Margaret Mitchell

18 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for littering offences in each year since 2007, broken down by (i) type of offence and (ii) local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following tables. All offences were prosecuted under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Section 87(1). Further details regarding type of offence is not held centrally. People Proceeded against in Scottish Courts f…

25 Feb 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact closing Motherwell, Cumbernauld and Coatbridge Justice of the Peace courts could have on access to justice.

21 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted for possession of crystal methamphetamine in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following tables and is based on drug possession offences that have an offence modifier for methamphetamines recorded. Persons proceeded against for drug possession1 with an offence modifier for methylamphetamine rec…

21 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of drugs has been seized in each prison in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: The following table illustrates the number of suspected drug finds recorded in each year since 2008 broken down by establishment. SPS …

21 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many older people are registered as carers, broken down by age group.

Answer · Alex Neil: There is no national registration for Carers although some GP practices will keep local registers.

8 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact there has been on staff numbers at Motherwell College as a result of reductions to the further education budget in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

Answer · Michael Russell: Colleges are independent employers of staff and are responsible for their own staffing matters. Ministers have made clear that, where colleges are seeking to reduce the size of their workforce, they should do so in a way which avoids compulsory redundancies.

8 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reduction in the further education budget for 2013-14 will have on student places at Motherwell College.

Answer · Michael Russell: The funding of individual colleges is a matter for the Scottish Funding Council, and I have asked its chief executive to write to the member.

21 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the scientific basis is for the recommended separation distance between wind turbines and the edge of cities, towns and villages contained in the Scottish Planning Policy and when this was last reviewed.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The scientific basis for the recommended separation distance is that in relation to settlements, wind turbine development at a distance of up to 2 km is likely to be a prominent feature in an open landscape. This was first set out in Guidelines on the Environ…

21 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the recommended separation distance between wind turbines and the edge of cities, towns and villages contained in the Scottish Planning Policy.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government will consider all relevant matters in the current review of Scottish Planning Policy. The document is being reviewed as a whole, not on a topic-by-topic basis. This means looking at the connections between policy topics and taking an i…

10 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) courts have been affected and (b) cases have been delayed by strike action by solicitors in November and December 2012.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: 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.

3 Dec 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on any increase in calls and approaches to organisations that support survivors of childhood sexual abuse following the recent revelations about Jimmy Savile.

12 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect sites of historical and archaeological interest.

18 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09088 by Keith Brown on 3 September 2012, how many speed cameras there are in Central Scotland, broken down by road.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Central Scotland Safety Camera Partnership operates mobile speed cameras at eleven sites and on two routes as part of the Scottish Safety Camera Programme. There are no fixed roadside speed cameras in Central Scotland. Mobile cameras can be deployed at an…

10 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents there have been on roads in Central Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by road.

Answer · Keith Brown: The following table provides the statistics requested. As the roads are of different lengths an accident rate per kilometre of road is included. The accident rate per kilometre and levels of traffic need to be considered when comparing the numbers of accident…

14 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 in each year since 2006.

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, 2005-06 to 2010-11 Main Result of Proceedings 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 …

14 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many risk of sexual harm orders have been (a) issued and (b) breached in each year since 2006.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The following table details the number of risk of sexual harm orders that have been issued and breached under the Protection of Children and the Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 in each year since 2006. 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 …

13 Jun 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Violence Reduction Unit and what issues were discussed.

8 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been (a) issued and (b) breached since November 2011.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: 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.

23 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of Scottish Enterprise and what issues were discussed.

29 Feb 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications were made to the Enterprise Growth Fund and what the assessment criteria were.

25 Jan 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides for the early identification of, and how it raises awareness of and supports people with dyslexia.

18 Jan 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Scottish Retail Consortium.

20 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultations it has carried out in each year since 2007, broken down by policy area.

Answer · Bruce Crawford: Information classifying each consultation by policy area is not held centrally. Open, closed and forthcoming consultations are listed on the Scottish Government website at this web address: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current. Published reports…

16 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it has set the non-domestic rates targets in relation to the business rates incentivisation scheme, broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The provisional non-domestic rates targets were issued for consultation on 22 December 2011. The targets were based on the Scottish Government’s best estimate of non-domestic rate income to be raised in 2012-13 allocated pro-rata to individual local authoriti…

16 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it calculated the extra £493.5 million income from non-domestic rates over the spending review period.

Answer · John Swinney: More than half of the estimated increase in non-domestic rate income over the spending review period is due to normal estimated inflationary increases in the poundage rate. The Scottish Government has committed to maintain the same poundage rate as in England…

9 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts were signed by 1 December 2009 under the Mixed Plastics Capital Grant Programme and how much has been paid to each project at the agreed milestones.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: No contracts were signed under Zero Waste Scotland’s Mixed Plastics Capital Grant Programme by December 2009.

30 Nov 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to improve the early identification of adults who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the plastic from Scotland that was sent for reprocessing has been reprocessed outside the country in each year since 2008.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The percentage of plastic waste from Scotland that was sent for reprocessing outwith Scotland since 2008, based on SEPA data returns, is as follows: 2008 – 36% 2009 – 27% The data for 2010 is not available at present.

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £5 million capital grants scheme for plastics recycling infrastructure has been awarded to the (a) private and (b) public sector and how much for public and private sector partnerships.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The capital grant scheme for plastics recycling infrastructure is managed by Zero Waste Scotland. Detailed due diligence discussions between the preferred bidder and Zero Waste Scotland are currently ongoing. No further information can be provided until these…

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on waste prevention projects in 2010-11 and how much will be spent on these in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Waste prevention activity is now delivered through Zero Waste Scotland which has now brought together the activity of several delivery programmes which the Scottish Government previously funded directly. It is not possible to identify a separate waste prevent…