Parliamentary questions
Margaret Mitchell
550 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on the advertising campaign to highlight the two-year anniversary of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004.
Answer · Hugh Henry: There is no advertising campaignplanned to highlight the second anniversary of the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act2004. A regular newsletter is issued to inform local communities on the use of measuresin the act and the progress being made to tackle antis…
26 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals have taken place against asylum application outcomes in Scottish courts in the last five years.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The number of appeals taken againstasylum applications in the Court of Session in the last five years is containedin the following table.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=47 valign=top> <p> </p> </td> <td w…
26 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the average length of time taken between an appeal against an asylum application outcome being lodged and the case being (a) heard and (b) concluded.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does nothold information on asylum proceedings within the tribunal system. This is a matterfor the Home Office.</p><p>The various types of appeal thatreach the Scottish Courts are referred to in the answer to question S2W-29303. Theaver…
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the street value was of drugs seized in prisons, broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and what the figure is for 2006.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish PrisonService to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>This information requestedis not available. Drug seizures are handed over to the police for them to test andthey then become evidence in any …
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the absence rates of prison wardens were broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and what the figures are for 2006.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The information requested iscontained in the following table. The information is not available for 1997,1998 and 1999. The table prov…
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison wardens were (a) disciplined, (b) dismissed, (c) charged and (d) prosecuted for smuggling illicit items into prisons in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999, (iv) 2000, (v) 2001, (vi) 2002, (vii) 2003, (viii) 2004 and (ix) 2005 and what the figures are for 2006.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the ScottishPrison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SPS does not employ any“wardens”. The SPS does not hold any information on prison officers who werecharged or prosecuted for smugg…
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is in place in respect of prisoners’ bank accounts.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>External bank accounts heldby prisoners are not a matter for the SPS.</p><p>The SPS sets up internalaccounts for prisoners and these a…
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what average amount of money is placed in prisoners’ bank accounts by relatives and what maximum amount is allowed to be so placed in their accounts.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>There are no limits in placewith regards to funds either sent in or posted to prisoners. The SPS does applylimits to the subsequent fl…
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks were reported on prison wardens, broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and how many there have been in 2006.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish PrisonService (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SPS does not employ any“wardens”. Data on serious assaults by prisoners on SPS staff are contained inSPS Annual Reports which are a…
17 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio was of prison wardens to prisoners, broken down by prison, in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001, (f) 2002, (g) 2003, (h) 2004 and (i) 2005 and what the current ratios are.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish PrisonService (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The SPS do not employ prisonwardens. The available information of staff prisoner ratios is contained in thefollowing table:</p><table b…
16 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on private care hire for transporting (a) patients and (b) medical notes in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not collectedby the Scottish Executive.</p>
13 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how long it took for compensation, awarded to victims of miscarriages of justice in each of the last five years, to reach each victim.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: It is Executive policy notto disclose details of the claims for compensation paid to individualapplicants without the express permission of the applicant. Accordingly,because the number of cases is small, providing the requested information on anannual basis …
13 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used for deciding the amount of compensation to be paid to each victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that the Scottish ministers shall pay compensation incases where a conviction is reversed on the ground that a new or newlydiscovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriageof …
13 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much compensation has been paid to each victim of a miscarriage of justice in each of the last five years.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: It is Executive policy notto disclose the amount of compensation paid to individual applicants withoutthe express permission of the applicant. Accordingly, because the number ofcases involved is small, providing the requested information on an annual basiscou…
6 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the victims of the offences committed by the individuals on the sex offenders’ register whose whereabouts are unknown have been notified of the offenders’ disappearance.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The extent to which informationis made available to victims, their families, or identified adults targeted by anoffender, is an operational matter for the police to determine and on a case bycase basis. In all circumstances, the police assess the risk of harm…
6 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the names of the 24 individuals on the sex offenders’ register whose whereabouts are unknown and list the offences to which they were found guilty of committing.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot held centrally. Disclosure of information about sex offenders is best undertakenon a case by case basis and will be considered by the police, in consultation withother agencies, as part of their public protection responsibiliti…
2 Oct 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people on the sex offenders’ register or required under any order to report their whereabouts to police on a regular basis since 1999 have failed to do so and, of these, how many are still unaccounted for.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive does not routinelycollate the information requested. Details of sex offenders and the requirementsor restrictions imposed on these individuals by the courts, are held by the ScottishPolice Service and associated criminal justice partners. Howeve…
1 Sep 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals with no car insurance were convicted of a motoring offence in each year since 1997, broken down into age (a) 17, (b) 18, (c) 19, (d) 20, (e) 21, (f) 22, (g) 23, (h) 24 and (i) 25 and over.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on whether or notpersons convicted of motoring offences had car insurance is not recorded in thestatistics held centrally. Figures for the number of offences with a charge provedof failing to insure against third party risks are given in the follo…
25 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been made in respect of Eaga Partnership Ltd in each year since the introduction of the central heating programme to date, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is asfollows:</p><p>The number of complaintsmade in respect of Eaga Partnership Ltd, in each year since the introduction of the central heating programme, is shown…
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children aged (a) 8, (b) 9, (c) 10, (d) 11, (e) 12, (f) 13, (g) 14, (h) 15, (i) 16 and (j) 17 have been (i) charged with and (ii) convicted of under-age drinking in each sheriff court area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Statistics on personscharged by the police are not available centrally. Children aged under 16 aregenerally referred to the children’s hearings system for all but the most seriousoffences. With very few exceptions, any prosecutions for under-age drinkingtake …
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many young offenders have been tested for dyslexia and how many have (a) gone on to re-offend and (b) been offered sufficient support after being diagnosed with dyslexia in each year since 1997, broken down by sheriff court area.
Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been tested for dyslexia in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive where children are placed if their residency has been terminated from a (a) secure unit and (b) residential home as a result of (i) disruptive behaviour and (ii) other reasons.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This is information is notheld centrally. However, there are a variety of reasons why a young person’s residentialplacement may be terminated. These decisions are made in the best interests of the young person by their local authority as part of their individ…
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have had their stay terminated prematurely from (a) secure units and (b) residential homes in each of the last 10 years, also giving the reasons for the premature termination.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is notgathered centrally.</p>
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many outstanding claims the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority currently has and in what years these claims were initiated.
Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27778 on 29 August 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…
11 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) longest, (b) average and (c) shortest time was for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to settle a claim (i) since and (ii) in each year since its inception.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested isnot held centrally. Information on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority’sperformance can be found in its <i>Annual Reports and Accounts</i>, copies of whichare available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. n…
4 Aug 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have been found guilty of a crime in each of the last five years, broken down by category of offence and outcome.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the tables.</p><p>Women with a Charge Provedin Scottish Courts, by Main Crime/Offence and Main Penalty, 2000-01</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=610> <thead> <tr> <td width=279 nowrap valign=top> <…
31 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times sheriffs have granted bail where a procurator fiscal has recommended against it in each of the last 10 years, broken down by sheriff court area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>
31 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children in local authority care homes have been charged with a crime in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>
31 Jul 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have run away from local authority care homes in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>