Claire Baker

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many indictments have been registered at each court in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many days each court has sat in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many jury trials have taken place at each court in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many summary procedures without a jury were called but adjourned because of lack of court time at each court in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many jury trials were called but adjourned because of a lack of court time at each court in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many criminal trials have been adjourned because of (a) a crown motion, (b) a defence motion, (c) failure to appear by an accused, (d) failure to appear by a witness, (e) lack of court time and (f) any other reason at each court in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

27 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children born in Fife in the last five years have been diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: There were no babies reported with a diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Fife in the last five years. The facility to record Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is available on the Scottish Birth Record (SBR). However, some under-reporting of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is…

20 Sep 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support GP surgeries in Fife.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is aware of the pressures facing general practice and are fully committed to supporting a model of sustainable general practice. On 10 March, I announced an additional £71.6 million will be invested in direct support of general pract…

18 Sep 2017 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the terrorist incident at Parsons Green in London.

11 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to support the tourism sector in Fife.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The development of Fife's tourism sector is supported through the work of a range of our public bodies, for example, VisitScotland's marketing campaigns, including working with the industry to build on the success of film and TV shot there, such as Outlander;…

25 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the responsible selling among retailers and wholesalers of (a) quad bikes and (b) other similar single person-operated vehicles.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Regulation of the sale and ownership of quad bikes and other similar single-person operated vehicles has not been devolved to Scottish Ministers and remains an issue that is reserved to the UK Government. The DVLA is responsible for the registration and lic…

25 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many quad bikes have been registered in Scotland on the DVLA’s voluntary registration scheme, and what action it is taking to promote the scheme.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The legislation governing the registration of quad bikes has not been devolved to Scottish Ministers and remains reserved to the UK Government. Information about the scheme is available on the UK Government website and the DVLA leaflet, INF 85, "Protect your…

17 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many acid attacks there has been in each of the past five years; how many convictions there were, broken down by average length of sentence, and whether it plans to review the law on dealing with this type of crime.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on the number of acid attacks over the last five years is not held centrally. Where someone uses acid or other corrosive substances to attack another person, a range of general criminal offences can be used to prosecute including the common law of…

27 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) mean and (b) median annual salary is in each constituency in the Mid Scotland and Fife parliamentary region, also broken down by (i) gender, and (ii) age.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following tables provide mean and median gross annual earnings for full-time employees in the Mid Scotland and Fife parliamentary constituencies, broken down by age and by gender. Table 1a: Median annual earnings (£) for full-time employee jobs1,2 by ge…

27 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) mean and (b) median annual salary is in (i) Scotland and (ii) each parliamentary region, broken down by (A) gender and (B) age.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following tables provide mean and median gross annual earnings for full-time employees in Scotland for 2016 by Scottish parliamentary region, broken down by age and gender. Table 1a: Median annual earnings (£) for full-time employee jobs1,2 by gender/age…

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications there have been to the Climate Challenge Fund, and how many of these have been approved, broken down by funding round.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Applications to the Climate Challenge Fund are assessed by an independent grants panel, which makes funding recommendations to Scottish Minsters. The following table provides a breakdown of the number of applications approved and declined by funding round. …

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken since the Climate Challenge Fund was introduced to increase the number of successful applications from communities in the highest ranked deciles of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Climate Challenge Fund does not specifically target communities in the highest ranked deciles of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. The Fund’s administrator, Keep Scotland Beautiful, promotes the Climate Challenge Fund throughout Scotland and pro…

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of Climate Challenge Fund awards by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-09208 on 23 May 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/288…

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations have received cumulative funding in excess of £250,000 through the Climate Challenge Fund, broken down by the (a) (i) number and (ii) amount of grants received and (b) percentage of grants allocated (A) by funding round and (B) in total.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Since the Climate Challenge Fund’s inception in 2008, a range of organisations have received cumulative funding which totals more than £250,000. The requested breakdown for these organisations is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.…

11 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) ensure that a proportion of funding from the Climate Challenge Fund is channelled to more deprived communities and (b) simplify the application and monitoring process to remove any barriers to entry that face smaller organisations.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Climate Challenge Fund is open to all eligible community-led organisations across Scotland, and there are robust procedures in place to ensure that funding is accessible to all types of communities. A breakdown of all Climate Challenge Fund grants, since…

26 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates it has met the (a) chair of the Scottish Police Authority and (b) chief constable of Police Scotland since April 2016.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Since April 2016 the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has had a regular meeting with the Chair of the Scottish Police Authority on: 10 August 2016; 5 October 2016; 3 November 2016; 14 December 2016; 16 January 2017; 7 February 2017; 7 March 2017; and 18 April 20…

18 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to potential problems for members of the legal profession in Scotland when representing clients from the EU after the UK's exit.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government is considering the full implications of exit from the European Union, including the impact on members of the legal profession when representing clients from the EU. We recognise the potential challenges that ending this and other mutua…

18 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many convictions there have been under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 and what the impact will be on these of the decision by the Supreme Court in the case of AB (Appellant) v Her Majesty’s Advocate (Respondent) (Scotland) that section 39(2)(a)(i) of the Sexual Offences (Sco…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Supreme Court's ruling in the case of AB v. HMA concerns the defence at section 39 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 of "reasonable mistaken belief as to age." The defence applies in respect of offences at sections 28-37 of the Act concerning sex…

18 Apr 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports of sexually exploitative behaviour in the private rented housing sector.

11 Apr 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports companies that wish to reduce their environmental impact.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government, its agencies and partners are fully committed to supporting businesses to reduce their environmental impact. Support comes from a range of sources and approaches. These include a robust and supportive regulatory framework which encour…

3 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to (a) solicitors and (b) clients following the decision by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission to increase the levy paid by solicitors by 12.5%, and what in consider the impact of the increase will be on them.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has acknowledged the concerns of the legal profession around the impact of the increased levy, particularly in relation to in-house solicitors, and the proportionality of imposing the increase across the whole of the p…

3 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the decision by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission to increase the levy paid by solicitors by 12.5%, and what impact it considers this will have on (a) the solicitors and (b) clients.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The 12.5% rise equates to an annual rise of £40 per annum for solicitors in private practice, £15 per annum for in-house solicitors, and £24 per annum for advocates. The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has acknowledged concerns around affordability and h…

3 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to conduct a review of the regulation of legal services and, if so, when it will carry this out.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: Scottish Ministers propose to establish an independent review of the regulation of legal services. The purpose of the review will be to make independent recommendations to reform and modernise the statutory framework for the regulation of legal services and c…

3 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representation it has made to the (a) Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, (b) Law Society of Scotland and (c) Faculty of Advocates regarding the 12.5% increase in the levy paid by solicitors by to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government does not have a role in setting the levy which is to be paid by the legal profession. It did not respond to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission’s consultation on its draft budget and operating plan. It is for the Commission to set…

30 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01982 by Michael Matheson on 9 September 2016, whether it will publish annual information in future on the number of (a) times Tasers are used and (b) complaints that are made by the public regarding the use of Tasers.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally. The deployment of tasers is an operational matter for Police Scotland. All incidents where a taser has been discharged are notified to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner for independent investigation and …