13 September 2010 s…

19 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the decision by the UK Government that the work of the Security Industry Authority should be subject to a “phased transition to new regulatory regime”.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not support the decision of the UK Government. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been working very well in Scotland and the Scottish Government made a very strong case to the UK Government for its continuatio…