Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homicides there were in 2007-08, broken down by (a) police force area, (b) age of accused and (c) sex of accused.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Persons Accused in Homicide Cases by Sex and Age, and Police Force Area, 2007-08</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=625 > <tr > <td valign=bottom > <p align=center >Sex and Age of Accused</p> </td> <td valign=bottom > <p a…
21 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homicides there were in 2007-08, broken down by (a) police force area and (b) main method of killing.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Homicide Victims, by Main Method of Killing and Police Force Area, 2007-08</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=bottom > <p align=center >Main Method of Killing</p> </td> <td valign=bottom > <p align=center >Cen…
16 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders received a custodial sentence of six months or less in 2007-08, broken down by (a) main offence and (b) police force area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <p >Persons Given a Custodial Sentence of Six Months or Less, by Main Crime and Police Force Area, 2007-08<sup>1</sup></p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td…
16 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of sentence was of people convicted of firearms offences in 2007-08 who received a custodial sentence.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the table below. These figures refer to persons with a charge proved for an offence which relate specifically to firearms rather than all offences in which a firearm is alleged to have been used, which would include, for …
16 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 1,125 firearm offences recorded by the police in 2007-08 were (a) proceeded against and (b) prosecuted, broken down by type of disposal, including whether the length of the custodial sentence was (i) up to three months, (ii) between three and six months, (iii) between six …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information about recorded crimes and offences involving firearms are reported by the eight police forces in Scotland to the Scottish Government at an incident level. It is not possible to identify from these returns how many of the individual offences result…
16 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering the introduction of mobile court facilities covering the south-west and north-east, as reported in The Herald on 15 July 2009 and, if so, what this will involve.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are no plans to introduce mobile courts in Scotland.</p>
16 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to close a third of Scotland’s courts as reported in The Herald on 15 July 2009 and, if so, (a) how many and (b) which courts it intends to close and when.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are no plans to close a third of Scotland''s Courts and no plans to close any specific sheriff court.</p>
14 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22877 by Fergus Ewing on 8 May 2009, what discussions it has had with Northern Constabulary in relation to the constabulary’s calls for increased powers to impose curfews on those who repeatedly commit crime or behave in an antisocial manner and what…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: My officials met with representatives from Northern Constabulary on 3 June 2009 to discuss their proposal for increased powers to impose curfews on young people who repeatedly commit crime or antisocial behaviour. Northern Constabulary subsequently indicated …
14 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to achieve consistency in (a) approach or (b) outcome through the creation of the Scottish Sentencing Council provided for in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill provides for the creation of the Scottish Sentencing Council and section 4 of the Bill sets out the council''s objectives. These are:</p> <p >To promote consistency in sentencing practice;</p> <p >To assi…
14 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many arrest warrants were (a) issued and (b) successfully served in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) category of offence and (ii) police force area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
14 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many arrest warrants are currently outstanding, broken down by (a) category of offence and (b) police force area.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
14 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recent comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice that appropriate action should be taken against anyone caught displaying flags likely to incite sectarian violence, what evidence it has of the scale of the problem.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.</p> <p >The Scottish Government has made it clear that there is no place in modern Scotland for the sectarian bigotry which has blighted the lives of so many of our people. The Scottish Government believes that sectar…
14 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recent comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice that appropriate action should be taken against anyone caught displaying flags likely to incite sectarian violence, how many offences of this nature have been (a) recorded by police and (b) prosecuted in each of the last 12…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.</p> <p >The Scottish Government does not hold individualised data on any crimes or offences recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland and as such does not hold information on the nature of the crime or the circum…
9 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S3W-22851 by Fergus Ewing on 23 June 2009, what assessment it has made of the recent audit of individual local authority performance of start and completion timescales in respect of community service orders.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The <i >Community Service - Audit of Immediacy and Speed</i> revealed a mixed picture of performance levels across local authorities. Certain authorities were performing well against the timescales set out in the National Standards then operable whilst for ot…
9 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22851 by Fergus Ewing on 23 June 2009 and following the recent audit of individual local authority performance of start and completion timescales in respect of community service orders, what targets have been set for local authorities and how many lo…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The audit referred to in the answer to S3W-22851 was designed to establish a baseline of existing levels of performance and the improvements which local authorities require to make to deliver against the revised guidelines for community service which came int…
