Graeme Pearson

1 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services laboratories there are, where they are located and how many people are employed at each.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority. I have alerted the Chief Executive to your question and I have asked him to write to you.

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to use tagging technology to track offenders on early release who have been identified as requiring closer supervision.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Electronic monitoring has been in use in Scotland since 2002. radio frequency technology is currently used in Scotland to monitor individuals serving the whole or part of their sentence in the community. Radio frequency technology can be used to curfew an ind…

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has budgeted to finance closed-circuit television links between courts and prisons in each year since 2011-12.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Funding has been allocated by the Scottish Government and relevant justice organisations for the improvement of the information and communications technology infrastructure in the courts and in prisons, including the installation of video technology for a var…

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times solicitors have interviewed clients in custody via a closed-circuit link or other technology in each year since 2011-12.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following figures show the number of solicitor to client in custody consultations conducted by video link. It should be noted that in years 2013-14, 2014-15 and up until end of September 2015 the availability of video links to allow agent to client consul…

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times prisoner appearances at court have been conducted via a closed-circuit television link in each year since 2011-12.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following figures show the number of court appearances conducted by video link between prisons and courts. It should be noted that legislation currently prohibits certain hearing types from being conducted via video link. The Scottish Government, via the …

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have been prescribed methadone in each year since 2006-07, broken down by prison.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Data collected by Scottish Prison Service Data collected by NHS Dec-06 Dec-07 Dec-08 Dec-09 Dec-10 Sep-14 Apr-15 Prison HM Prison Aberdeen¹ 62 64 68 62 80 N/A N/A HM Prison Peterhead² 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A HM Prison Grampian N/A N/A …

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that approximately 2,500 drugs cases are awaiting analysis due to the Scottish Police Authority having a lack of forensic science capacity, and what impact this is having on sheriff courts.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services has confirmed that they have 2,500 drugs cases in their current workload which includes cases being worked on and those yet to be started. The Crown Office has confirmed that there are no systemic issues of drugs ca…

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have been employed by the Victim Information and Advice service in each year since 2006-07, broken down by position, and what the service’s budget was in each of these years.

Answer · Frank Mulholland QC: Figures for the total number of staff employed in the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service in each year and for the VIA budget are published in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service annual accounts. The details of the positions which were hel…

30 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have used the Victim Information and Advice service in each year since 2006-07.

Answer · Frank Mulholland QC: Statistics are not centrally held for the numbers of individuals within the cases which are referred who then use the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service. From the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service records, the number of cases which have bee…

24 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the revenue budget has been for the (a) Scottish Courts Service and (b) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in each year since 2010-11, expressed in both (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Please see the requested information in the following table: RDEL 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 £ million £ million £ million £ million £ million £ million Scottish Court Service Cash 73.2 69.5 68.5 67.7 65.…

24 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage change there has been to the revenue budget of the (a) Scottish Courts Service and (b) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in each year since 2010-11, expressed in both (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Please see the requested information in the following table: RDEL 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 10-11 to 14-15 10-11 to 15-16 Scottish Court Service Cash -5.1% -1.4% -1.2% -3.5% 5.4% -10.8% -6.0% Real -6.7% -3.0…

23 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants to the Scottish Welfare Fund in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 received (i) financial and (ii) other assistance, and how many applications to the fund were rejected.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Welfare Fund comprises of two types of grants – Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants. Community Care Grants are intended to enable people to live independently or continue to live independently, preventing the need for institutional care. A Cr…

18 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government at what stage potential windfarm developers must obtain a licence to export power to the grid.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Under the Electricity Act 1989 certain activities concerning electricity may only be carried out with a licence (or under a relevant exemption or exception). It is the responsibility of Ofgem to determine the content of electricity licences, and to grant lice…

17 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the allocation in Scotland of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived.

