Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide police forces with sufficient funding to ensure that they are able to maintain police numbers at current levels until May 2011.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Provision has been included in the draft budget for 2010-11 for the Scottish Government to pay police grant of £586.7 million, which is a 3.1% (£17.6 million) increase over 2009-10. In addition, in 2010-11 we will continue to meet the costs associated with po…
6 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committed to maintaining the 1,000 extra police officers recruited since May 2007.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Yes. This is a priority for this government and I announced on 1 September that we now have 17,278 police officers in Scotland, which is 1,044 higher than at May 2007. The Scottish Government is directly paying for the recruitment, training and salary of 801 …
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, how many offences were recorded by the police in (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire local authority areas, broken down by offence group as set out in Table 2.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The following table provides information on the number of offences recorded by Grampian police, by local authority, in 2008-09.</p> <p >Offences Recorded by Grampian Police, by Local Authority, 2008-09</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <t…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, how many crimes were recorded by the police in (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire local authority areas, broken down by crime group as set out in Table 1.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The following table provides information on the number of crimes recorded by Grampian police, by local authority, in 2008-09:</p> <p >Crimes Recorded by Grampian Police, by Local Authority, 2008-09</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the lack of a significant percentage reduction in recorded crimes for handling an offensive weapon and what action it will take over the next year.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The percentage change in handling offensive weapons is influenced by a range of factors, including the extent of targeted action by police. For example, in 2008-09, police in Scotland stopped and searched around 257,000 people, supporting the Violence Reducti…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the increase in crimes of dishonesty, including a 9% increase in theft by opening a lockfast place and a 10% increase in shoplifting, and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Through the National Community Safety Strategic Group which I chair, we are working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Scottish Business Crime Centre, and other partners to deliver a co-ordinated response to this issue.</p>…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the 36% increase in racially aggravated offences in Grampian; whether this represents an all-time high, and what action it will take.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Sections 50A(1)(a) and 50A(1)(b) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 1995 introduced two new offences of racially aggravated harassment and racially aggravated conduct. These sections of the act came into force on 30 September 1998.</p> <p >Th…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, how many housebreaking incidents there were in Aberdeen City in each of the last 10 years, also expressed per 10,000 of population.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested in given in the following table:</p> <p >Crimes of Housebreaking<sup>1</sup> Recorded by the Police in Aberdeen City, 1999-2000 to 2008-09</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=78 valign=…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09 and the statistic that Aberdeen City had the highest rate of housebreaking incidents per 10,000 population in Scotland, what targeted action it will take in Aberdeen.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to the question S3W-27890 on 27 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/…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the housebreaking rate in Aberdeen City compared with the Scotland-wide average and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Over the last five years, there has been a decrease in the number of domestic housebreaking crimes recorded by the police per 10,000 population for Scotland. There has also been a general decrease in the number of domestic housebreaking crimes recorded by the…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the 3% increase in non-sexual crimes of violence in Grampian and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Grampian police are committed to tackling violent crime and are undertaking a number of targeted initiatives to address violence throughout the force area. For example, through the Unight Aberdeen initiative they are working in partnership with city nightclub…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, how many drug crimes were recorded, broken down by (a) crime category as set out in Table A5 and (b) police force area.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is given in Table 4 of <i >Police Recorded Crime - Additional tables (1) following the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, </i>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, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the 8% increase in the drug, other offences and money laundering category and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The category of offence which accounts for the increase is that of non-money laundering offences described as Drugs, other offences. While there has been an increase, the total number of such offences remains small, less than 1% of total drugs offences.</p> …
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the 4% increase in (a) possession of drugs with intent to supply and (b) possession of drugs offences and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The level of crime recorded in these categories has been relatively stable for a number of years, subject to some fluctuation year-on-year.</p> <p >We are committed to tackling drug use and drug crime. Enforcement action has seen unprecedented successes, wi…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the number of illegal importation of drugs offences compared with 2007-08 and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: This figure has remained constant for the last three years and remains significantly lower than its peak in 2005-06.</p> <p >Law enforcement agencies will continue to work together, with the support of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, to tackle serious…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, how many of the offences of illegal cultivation of drugs were recorded in each police force area.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is given in table 4 of the following publication, <i >Police Recorded Crime in Scotland</i> - <i >Additional tables (1)</i> <i >following the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09,</i> a copy of which is available in the…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, whether the increase by 24% to 609 offences of illegal cultivation of drugs represents an all-time high.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: These figures relate to the production, manufacture or cultivation of drugs. </p> <p >The significant increase coincides with Operation League, an intelligence and enforcement operation to combat cannabis cultivation, involving all police forces in Scotland,…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, what assessment it has made of the 24% increase in illegal cultivation of drugs offences and what action it will take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: This category of crime includes production, manufacture and cultivation of drugs. While the total number of crimes in this category has increased it represents a small (1.4%) proportion of all drugs crimes. </p> <p >Serious organised crime groups are heavily…
