- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure compliance with Convention rights by public bodies.
Answer
The Scottish Executive distributed a considerable amount of guidance to public bodies in advance of the Human Rights Act 1998 coming into force in October 2000. Scottish Executive Departments wrote to public bodies in early 2000 to make sure public bodies were aware of the legislation and its potential impact and to recommend that they check that their policies and practices complied with Convention rights.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the use of physical restraints on an individual undergoing medical treatment would be a breach of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answer
Article 3 contains no explicit prohibition on use of restraints in specific circumstances. Any claim that an individual’s rights under article 3 have been breached would be for a court to determine in the circumstances of that particular case.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether section 100 of the Scotland Act 1998 imposes a duty on it to ensure that the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights are not breached in Scotland.
Answer
Section 100 of the Scotland Act does not impose such a duty. The purpose of this section is to ensure that, so far as possible, there is compatibility between the Scotland Act and the Human Rights Act 1998 with regard to who would have title and interest to bring proceedings on the ground that an act of a member of the Scottish Executive is incompatible with the Convention rights and the amount of damages which may be awarded if such an act is incompatible.
This section provides that the only persons, apart from the Law Officers, who can bring proceedings on the ground that an act of a member of the Scottish Executive is incompatible with Convention rights or rely on Convention rightsin proceedings are victims for the purposes of Article 34 of the Convention. Thisis similar to what is provided by section 7(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998. Article 34 requires applications to the European Court of Human Rights to be from “any person, non-governmental organisation or groups of individuals claiming to be a victim of a violation of a Convention right.”
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29389 by Ms Margaret Curran on 1 October 2002, whether neighbourhood wardens have had an impact on poverty.
Answer
Scottish Executive funding has enabled councils and their partners to setup community warden schemes throughout Scotland which are now helping to deal with many of the problems faced by deprived neighbourhoods. The impact of these schemes is being assessed through a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme. Earlier pilot schemes have shown a positive impact on factors such as vandalism and fear of crime. Wardens are contributing to closing the opportunity gap by improving the quality of life in deprived neighbourhoods.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 obliges it to act to prevent breaches of Convention rights.
Answer
Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 makes it unlawful for public authorities, including the Scottish Executive, to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right. It therefore places a legal obligation on the Scottish Executive not to act in such a way, but that obligation only applies in respect of the Executive’s own acts and does not oblige the Executive to prevent actions by third parties.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it could be liable for any breach of Convention rights by a public body.
Answer
All public bodies are bound to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998. Public bodies are responsible for ensuring their own compliance with the act, and the Scottish Executive would itself not be liable for any breach by another public body.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff have been seconded to it from other organisations since May 2004 and from which organisations these staff have been seconded.
Answer
Since May 2004, 101 staff have been seconded from other organisations to the Scottish Executive. Of these 23 have been seconded from local authorities; 32 from NHS; 18 from other public bodies; 15 from other government departments; nine from the private sector; two from academic institutions; one each from Europe and the voluntary sector. A following tables outline details of the exporting organisations.
| Local Authorities | Total | NHS | Total |
| Aberdeen City Council | 2 | Alison Lea Medical Centre | 1 |
| Argyll and Bute Council | 1 | Common Services Agency | 1 |
| City of Edinburgh Council | 4 | NHS Lothian | 3 |
| East Dunbartonshire Council | 2 | NHS Modernisation Agency | 1 |
| East Lothian District Council | 1 | NHS Scotland | 1 |
| Fife Council | 2 | NHS Tayside | 1 |
| Fife Constabulary | 1 | Perth Royal Infirmary | 1 |
| Pert and Kinross Council | 1 | Royal College of Nurses Scotland | 1 |
| Scottish Borders Council | 1 | Royal College of Physicians | 1 |
| Fife Special Housing Association | 1 | Salus Occupational Health | 1 |
| Glasgow City Council | 1 | Scottish Ambulance Service | 1 |
| Grampian Police | 2 | Scottish Care Information | 1 |
| Highland Council | 1 | Fife Primary Care | 1 |
| Lothian and Borders Police | 1 | Healthskills Ltd. | 1 |
| Midlothian Council | 1 | Lanarkshire Primary Trust | 1 |
| Moray Council | 1 | Lothian Primary Care | 1 |
| Totals | 23 | NHS 24 | 2 |
| NHS Argyll and Clyde | 2 |
| NHS Fife | 1 |
| NHS Grampian | 1 |
| NHS Greater Glasgow | 2 |
| NHS Highland | 1 |
| NHS Information Services | 2 |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 2 |
| Forth Valley NHS Board | 1 |
| Totals | 32 |
| Other Public Bodies | Total | Other Government Departments | Total |
| Alzheimer Scotland | 1 | Audit Scotland | 1 |
| Bórd na Gáidhlig | 1 | Crown Office | 3 |
| British Trout Association | 1 | FCO | 1 |
| Care Commission | 1 | Scottish Parliament | 3 |
| Community Enterprise in Scotland | 1 | Scottish Prison Service | 3 |
| Energy Saving Trust | 1 | Forestry Commission | 1 |
| Paul Zealey Associates | 1 | Home Office | 1 |
| Scottish Agricultural College | 1 | Immigration Advisory Service | 1 |
| Scottish Enterprise | 5 | Inland Revenue | 1 |
| Scottish Federation of Housing Associations | 1 | Totals | |
| Scottish Legal Aid Board | 1 | |
| Scottish Natural Heritage | 1 | |
| Eaga Partnership | 1 | |
| Scottish Social Services Council | 1 | |
| Totals | 18 | 15 |
| Private Sector | Total | Academic Institutions | Total |
| Anderson Anderson and Brown | 1 | Glasgow University | 1 |
| Currie and Brown | 1 | Napier University | 1 |
| Dundas and Wilson | 2 | Totals | |
| Ernst and Young | 1 | |
| Partnerships UK | 1 | |
| Price Waterhouse Coopers | 1 | |
| Scottish Power | 1 | |
| Lloyds TSB | 1 | |
| Totals | 9 | 2 |
| Europe | Total | Voluntary Sector | 1 |
| Czech States Archives | 1 | SCVO | 1 |
| Totals | 1 | Totals | 1 |
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary question to question S2O-5349 by Hugh Henry on 10 February 2005, whether it will identify which specific human rights issues are reserved matters.
Answer
Reserved human rights issues are those which arise in relation to areas of public policy or law that are described as reserved in the Scotland Act.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Scottish human rights commission will have enforcement powers.
Answer
The Scottish Executive’s published proposals for the Scottish Human Rights Commission do not include it having formal enforcement powers. Enforcement of compliance with human rights legislation is a matter for the courts. The commission will be able to investigate and report on generic or sectoral human rights issues. To assist it in this role it will have powers of access to information.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary question to question S2O-5349 by Hugh Henry on 10 February 2005, which specific aspects of human rights will not fall within the purview of the proposed Scottish human rights commission.
Answer
As a body established by an Act of the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s remit will extend only to devolved issues. The commission will therefore not be able to exercise its functions in relation to issues that are wholly reserved under the Scotland Act.
