Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what details on the profile of people who apply to become police constables are stored by the police.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The recruitment documents of those persons who apply to become police constables may be retained by the relevant force under the <i >ACPOS Recommended Records Retention Period</i> guidance.</p> <p >The recruitment documentation for successful applicants wil…
12 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) applied to become police constables and (b) been accepted into the probationer police constable scheme in each of the last 10 years, broken down by gender.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The statistics on the number of people who applied to become police constables and those recruited to Scottish police forces, broken down by gender for the last 10 years, are given in the following table:</p> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > …
12 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) applied to become police constables and (b) been accepted into the probationer police constable scheme in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age at time of application.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
11 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Lord Advocate has exercised the right of appeal against unduly lenient sentences under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.
Answer · Frank Mulholland: Legislation granting the Lord Advocate a right of appeal against a sentence on the ground that it is unduly lenient came into force on 1 August 1997. While information on the total number of appeals lodged since that date is not readily available, a record ha…
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report to the Parliament on the major review of research that it is conducting in the drugs area.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The drugs evidence review is scheduled to conclude in early spring 2010 and will be made available to Parliament following quality assurance procedures, including peer review, shortly thereafter.</p>
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that mandatory drug testing for everybody arrested by the police has the potential to allow for more localised targeting of drug misuse campaigns and support.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23317 on 14 May 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/Bu…
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the comment of the director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, as reported in The Scotsman on 27 April 2009, that mandatory drug testing for everybody arrested by the police is “one of the best ways of finding out what kind of drug…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The police, together with their local partners, are best placed to identify local trends in drug use. Among other things, this can help ensure localised targeting of drug misuse campaigns.</p> <p >It should be noted that information obtained through the pilo…
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it shares the concerns of police officers, as reported in The Scotsman on 27 April 2009, who have become increasingly concerned about the number of people found to be mixing cocaine with alcohol, making them extremely difficult to deal with and, if so, what action it intends to ta…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Mixing cocaine with alcohol not only makes people difficult to deal with, it is also very dangerous for the individuals concerned.</p> <p >We will be running new <i >Know the Score</i> campaigns on cocaine later this year. We will work with key stakeholders …
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of research conducted by the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow in 2000 that found that 70% of people detained by the police had drugs in their system; whether it considers that this proportion has changed significantly in the last nine yea…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The research conducted by the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow in 2000 made a contribution to the debate on the voluntary drug testing of arrestees. However, it was a pilot study limited to Strathclyde and Fife, and only interviewe…
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people arrested by the police has an illegal drug in their system, broken down by type of drug.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people arrested by the police it estimates to have illegal drugs in their systems at the time of arrest.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to calls by the director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow for the introduction of mandatory drug testing for everybody who is arrested, to help tackle drug addiction.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to the question S3W-23837 on 12 May 2009 in respect of the future of the existing mandatory drug testing of arrestees pilots. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the searc…
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail its expenditure on visits to the Red Hook Community Justice Centre in New York in relation to the development of a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow, broken down by (a) date of trip, (b) person travelling, (c) reason for visit and (d) items covered.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A visit to New York was undertaken by Cathy Jamieson, then Minister for Justice, Elizabeth Carmichael, Head of Community Justice Services Division, John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service, Francesca Osowska, Head of Reducing Reoffending Divi…
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which ministers have been involved in the development of plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow; how many hours were spent by each minister, and between what dates this work was completed.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The current Cabinet Secretary for Justice has not been directly involved, but was kept informed of the development of the plans for the Community Justice Centre between May 2008 and March 2009.</p>
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what date work began on developing plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Initial plans for the development of a community justice centre took place under the previous Administration. Work on the current feasibility study started in June 2008.</p>
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours its officials spent developing plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow and between what dates this work was completed.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Two officials worked on the project on an approximate basis of one to one and a half days per week between June 2008 and March 2009. A senior manager chaired the project board.</p> </
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its officials were involved in the development of plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow and between what dates this work was completed.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Two officials worked on this project on a part-time basis from June 2008 to April 2009. A senior manager chaired the five project board meetings which took place during this period.</p>
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reintroduce plans for a pilot community court.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We have no plans at present to reintroduce plans for a community justice centre. The business plan highlighted the high capital and revenue costs for creating and staffing a new court facility and these costs did not include the service gains for which the co…
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the basis was for its decision not to pursue a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The decision was taken by the Community Justice Project Board on the basis of a detailed business plan which highlighted the high revenue costs of creating and staffing a new facility. In the current financial climate, this did not offer best value for money.…
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its research, what benefits it considers that community courts would bring.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The business plan, produced by external consultants, anticipated the following benefits from the establishment of a Community Justice Centre:</p> <p >Increase community safety by contributing to reducing crime in the area and in particular those crimes iden…
24 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of expenditure in relation to the development of a pilotcommunity court in the east end of Glasgow, broken down by (a) nature, (b) amount and (c) date of each expenditure.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: In addition to the costs of Scottish Government officials working on the Community Justice Centre project, £15,525 was paid in March 2009 to Ridgeway Consultants who were commissioned to produce a detailed business plan setting out the full capital and revenu…
23 Apr 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding mechanism it will use for construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson : <i> This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</i></p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0430-01.htm">http://www.scott…
22 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by the police in 2007, broken down by force.
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 victims of crimes or the locatio…
22 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by the police in 2008, broken down by force.
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 victims of crimes or the locatio…
22 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle violence against (a) staff and (b) passengers on public transport.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government attaches great importance to the safety of all passengers and public transport staff. It continues to work in partnership with local authorities, transport operators and others on a range of deterrent and enforcement measures to make p…
22 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the increase in the number of crimes involving violence on public transport in the north east in 2008 as reported in The Press and Journal on 22 April 2009 and what action it intends to take.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Grampian Police are working closely with First UK to address incidents of violence and antisocial behaviour in or around buses. The British Transport Police work with train operators to address crimes on the rail network.</p> <p >The Scottish Government atta…
22 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by Grampian police in 2007, broken down by type of offence and mode of transport.
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 victims of crimes or the locatio…
22 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences on public transport were recorded by Grampian Police in 2008, broken down by type of offence and mode of transport.
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 victims of crimes or the locatio…
15 Apr 2009 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding teacher numbers.
Answer · Keith Brown : <i> This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</i></p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0423-01.htm">http://www.scott…
9 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, following reports from Northern Constabulary of a rise in youth crime in Inverness, whether it is aware of any similar increases in youth disorder and, if so, what action it intends to take.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: National data from the Scottish Children''s Reporter Administration shows a decrease in the number of children referred on offence grounds from 16,490 in 2006-07 to 14,506 in 2007-08, its lowest level since 2002-03.</p> <p >The Scottish Government remains co…