Chamber and committees

The following table shows a breakdown of figures on a local authority basis concerning the number of called in applications that were subsequently approved by Scottish ministers in each year since 1999.

Authority	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005 to1 Sept
Aberdeen							1
Aberdeenshire						2	1
Angus
Argyle and Bute		1		1
Borders		1			2	1	1
Dumfries and Galloway	1
Dundee
East Ayrshire	1
East Dunbartonshire	1
East Lothian
East Renfrewshire	1
Edinburgh	2		1
Falkirk		2
Fife				1
Glasgow	1
Highland	2	2	5
Inverclyde	1
Loch Lomond NPA						1
Midlothian	1	1	1	2
Moray		1	1			1	1
North Ayrshire	1
North Lanarkshire	3	1		1
Orkney
Perth and Kinross							2
Shetland					1
South Ayrshire	1
South Lanarkshire	1		2
Stirling
Western Isles
West Lothian		1
Total by Year	17	10	10	5	3	5	6

 

Facilities for evidence to be relayed by live TV link, in support of the provisions of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004, including a link remote from the courthouse in which the case is being heard, are installed in 22 court sites across Scotland. The respective sites are detailed on the Scottish Court Service website at:

http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/resources/courtroomtech/courtroomtech.asp?dir=home.

This provision is supplemented by portable equipment capable of being applied jn other court locations.

The 2004 act also allows for links to be made to non-court buildings and a permanent site for this purpose has been set up in Falkirk. Working with the Scottish Executive’s Victims and Witnesses Unit, the Scottish Court Service is now looking to secure similar sites in each sheriffdom situated near the centres of population.

The specific needs of those in rural and remote locations is also being addressed. The Scottish Court Service is negotiating with appropriate local authorities and academic institutions to use their existing video-conferencing facilities to set up live TV links on an ad-hoc basis in order to minimise the distances to be travelled by witnesses.

The Scottish Executive hasnot received a request to support the next stage of this project.

The Scottish Executive is currently working with the Scottish Court Service to ensure facilities are in place to meet those requirements. This includes the need to facilitate the giving of evidence by TV link from a location outwith the court building where evidence in the case is being heard.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18916 on 13 September 2005. 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.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) do not provide social care services. Instead, they support voluntary organisations around their common needs and interests, helping them become more effective and efficient. CVS also represent voluntary organisations on a wide range of forums, including Community Planning Partnerships, Rural Partnerships and thematic groups covering issues as diverse as community learning, community safety and the social economy.

The following table shows a breakdown of figures on a local authority basis concerning the number of planning applications called in by Scottish ministers in each year since 1999.

Authority	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005 to 1 Sept	Totals by Authority
Aberdeen		1	1	1	2	1		6
Aberdeenshire	1		1	2		8		12
Angus					1			1
Argyle and Bute	2	1	5	1				9
Borders		4			3	2	2	11
Dumfries and Galloway	1		1					2
Dundee						2		2
East Ayrshire	1		1			1		3
East Dunbartonshire	1							1
East Lothian						1		1
East Renfrewshire	1		1					2
Edinburgh	2		2			1		5
Falkirk		2		3		2		7
Fife	2			1	1	1	1	6
Glasgow	2		2					4
Highland	6	4	11		2	1	2	26
Inverclyde	1							1
Loch Lomond NPA						1		1
Midlothian	4	5	3	3	1			16
Moray		2	1			6		9
North Ayrshire	1		2			1		4
North Lanarkshire	9	4	4	6	7	5	6	41
Orkney						2		2
Perth and Kinross	1	1				1		3
Shetland	1				1			2
South Ayrshire	2	1					1	4
South Lanarkshire	5		6		1		3	15
Stirling					1	1		2
Western Isles					1			1
West Lothian	1	5		1	2			9
Totals by Year	44	30	41	18	23	37	15	208

 

The section of road in question has only been open since 27 April 2005. The information requested is not available centrally. The statistics available centrally on road traffic offences recorded by the police do not distinguish the geographic location at the level of detail requested although data will be available at a local authority level.

The section of road in question has only been open since 27 April 2005. The information requested is not available centrally. The statistics available centrally on road traffic offences recorded by the police do not distinguish the geographic location at the level of detail requested although data will be available at a local authority level.

It is not possible to give the precise cost of legal aid for “slopping out” cases. These are not recorded as a distinct category of civil legal aid cases.

Some expenditure will also have been incurred on civil advice and assistance cases relating to “slopping out”, but it is impossible to identify these separately.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board estimates that as at 31 March 2005 it had paid out £1.17 million on civil legal aid for slopping out cases. It has so far recovered £1.023 million of this expenditure, leaving a net cost of civil legal aid of around £147,000. These figures include the Napier case whose costs were met by the defender.