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Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

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Question reference: S1W-26500

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been in each of the last five years under each of sections 47, 48(2), 49, 49A and 50(4) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, broken down by sheriff court district.

The available information is given in the following tables. When interpreting individual figures at this level of detail it should be borne in mind that their accuracy is subject to the limitations inherent in any large scale statistical database. Information for 2001 is not expected to be available until around November 2002.Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under section 47 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995

	1996			1997			1998			1999			2000
All courts¹	227			901			1,051			1,065			1,137
Sheriff courts:
Aberdeen	8			14			20			26			26
Airdrie	9			19			20			16			22
Alloa	3			3			-			-			2
Arbroath	5			11			13			8			10
Ayr	8			26			20			16			17
Banff	-			-			1			-			-
Campbeltown	-			4			2			2			1
Cupar	3			5			3			5			6
Dingwall	-			1			1			2			-
Dornoch	-			1			1			1			-
Dumbarton	3			18			22			16			39
Dumfries	3			11			12			13			15
Dundee	5			41			37			51			40
Dunfermline	4			10			5			6			3
Dunoon	3			3			6			2			2
Duns	-			2			1			-			-
Edinburgh	12		81			80			67			64
Elgin	6		8			13			9			4
Falkirk	6		9			22			15			20
Forfar	1		5			8			8			9
Fort William	-		-			-			4			9
Glasgow	44		280			360			434			489
Greenock	8		17			21			35			27
Haddington	1		7			8			8			2
Hamilton	13		83			101			89			118
Inverness	2		6			9			3			5
Jedburgh	-		2			2			1			4
Kilmarnock	19		44			49			46			53
Kirkcaldy	7		16			10			11			13
Kirkcudbright	1		2			4			4			1
Kirkwall	-		-			4			-			-
Lanark	6		11			10			16			7
Lerwick	-		1			1			-			1
Linlithgow	5		20			18			8			20
Lochmaddy	-		-			1			-			-
Oban	1		5			2			-			1
Paisley	19		49			73			63			45
Peebles	-		-			-			-			1
Perth	2		21			21			10			20
Peterhead	4		7			9			3			5
Portree	-		-			1			-			1
Rothesay	-		1			1			-			-
Selkirk	4		-			6			4			1
Stirling	4		11			9			9			8
Stonehaven	1		11			5			5			1
Stornoway	-		2			-			2			-
Stranraer	1		5			9			10			4
Tain	-		1			-			3			3
Wick	1		1			2			-			1

Stipendiary Magistrates Court		1			5			10			10			5

District Courts:
Aberdeen City		2			5			3			1			-
Aberdeenshire		1			1			1			2			-
Clackmannanshire		-			1			-			1			-
Dumfries and Galloway		-			1			2			1			-
Dundee City		-			-			4			3			-
East Renfrewshire		-			-			-			-			1
Falkirk		-			4			1			-			-
Fife		-			-			1			2			1
Glasgow City		-			-			2			1			-
Highland		-			-			-			2			-
North Lanarkshire		-			-			1			5			4
Perth and Kinross		-			3			-			-			-
Renfrewshire		-			-			1			-			-
Scottish Borders		-			3			-			2			2
Stirling		-			-			1			2			1
West Dunbartonshire		-			-			-			1			2
West Lothian		1			3			-			-			-

Notes:1. Includes High Court cases.Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under section 48(2) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
All Courts	-	1	-	1	1

Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under section 49 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
All Courts¹	317	855	963	1,003	1,101

Sheriff courts:

Aberdeen	5	17	25	20	19
Airdrie	6	12	13	14	22
Alloa	-	-	3	-	1
Arbroath	1	7	9	2	5
Ayr	5	19	16	18	27
Banff	1	-	-	-	1
Cupar	-	4	-	1	1
Dingwall	-	3	1	-	1
Dornoch	-	-	-	1	-
Dumbarton	8	25	37	37	32
Dumfries	3	13	5	10	10
Dundee	6	18	31	36	33
Dunfermline	3	9	6	9	8
Dunoon	3	-	2	2	3
Duns	-	1	-	1	1
Edinburgh	21	84	117	95	86
Elgin	4	3	5	5	5
Falkirk	10	16	13	16	18
Forfar	1	1	-	2	5
Fort William	-	2	2	1	1
Glasgow	107	315	318	395	433
Greenock	21	21	39	37	52
Haddington	1	5	9	6	1
Hamilton	18	39	63	87	119
Inverness	10	7	10	4	1
Jedburgh	2	1	2	3	2
Kilmarnock	27	58	63	58	65
Kirkcaldy	8	3	5	6	8
Kirkcudbright	-	3	-	-	5

Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under section 49 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995 (continued)

	1996		1997		1998		1999		2000
Sheriff courts:
Kirkwall	-		-		-		4		-
Lanark	2		6		7		11		9
Lerwick	-		-		1		1		1
Linlithgow	4		16		15		9		14
Oban	-		1		2		4		3
Paisley	29		83		92		67		71
Peebles	-		-		1		-		-
Perth	2		13		6		2		8
Peterhead	2		11		10		1		1
Portree	2		-		-		-		-
Rothesay	1		-		1		-		1
Selkirk	-		1		8		5		4
Stirling	-		12		4		5		4
Stonehaven	-		1		-		-		-
Stornoway	-		2		3		1		1
Stranraer	2		5		5		6		-
Tain	1		5		-		4		3
Wick	-		2		1		1		2

Stipendiary Magistrates court	1		2		1		6		4
District courts:
Aberdeen City		-		1		3		-		-
Aberdeenshire		-		-		1		2		1
Argyll and Bute		-		-		1		1		-
Clackmannanshire		-		-		-		1		-
Dumfries and Galloway		-		1		-		-		-
Edinburgh, City of		-		1		-		-		-
Fife		-		-		3		2		1
Highland		-		1		1		-		1
North Lanarkshire		-		-		1		2		2
Perth & Kinross		-		1		-		-		-
Scottish Borders		-		1		-		1		2
Stirling		-		1		-		-		-
West Dunbartonshire		-		-		1		-		3
West Lothian		-		1		-		-		-

Notes:1. Includes High Court cases.Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under section 49A of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
All courts	-	-	-	2	-

Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under section 50(4) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
All courts	-	-	-	-	1

Question reference: S1W-26503

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been in each of the last five years under section 50A of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, broken down by sheriff court district.

The available information is given in the following table. When interpreting individual figures at this level of detail it should be borne in mind that their accuracy is subject to the limitations inherent in any large scale statistical database. Information for 2001 is not expected to be available until around November 2002.Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main charge was under Section 50(A) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act 1995

	1996		1997		1998		1999		2000
All Courts	-		-		1		56		170
Sheriff Courts:
Aberdeen	-		-		-		-		2
Airdrie	-		-		-		2		3
Arbroath	-		-		-		-		3
Ayr	-		-		-		2		6
Banff	-		-		-		2		-
Dumfries	-		-		-		-		1
Dundee	-		-		-		6		25
Dunfermline	-		-		1		4		14
Edinburgh	-		-		-		9		21
Falkirk	-		-		-		-		6
Fort William	-		-		-		-		1
Glasgow	-		-		-		13		41
Greenock	-		-		-		-		2
Haddington	-		-		-		-		1
Hamilton	-		-		-		7		16
Jedburgh	-		-		-		-		1
Kilmarnock	-		-		-		5		12
Kirkcaldy	-		-		-		-		3
Kirkcudbright		-		-		-		-		1
Lanark		-		-		-		2		1
Linlithgow		-		-		-		-		2
Oban		-		-		-		1		-
Paisley		-		-		-		1		4
Perth		-		-		-		1		-
Stirling		-		-		-		1		3
Stranraer		-		-		-		-		1

Question reference: S1W-27653

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26897 by Mr Jim Wallace on 3 July 2002, whether it will give a breakdown of each prison's performance in relation to each of the targets referred to.

Question reference: S1W-27656

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive which targets in the report Standards of Health Care of Prisoners were not met by health care providers in each of the last three years, broken down by provider and prison, where such data is available.

Question reference: S1W-26502

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 15 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been in each of the last five years under section 9 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, broken down by sheriff court district.