Answer · Keith Brown: In May 2013 the then Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth Mr John Swinney MSP wrote to the UK Minister for Employment Mark Hoban about the fund and the UK Government’s wish to block the proposal on budgetary grounds as the Scottish…

17 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was distributed under the Scottish Welfare Fund in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Answer · Alex Neil: The local authority budget allocation for the Scottish Welfare Fund was £32,995,240 for 2013-14 and £32,995,240 in 2014-15. Following the first two years of operation, as at 31 March 2015, a total of £64,695,089 had been distributed by the fund (£28,915,060 …

17 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many grants were made under the Emergency Food Action Plan between 11 April 2014 and 31 August 2015; to whom they were made, and what the value of each grant was.

Answer · Alex Neil: There have been 27 grant offer agreements made between 11 April 2014 and 31 August 2015 in connection with the Emergency Food Action Plan. The details of the grant offer agreements are contained in the following table: Organisation Total Grant 2014-15 an…

10 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the (a) Falkirk and District Faculty of Solicitors and (b) Glasgow Bar Association regarding its members' reported concerns about the legal aid arrangements for the new sheriff appeal court.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: We have not met directly with either the Falkirk and District Faculty of Solicitors nor the Glasgow Bar Association. As the representative body for the profession, I met with the senior management team of the Law Society of Scotland on 3 September 2015 where …

10 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long it takes on average for Police Scotland to respond to freedom of information requests.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. This is a matter for Police Scotland.

27 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the independent panel of inquiry on the use of hormone pregnancy tests and whether there are links between such tests and birth defects, which was announced by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health on 23 October…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has raised, and continues to raise, the issue of the independent panel with the UK Government and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. I have stressed that it is vital that the independent panel has the opportunity …

27 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has about the use of the hormone pregnancy test, Primodos, by women in Scotland in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Answer · Shona Robison: Following engagement between the Scottish Government and families in Scotland around their concerns about hormone pregnancy tests, the Scottish Government conducted a search to identify if we held any information. No information was identified and therefore t…

5 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had discussions with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service regarding prosecutions of those responsible for the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008.

Answer · Michael Matheson: All decisions about whether to prosecute an individual or individuals for any crime are the responsibility of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Scottish Government has no role in these decisions and the Scottish Government has not been invol…

26 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many stop and searches were conducted in the (a) Ayr, (b) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, (c) Clydesdale, (d) East Lothian, (e) Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, (f) Galloway and West Dumfries, (g) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and (h) Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale co…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for Police Scotland. I have alerted the chief constable to your question and I have asked him to write to you.

26 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people who were subject to a stop and search in the (a) Ayr, (b) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, (c) Clydesdale, (d) East Lothian, (e) Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, (f) Galloway and West Dumfries, (g) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and (h) Midlothian South, Tweeddale and L…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for Police Scotland. I have alerted the chief constable to your question and I have asked him to write to you.

26 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the stop and searches in the (a) Ayr, (b) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, (c) Clydesdale, (d) East Lothian, (e) Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, (f) Galloway and West Dumfries, (g) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and (h) Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituen…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for Police Scotland. I have alerted the chief constable to your question and I have asked him write to you.

26 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the stop and searches in the (a) Ayr, (b) Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, (c) Clydesdale, (d) East Lothian, (e) Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, (f) Galloway and West Dumfries, (g) Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and (h) Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituen…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for Police Scotland. I have alerted the chief constable to your question and I have asked him to write to you.

26 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce the number of stop and searches in South Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Where and when to conduct searches is an operational matter for Police Scotland. I have alerted the chief constable to your question and I have asked him to write to you.

18 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will launch its consultation on how the dispensation on the time-bar on civil cases involving historic child sex abuse is used.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government consultation which proposes the removal of the three year limitation period from civil actions for damages raised by survivors of historical child abuse was published on 25 June 2015. The consultation runs until 18 September 2015 and c…

10 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in establishing cultural links between Scotland and China.

21 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) chair, (b) panel and (c) remit of the national public inquiry into historical abuse of children in institutional care will be announced and what the reasons are for the further delay.

Answer · Angela Constance: As announced in my statement to Parliament on 28 May 2015, I have appointed Susan O’Brien QC to chair the national inquiry into historical child abuse. In relation to an inquiry panel, it is my intention that the chair will be supported by a panel with the r…

14 Apr 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will set out its plans for the regeneration of town centres that are in need of rejuvenation.