- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the average elapsed time, by sheriff court, between final Proof and judgement, in (i) Small Claims, (ii) Summary Causes and (iii) Ordinary Causes at (a) October 1999, (b) December 1999, (c) January 2000 and (d) February 2000.
Answer
Statistical information in the form requested is not held centrally. The length of time required to reach judgement in any case is a matter for the presiding Sheriff. However in the case of Small Claims and Summary Cause actions the procedural rules provide that the Sheriff may either pronounce his or her decision at the conclusion of a hearing or give it in writing within 28 days.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 29 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the average waiting time, by sheriff court, between application and hearing of Fatal Accident Enquiries, at (a) October 1999, (b) December 1999, (c) January 2000 and (d) February 2000.
Answer
Statistical information in the format requested is not available. The procedure followed in fixing Fatal Accident Inquiries is that the Procurator Fiscal will usually discuss with the Sheriff Clerk available dates for Inquiries and will then make enquiries with the next of kin and other parties to the FAI as to the suitability of the proposed dates. The parties to the FAI require to be given sufficient notice of the proposed date to enable them to make the necessary investigations and preparations.
Once the suitability of a date has been established the Procurator Fiscal will make a formal application to the Sheriff Clerk for the FAI which will already have been provisionally programmed for a particular date. The formal application is often made only shortly before the date programmed for the hearing.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many retired police officers have subsequently been re-hired for civilian work, broken down by police authority, in each of the last five years.
Answer
This information is not held centrally but I understand that only about 2% (less than 100) of the total 4,741 support staff are former police officers in receipt of an occupational pension.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 29 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Fatal Accident Enquiries, by sheriff court, have been applied for but have not yet been programmed for hearing.
Answer
I refer to the answer I gave in response to Parliamentary Question number S1W-5374.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 9 March 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer whether he will list, by date and nature of request, the requests made by political parties for extra facilities at the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.
Answer
The Corporate Body has taken account of the existing number of researchers employed by each party, for which no allowance had been made in the original design. It has also had to consider other emerging demands for space resulting, for example, from additional parliamentary staff required to meet Member's requirements. However, all space requirements will now be revisited by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in parallel with the review being led by John Spencely and his team.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists have been stopped under the Strathclyde Police operation Chat Point and of those how many, expressed as both a figure and a percentage of the total, were subsequently found to have committed an offence.
Answer
While this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I understand that Strathclyde Police Chat Points are a crime prevention exercise aimed at educating car drivers on how to avoid vehicle crime. Sites are chosen, such as car parks, where vehicle crime is common. Police officers stop drivers to provide them with information on how to prevent vehicle crime. Some 20,000 drivers have been spoken to under this initiative. Chat Points are not intended to detect offenders and no arrests have been reported.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide population figures and projections for (a) the Tayside Health Board area; (b) the Tayside Health Board Area broken down by local authority area, and (c) the Tayside Health Board Area broken down by constituency for (i) 1999; (ii) 2000; (iii) 2001; (iv) 2002 and (v) 2003.
Answer
The information requested for health board and local authorities within Tayside is published by the Registrar General in Table 1 of the booklet Population Projections, Scotland (1996 based), a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Similar information for constituencies within Tayside is not produced centrally.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Andrew Hardie on 3 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate is responsible for legal advice given to (a) the Scottish Legal Aid Board, (b) the Scottish Prison Service and (c) the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission.
Answer
The Lord Advocate is responsible for legal advice given to the Scottish Prison Service. The Lord Advocate is not, however, responsible for legal advice given to the Scottish Legal Aid Board or the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates, if any, have been made of the expected number of prosecutions and/or convictions arising as a result of the activities of the Drug Enforcement Agency on a yearly basis for 1999-2000 and any future years for which estimates are available.
Answer
The prime function of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency will be to co-ordinate the intelligence and operational elements of the Scottish Crime Squad in co-operation with force drug squads and in consultation with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies. This will ensure that resources are deployed strategically in response to identified threats and targets.The purpose of the Agency is to enhance and expand the enforcement effort against drug misuse and reduce the availability of illegal drugs in Scotland. The operations, priorities and targets for the Agency will be determined by its Director who will be appointed in February 2000.
- Asked by: Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what grant will be available in Scotland from 1 April 2000 under the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme to (a) those eligible for maximum grant and (b) old age pensioners.
Answer
The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme does not apply in Scotland. It was replaced by the new Warm Deal on 1 July 1999. The rules governing the Warm Deal on 1 April 2000 will remain as they are at present. They provide that households wholly or mainly dependent on specified state benefits, including old age pensioners, are eligible for a grant of up to £500. Other old age pensioners are eligible for a grant of up to £78.75.