1 Oct 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive further to the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, how many crimes of handling an offensive weapon were recorded by the police in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is given in table 2 of <i >Police Recorded Crime - Additional tables (1) following the publication of Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2008-09, </i>published by the Scottish Government in October 2009, a copy of which is available in the …
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18076 by Kenny MacAskill on 26 November 2008, what progress has been made with the development of the Scottish Crime Campus and when it expects the new facility to be (a) completed and (b) fully operational.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Good progress is being made. A pre-enabling works contract was completed in July 2009. This involved the removal of obstructions together with existing foundations from the previous steelworks that occupied the site. The design team has completed the detailed…
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that all assets and proceeds of crime recovered from serious organised crime should be returned to the communities harmed by the crime.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Funds recovered under the proceeds of crime legislation are distributed via the Scottish Government Cashback for Communities scheme, using a formula that reflects need. The formula distributes funds across local authority areas based on the percentage of 10 t…
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the news release of 15 September 2009 of £250,000 of additional funding that will go toward the recruitment of 19 additional financial investigators to tackle serious organised crime, when the police staff will be (a) re…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The forces involved are taking steps to recruit these staff as soon as possible. I understand that Lothian and Borders police have already recruited two extra financial investigators. </p>
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the news release of 15 September 2009 of £250,000 of additional funding that will go toward the recruitment of 19 additional financial investigators to tackle serious organised crime, whether there will be an incentive e…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There will be no incentive element for any individual financial investigator, police force or any other agency. We will assess the impact of these additional investigators on asset recovery and if successful will consider whether there should be further reinv…
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the news release of 15 September 2009 of £250,000 of additional funding that will go toward the recruitment of 19 additional financial investigators to tackle serious organised crime, what the investigators’ remit will b…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The role of the financial investigators will be to identify ways to boost asset recovery at police divisional level. Their precise remit will be for the chief constable of the relevant police force to determine. No monetary targets will be put in place but th…
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the news release of 15 September 2009 of £250,000 of additional funding that will go toward the recruitment of 19 additional financial investigators to tackle serious organised crime, how many financial investigators wil…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Serious Organised Crime Taskforce''s strategy for tackling serious organised crime in Scotland, <i >Letting our Communities Flourish,</i> was published on 2 June. This set out proposals for a small proportion of money recovered from proceeds of crime to b…
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the comments of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice reported on the BBC website on 17 September 2009 that the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT) planned to “send a clear message to organised criminals that there is no room in this industry for those who want to use taxi a…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27569 on 29 September 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/Ap…
21 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the comments of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice reported on the BBC website on 17 September 2009 that the Scottish Government would “not allow hard-working cabbies, who borrow from the bank to mortgage their home to buy a cab and make a living, to be driven off the road by …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: On 2 June 2009, the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce launched its strategy entitled <i >Letting our Communities Flourish: A Strategy for Tackling Serious Organised Crime in Scotland</i>. This can be found at the following link: </p> <p ><a href="http://www.…
17 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to curb the supply of illegal drugs in prisons.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The SPS is committed to preventing all illegal commodities coming into prisons. Significant investment has been made in the procure…
17 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned at the comment of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland that “On the other hand, I have spoken to a number of prisoners, particularly younger ones, who have found a community sentence more demanding”, as reported in The Herald of 17 September 2009, and, if so,…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government regards these comments as reinforcing the case for greater use of effective community penalties and a reduction in the number of short prison sentences.</p>
17 Sep 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland’s comment that he does not think that prison is a “skoosh”, as reported in The Herald of 17 September 2009.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) acts independently of Scottish ministers. The Scottish Government has set out its views on the effectiveness of short prison sentences in <i >Fair, Fast and Flexible Justice</i> but is committed to an on-going dialogue wi…