The available information is given in the following table. When interpreting individual figures at this level of detail it should be borne in mind that their accuracy is subject to the limitations inherent in any large scale statistical database. Information for 2001 is not expected to be available until around November 2002.Persons with a charge proved in Scottish courts where the main offence was under Section 9 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997

	1997	1998	1999	2000
All courts	-	1	3	12
Dumbarton	-	-	-	1
Dunfermline	-	-	-	3
Edinburgh	-	-	-	2
Glasgow	-	1	3	4
Kirkcaldy	-	-	-	1
Linlithgow	-	-	-	1

Question reference: S1W-27720

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 14 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail disciplinary offences committed in HM Prisons Perth, Barlinnie, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Greenock, Glenochil and Kilmarnock for the last three years broken down for individual offences in the same way as in Appendix 6 of the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2001-02.

Question reference: S1W-27030

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 June 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25103 by Mr Jim Wallace on 21 June 2002, whether it intends to (a) commission new private prisons or young offenders institutions or (b) commission services from private prisons or young offenders institutions where it is possible to see from one wing to another, giving the reasons for its position on this matter.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:As stated in the answer given to question S1W-25103, being able to see from one wing of a prison to the other is not considered to be a problematic issue. It is therefore possible that in the event of any new private prison or young offenders institution being commissioned, it might incorporate this feature.

Question reference: S1W-27636

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what value of sheriff court fines is presently outstanding, in total and broken down by sheriff court.

The available information is detailed in the following table. The values of sheriff court fines outstanding at 30 June 2002 are the most recent that can be provided.Outstanding Balance of Sheriff Court Fines as at 30 June 2002 (£)

Sheriff Court	Value
Aberdeen	468,396
Airdrie	384,830
Alloa	149,863
Ayr	261,201
Arbroath	101,428
Banff	58,199
Campbeltown	34,887
Cupar	45,121
Dingwall	60,718
Dornoch	30,231
Dumbarton	215,343
Dumfries	204,962
Dundee	367,576
Dunfermline	293,219
Dunoon	40,671
Duns	31,963
Edinburgh	1,576,620
Elgin	231,562
Falkirk	426,205
Forfar	63,843
Fort William	44,772
Glasgow	1,902,524
Greenock	228,094
Haddington	108,883
Hamilton	657,684
Inverness	203,717
Jedburgh	83,715
Kilmarnock	525,015
Kirkcaldy	311,172
Kirkcudbright	61,847
Kirkwall	30,838
Lanark	87,331
Lerwick	31,651
Linlithgow	335,878
Lochmaddy	7,545
Oban	36,494
Paisley	612,914
Peebles	20,514
Perth	276,424
Peterhead	173,600
Portree	4,528
Rothesay	10,280
Selkirk	65,039
Stirling	161,553
Stonehaven	24,489
Stornoway	39,811
Stranraer	242,518
Tain	89,603
Wick	52,369
Total	9,112,413

The following is a corrected answer (published on 27 August 2002); see below.Outstanding balance of sheriff court fines as at 30 June 2002 (£s)

Sheriff Court	Value
Aberdeen	468,396
Airdrie	384,830
Alloa	149,863
Ayr	261,201
Arbroath	101,428
Banff	58,199
Campbeltown	34,887
Cupar	45,121
Dingwall	60,718
Dornoch	30,231
Dumbarton	215,343
Dumfries	204,962
Dundee	367,576
Dunfermline	293,219
Dunoon	40,671
Duns	31,963
Edinburgh	1,576,620
Elgin	231,562
Falkirk	426,205
Forfar	63,843
Fort william	44,772
Glasgow	1,902,524
Greenock	228,094
Haddington	108,883
Hamilton	657,684
Inverness	203,717
Jedburgh	83,715
Kilmarnock	525,015
Kirkcaldy	311,172
Kirkcudbright	61,847
Kirkwall	30,838
Lanark	87,331
Lerwick	31,651
Linlithgow	335,878
Lochmaddy	7,545
Oban	36,494
Paisley	612,914
Peebles	20,514
Perth	276,424
Peterhead	173,600
Portree	4,528
Rothesay	10,280
Selkirk	65,039
Stirling	161,553
Stonehaven	24,489
Stornoway	39,811
Stranraer	242,518
Tain	89,603
Wick	52,369
Total	11,477,640

Question reference: S1W-27654

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26897 by Mr Jim Wallace on 3 July 2002, what is meant in each case where the standard set is said to have been partially achieved.

Question reference: S1W-27632

Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 13 August 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what value of fiscal fines accepted as an alternative to prosecution under section 302 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 is presently outstanding, in total and broken down by sheriff court district.