Margaret Mitchell

12 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the recommendations of its review of waste spreading will be published.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Following the recent completion of the review of the storage and spreading of sewage sludge on land in Scotland I expect to announce the recommendations from the review in the very near future.

2 Sep 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support carers in the Central Scotland region.

26 Aug 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage apprenticeships in the chemicals and energy sectors.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The skills investment plans for chemical sciences and energy include action with industry to increase the number of Modern Apprenticeships (MA) in both of these important sectors. A sector specific MA leaflet has been developed to help raise awareness within …

10 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote local culture and identity.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Public Bodies Creative Scotland, Event Scotland and Historic Scotland all promote local culture and identity in different ways. Creative Scotland’s Creative Place Awards celebrate all that is best about our communities in Scotland and recognise the hard work …

28 Apr 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of Police Scotland’s strategy for engaging with local communities.

14 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of waste spreading, including sewage sludge.

10 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the formal review of waste spreading will commence, and whether the public will have the opportunity to respond.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The review into the spreading of sewage sludge on land began on 6 March 2015 when the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Water and Scottish Government met to finalise the terms of the review. The review will take into account the views of a ran…

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what type of weapons have been seized in Airdrie Sheriff 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 Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing within 20 days

24 Feb 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the various phases of the Transport Scotland Raith Junction improvement works are due for completion.

16 Feb 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on prescribing methadone to drug users as a rehabilitation process.

7 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what level of (a) physiotherapy, (b) occupational therapy and (c) speech therapy each (i) NHS board and (ii) local authority provides for people who have had a stroke.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally. While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual NHS boards are responsible for planning and funding services in their area and for securing and determining the workforce to…

17 Dec 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Forth Valley.

1 Dec 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the accuracy of the reporting of crime statistics.

24 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the NHS spent on overtime payments in each month of 2013, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) speciality.

Answer · Alex Neil: Whilst the Scottish Government sets policy for NHSScotland, it is for NHS boards to plan and manage services for the benefit of the patients they serve. The information requested is therefore not collected centrally and should be sought directly from boards.

29 Sep 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring proposals for local government budget savings to ensure that they have no adverse consequences for public safety.

22 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the "technical difficulties" are that have delayed the publication of prison statistics and projections for 2012-13.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The prison statistics published by the Scottish Government are derived from daily data from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) live management information system. The Scottish Government statistical system is designed to rearrange detailed individual records i…

1 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of (a) sheriff summary and (b) Justice of the Peace court cases in each month since April 2014 has been dealt with within 20 weeks from first calling to sentence.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The overall timescales for the processing of cases are kept under review on a national basis by the justice board. Local criminal justice boards keep the position in individual courts under review and respond to changes as appropriate. The available informati…

1 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time from caution and charge to verdict for (a) sheriff summary and (b) Justice of the Peace court cases has been in each month since April 2014.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The overall timescales for the processing of cases are kept under review on a national basis by the justice board. Local criminal justice boards keep the position in individual courts under review and respond to changes as appropriate. The available informati…

1 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of (a) sheriff summary and (b) Justice of the Peace court cases in each month since April 2014 has been dealt with within 26 weeks from caution and charge to verdict.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The overall timescales for the processing of cases are kept under review on a national basis by the justice board. Local criminal justice boards keep the position in individual courts under review and respond to changes as appropriate. The available informati…

17 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-03329 by Alex Neil on 11 June 2014 (Official Report, c. 32073), whether older people being discharged from hospital are screened for malnutrition.

Answer · Alex Neil: All patients are screened throughout their hospital stay through the use of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, and if a patient is identified as being malnourished staff should undertake appropriate referrals and assessments through to the patient’s d…

17 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-03329 by Alex Neil on 11 June 2014 (Official Report, c. 32073), how many people have developed malnutrition (a) at home, (b) in hospital and (c) in residential care in each of the last five years.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally.

4 Jun 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to combat malnutrition, which affects some of the most vulnerable older people.

4 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been each year under the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. Persons proceeded against under the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 20051. Financial year Proceeded against Charge proved Not guilty 2005-06 1 1 0 200…

21 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of summary criminal cases in the (a) sheriff court and (b) Justice of the Peace court has been disposed of within 20 weeks from first calling to sentence in each (i) year since 2007 and (ii) month since September 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The overall timescales for the processing of cases are kept under review on a national basis by the Justice Board. Local criminal justice boards keep the position in individual courts under review and respond to changes as appropriate. The available informati…

21 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time from caution and charge to verdict has been for (a) sheriff summary court cases and (b) Justice of the Peace court cases in each (i) year since 2007 and (ii) month since September 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The overall timescales for the processing of cases are kept under review on a national basis by the Justice Board. Local criminal justice boards keep the position in individual courts under review and respond to changes as appropriate. The available informati…

21 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of (a) sheriff summary court cases and (b) Justice of the Peace court cases has been dealt with within 26 weeks from caution and charge to verdict in each (i) year since 2007 and (ii) month since September 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The overall timescales for the processing of cases are kept under review on a national basis by the Justice Board. Local criminal justice boards keep the position in individual courts under review and respond to changes as appropriate. The available informati…

1 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date Lord Bonomy's review group on corroboration first met or will first meet.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The first meeting of Lord Bonomy’s Reference Group was on 7 April 2014.

29 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its international development programme supports young people wanting to carry out voluntary work overseas.

28 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussion it has had with the review group led by Lord Bonomy regarding the possibility of extending its remit to consider the case for abolition of corroboration, and what effect this would have on the group's timetable.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No discussion has occurred. I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20897 on 8 May 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.p…

28 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the review group led by Lord Bonomy has enough time to consider the abolition of corroboration as it is due to report in April 2015.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20897 on 8 May 2014. As Lord Bonomy’s review will not be asked to consider the abolition of the general requirement for corroboration in Scots criminal law, the issue does not arise. All answers to written par…