9 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with the reported comments of Sheriff James Tierney that there are grounds for both public and judicial concern as to the management of community service orders in Aberdeen and, if so, what action it intends to take.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Sheriff Tierney''s comments arose from the circumstances of a specific community service order for which Aberdeen City Council was responsible. In addition to the particular circumstances of this case, the authority has encountered a number of operational dif…
9 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer to question S3W-24818 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 June 2009, what the motivational element to encourage further participation of prisoners in appropriate interventions, such as the Sex Offender Treatment Programme, is likely to involve.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >It is too early in the development of the new Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) to be prescriptive about what the motivational aspe…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, which found that awareness of community service projects had increased from …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We consider that these figures show a significant improvement and we plan to build on these and other achievements identified by the end of the pilot project. The report, and the government''s analysis of this and the other two pilot visibility projects, have…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, how much additional funding it plans to provide to community justice authori…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In March 2008, all Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) were invited to submit bids for challenge funding to support the delivery of innovative community service visibility projects. Three CJAs received the following funding for six months pilot exercises:</p…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, other than the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what initiatives it is considering with a view to increasing the visibility o…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25647, on 12 August 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/Apps…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what its response is to the finding that 82% of those sampled who believe th…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill will place a statutory duty on local authorities to consult each year with appropriate representatives of community groups/agencies on the types of reparative activities within the area to be undertaken by th…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what assessment it has made of the finding in relation to the type of work i…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Our proposals in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, which was published on 6 March 2009, include provisions for a flexible new Community Payback Order to tackle the causes of offending behaviour as well as responding to its effect. Courts wil…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, whether it has any concerns about the finding that 73.6% of individuals are …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Sentencing decisions are a matter for the sentencing judge, who hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender, and is able to take into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant.</p> <p >While Scottish min…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, whether it has any concerns about the finding that 61.8% of individuals did …
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We acknowledge that there is scope for improved public understanding of the work of criminal justice social work services. It forms part of the communications theme of the long-term coordinated Offender Management Programme now underway.</p>
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, how it intends to increase the (a) visibility of community service, (b) numb…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The National Strategy for Offender Management highlighted communication as one of its key themes. <i >Protecting Scotland''s Communities</i>, published in December 2008, continues this theme. In particular, we are working with the Community Justice Authoritie…
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, and what actions it intends to take as a result.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The final report of the Fife and Forth Valley Community Service Visibility Project contains a number of interesting findings and useful lessons, which potentially have application to other parts of Scotland. The report, and the government''s analysis of this …
7 Jul 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the findings of the final report by the Administrative Justice Steering Group, Administrative Justice in Scotland - The Way Forward, and what actions it plans to take as a consequence.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This useful report provides a thorough analysis of the current administrative justice system in Scotland. The Administrative Justice Steering Group''s two reports have helped to inform and develop the government''s policy on administrative justice, including …
25 Jun 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-24826, S3W-24827 and S3W-24828 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 June 2009, whether it will collect this information in future.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >Work is underway to set up recording systems for purposeful activity, which will include all prisoner work. This new measure will be in p…
25 Jun 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24824 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 June 2009, whether it considers that there is sufficient provision of work in prisons and, if not, what action it will take.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >Ideally there would enough prisoner work places to provide meaningful work for all convicted prisoners and all untried prisoners wh…
25 Jun 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive,further to the answer to question S3W-24824 by Kenny MacAskill on 23 June 2009, what the level is of (a) work provision and (b) demand for work in each prison.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The latest available data shows the number of work places to be:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td …