Parliamentary questions

Margaret Mitchell

550 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

2 Mar 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to education authorities since March 2003 regarding the safe use of the internet in schools.

Answer · Euan Robson: The principles set out in theMarch 2003 guidance are still valid. The Learning and Teaching Scotland “DoubleClick Thinking” website which supports the circular is updated from time to time,most recently in October 2004.

22 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for litter offences there have been since 1999.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Section 92(9) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and section 87(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 make it an offence to dispose of litter in common places and public open places respectively.Information is only available from the Cro…

22 Feb 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for dog fouling there have been since 1999.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force on 22 October 2003 and repealed section 48 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.Information is only available from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s database from 2002. In the fi…

24 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what place in the curriculum is given to the teaching of works of Scottish poets, such as Robert Burns.

Answer · Euan Robson: The Curriculum Guidelines for English language 5-14 advise that Scottish texts, including poetry, should be actively sought and used in classrooms. A Curriculum for Excellence sets out a number of purposes which will be well served by the teaching of works by…

17 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research is being undertaken into the issue of access by prisoners to mobile phones.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Prisoners are not allowed to use mobile phones whilst in prison as this is a significant threat to prison security. The Scottish Prison Service are working with a number of other agencies, including the Police Scientific Development Branch, to develop more e…

10 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many elderly people are registered as carers.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Every day in every part of Scotland carers make an invaluable contribution to the care of vulnerable people, and I acknowledge that with thanks today. Most of the carers are middle-aged or young, but a significant proportion are older people. The last census …

15 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any legislation or other action it has abandoned as a result of a consultation.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The information sought is not held centrally. All departments are encouraged to make public consultation an integral part of the policy formulation process. The Executive considers in detail all responses provided to consultation documents and takes these int…

15 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultations it has carried out since July 1999 and what action it has taken in light of any responses received.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has issued 904 consultations between July 1999 and mid January 2005. The Executive is committed to consultation as an important way of involving people and organisations in the policy making process. Consultation on specific policy issu…

15 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when the recommendations in The Same as You? are fully implemented, adults with profound learning difficulties or with learning difficulties combined with health and/or behavioural problems will be required to move into the community to live in their own home with appropriate ho…

Answer · Tom McCabe: There is nothing in The same as you? that requires the closure of residential care facilities that provide care, treatment and support for adults with profound learning difficulties or with learning difficulties combined with health and/or behavioural …

15 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether adults with profound learning difficulties combined with health problems will have the choice to either live in their own home in the community or remain in residential care units and homes when the recommendations in The Same as You? are fully implemented.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The same as you? does not seek the closure of residential care units andhomes. The aim in The same as you? is for the closure of long-stay hospitalprovision for people with learning disabilities by the end of 2005, so that no-onehas a hospital a…

14 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list each temporary judge, giving their date and period of appointment.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information is given in the following table:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Name </td> <td> Date of First Appointment </td> <td> Date of Expiry</p…

14 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many temporary judges have been made permanent judges in the last 10 years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Of the current complement of 32 judges, four have held the office of temporary judge.

14 Jul 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are applied in the appointment of temporary judges.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: All appointments are made by Scottish ministers on the recommendation of Scotland’s Senior Judge, the Lord President of the Court of Session. Holders of office as a temporary judge may only be appointed if they meet the qualification standard for appointment …

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any proposals to regulate the operation and activities of private security organisations.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-7908 on 13 May 2004.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/webap…

12 May 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it gives to social inclusion partnerships (SIPs) in respect of their definition and evaluation of best value.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Communities Scotland providesguidance to SIPs in terms of accountability for public funds, monitoring for effectiveuse of that funding and on issues of governance. In addition, all SIPs have inputfrom local authorities as partners or “accountable bodies” and …

27 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on publishing its consultations in each year since 1999.

Answer · Andy Kerr: All Scottish Executive consultation documents for the last six years can be found on the Scottish Executive website at:<ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/default.aspx">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/default.aspx</a>.There is cur…

19 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what value of fixed penalty notices (a) were offered, (b) were collected and (c) remained outstanding in each of the last four years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables:Number of Police Fixed Penalty Notices Issued for Stationary Vehicle Offences<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan=2> Calendar Year </td> <td…

19 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what the value of fiscal fines (a) were offered, (b) were collected and (c) remained outstanding in each of the last four years, broken down by district court.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables: Number of Fiscal Fines Offered And Accepted<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan=2> Commission Area </td> <td colspan=4> <…

3 Mar 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when, and how, it intends to introduce legislation in respect of sexual grooming.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: There canbe no more tragic a problem than child abuse. The damage and heartbreak canlast for a life time. We know that those who carry out that abuse are cleverand cunning and that they will exploit any opportunity, including the internet.That is why the Exec…

1 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority school closure applications involving schools with an occupancy level greater than 80% it has called in in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004, showing how many closures it approved in each year.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not call in such proposals. Education authorities are required by statute to seek the consent of the Scottish ministers to any proposal to close any school where the number of pupils in attendance is greater than 80% of the school’…

1 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority planning applications seeking planning permission for development on green belt areas it has called in in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (d) 2004, showing how many applications it approved in each year.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

11 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in how many, and what percentage of, cases before the High Court in each of the last five years (a) up to 25, (b) 26 to 50, (c) 51 to 75, (d) 76 to 100 and (e) more than 101 witnesses have been called in total for both the preliminary and final witness lists.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The information requestedcould only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

3 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been allocated for the funding of local alcohol action plans, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We expect to announcespecific funding for the implementation of local alcohol action plans in thefirst week in March. The release of funding isconditional on alcohol action teams having agreed outcome expectations and systemsin place to measure key indicators…

14 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for fraud by adults who pretend to be a child for the purpose of securing a meeting with a child or committing, or attempting to commit, a sexual offence in each of the last six years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This type of case, which maybe covered by offences such as common law fraud or an offence under section7(1) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 1995, cannot beseparately identified within the statistics available centrally.

14 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for lewd communication with a child through an internet chatroom in each of the last six years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: There is no specific offencefor lewd communication in an internet chatroom. These cases may be covered byother offences such as common law lewd, indecent and libidinous practices, butthey cannot be separately identified within the statistics available central…

14 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for accessing and downloading child pornography on the internet in each of the last six years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table. The figures are for offences under sections 52 and 52A of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, which cover the possession, distribution and making of indecent material relating to children. Not a…

13 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent by district courts in each of the last six years to cover loss of earnings by Justices of the Peace.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Under section 17 of theDistrict Courts (Scotland) Act 1975, Justices of the Peace are entitled toreceive, where appropriate, financial loss allowance for loss of earnings andtravel and subsistence costs where expenditure is necessarily incurred by them inthe …

12 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any steps have been taken to design the proposed online route for the M80 extension from Stepps to Haggs to protect the Roman fortlet at Mollins and, if not, whether it has any plans to fund a full excavation and recording of the site.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The current scheme designwill minimise and restrict the impact on the Fort to a small area. Any requiredexcavation and recording will therefore be restricted to this area with themajority of the site remaining undisturbed.

7 Jan 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had regarding any potential impact on the justice system resulting from the introduction of a European public prosecutor.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: We have been fully engaged with the preparationof the UK line in the IntergovernmentalConference and have stressed the importance of ensuring that any agreedproposal for a European Public Prosecutor is compatible with the responsibilityof the Lord Advocate fo…

6 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals are in place to improve direct transport links for patients within the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area who have to travel between North Lanarkshire and the city of Glasgow for health care services, in particular for those who have to take three separate bus journeys to atten…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHSGreater Glasgow and its planning partners.I understand that GreaterGlasgow NHS Board is currently undertaking a major piece of work on transportand access as part of their Acute Hospitals Modernisation Programme. They aimto appo…