Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

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

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-32561

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 9 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the performance of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.

We have no plans to carry out a review of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission at this time. It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the commission as it has only been operational since October 2008 and transitional processes remain ongoing.

Under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007, the commission is required to publish a report, as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year, reporting on the discharge of its functions in that year and such action as the commission proposed to take in the following year. Scottish ministers laid their 2008-2009 Annual Report in the Scottish Parliament on 8 February 2010.

Question reference: S3W-32555

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 April 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the percentage of their time that police officers spent (a) on patrol and (b) dealing with paperwork in 2008-09 and 2009-10, broken down by police force.

Question reference: S3O-09896

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are in place to support doctors who take time out to visit schools and teach children about the dangers of knife-related crime.

The Scottish Government is providing £80,000 in funding to support Medics Against Violence, a charity set up by three Scottish surgeons to tackle the problem of youth violence. They have recruited over 100 healthcare professionals who have pledged to volunteer their time to take part in projects to reduce violence. They currently deliver anti-violence lessons in schools designed to warn young people about the dangers of carrying a knife and demonstrate the impact violence has on the lives of victims, their families and the professionals who work with them.

I was pleased to meet some of those involved with Medics Against Violence at its launch in December 2008, and I am sure the member will wish to join me in congratulating them on their continuing efforts to reduce violence in Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-32253

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any analysis has been conducted on the provision of aids and equipment to blind and partially sighted people and what its position is regarding the consistency in the provision of such items across local authorities.

There has been no specific analysis of the provision of aids and equipment to blind or partially sighted people. The Scottish Government continues to work with our third sector partners in ensuring that people who require aids and equipment will receive appropriate equipment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32252 on 17 March 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Question reference: S3W-32255

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue, in association with organisations representing blind and partially sighted people and COSLA, a core list of community aids and equipment for blind and partially sighted people that all local authorities should provide.

Question reference: S3W-32254

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it (a) has considered or (b) would consider issuing formal guidance to local authorities on the types of aids and equipment that should be available to blind and partially sighted people.

The Scottish Executive issued new guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations by NHS and local authority partnerships on 1 December 2009. This guidance is applicable to all care groups, including those with a sensory impairment.

To accompany this guidance the Scottish Executive has also developed a Good Practice Guide for the Provision of Community Equipment, and a Self Evaluation Tool which accompanies this guide.

The guidance and associated toolkits are available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/EandA/UsefulPublications.

Furthermore, during the equipment and adaptations consultation period the importance of utilising Telecare was highlighted. A training resource for use with Telecare for people with Sensory Impairment has now been developed. A formal launch of this workbook will take place on 26 March 2010 at the Sensory Impairment Clinic in Falkirk.

Question reference: S3W-32252

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure consistency in the provision of aids and equipment to blind and partially sighted people.

New guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations was issued on 1 December 2009. This guidance aims to promote a consistent approach to assessment of need, and the provision of appropriate services, including equipment and adaptations to all care groups.

The guidance is available at http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/publications/CC2009_05.pdf.

The government is providing £2.2 million over this, and the next, financial year to pilot seven one-stop-shop models of sensory impairment service delivery. One key aspect of the one-stop-shop is the provision of aids and equipment at a local level, with additional information and support on what aids are available and appropriate for someone.

Question reference: S3O-09792

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2010
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what reforms the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning plans to implement to address illiteracy and improve the standards of reading and writing in schools.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving literacy for everyone in Scotland. Curriculum for Excellence has literacy at its heart and, for the first time, is now the responsibility of all teachers. It is designed to improve the quality of learning and teaching, and to raise literacy standards.

Our young people will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing, listening and talking, and, equally importantly, how these skills can be applied critically to analyse and evaluate information.

I committed to bring forward a literacy action plan within the context of Curriculum for Excellence, and we are discussing its content with our partners. As part of this process, I met with the Literacy Commission on 14 January 2010 and today the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board met with members of the Literacy Commission to discuss taking forward the recommendations of their recent report.

Question reference: S3W-31587

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2010
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 2 March 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fixed penalty notices have been issued in relation to antisocial behaviour offences in the last three years and in how many of these cases (a) the penalty was paid within the requested timescale, (b) the offender did not pay and (c) enforcement action was sought, broken down by police force area.

The following table shows the number of police fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour offences issued in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Police Fixed Penalty Notices for Antisocial Behaviour Offences

Police Force	2007(i)	2008	2009
Central Scotland	1,044	1,961	1,831
Dumfries and Galloway	591	652	615
Fife	1,250	1,936	1,985
Grampian	1,134	2,756	2,485
Lothian and Borders	N/A	2,351(ii)	6,871
Northern	277(iii)	1,552	1,572
Strathclyde	3,204(iv)	27,219	38,361
Tayside	3513	3,793	3,134

Source: Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland.

Notes:

(i) All figures in this column from April 2007 to December 2007 inclusive, unless shown.

(ii) Figures from April 2008 to December 2008 only.

(iii) Figures from August 2007 to December 2007 only.

(iv) Figures from October 2007 to December 2007 only.

Information relating to the recovery and enforcement of financial penalties, including antisocial behaviour fixed penalties, is now published in reports on the Scottish Court Service website. This can be accessed at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine. Please note that this is not directly comparable with the table above as, while there is some local data, the SCS took over responsibility for the recovery and enforcement of antisocial behaviour fixed penalties in the Sheriffdoms of North Strathclyde and South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway only in December 2009 and February 2010 respectively.

The following is the original answer (published on 2 March 2010); see below.

The following table shows the number of police fixed penalty notices for antisocial behaviour offences issued in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Police Fixed Penalty Notices for Antisocial Behaviour Offences

Police Force	2007(i)	2008	2009
Central Scotland	1,044	1,961	1,831
Dumfries and Galloway	591	652	615
Fife	1,250	1,936	1,985
Grampian	1,134	2,756	2,485
Lothian and Borders	N/A	2,351(ii)	6,871
Northern	277(iii)	1,552	1,572
Strathclyde	3,204(iv)	27,219	38,361
Tayside	3,513	3,793	3,134

(Source: Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland).

Notes:

(i) All figures in this column from April 2007 to December 2007 inclusive, unless shown.

(ii) Figures from April 2008 to December 2008 only.

(iii) Figures from August 2007 to December 2007 only.

(iv) Figures from October 2007 to December 2007 only.

Information relating to the recovery and enforcement of financial penalties, including antisocial behaviour fixed penalties, is now published in reports on the Scottish Court Service website. This can be accessed at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine. Please note that this is not directly comparable with the table above as, while there is some local data, the SCS took over responsibility for the recovery and enforcement of antisocial behaviour fixed penalties in the sheriffdoms of North Strathclyde and South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway only in December 2009 and February 2010 respectively.

Question reference: S3W-31588

Asked by: James Kelly, MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2010
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 26 February 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the procedure for recall of a direct measure mentioned by the Solicitor General in evidence to the Justice Committee on 26 January 2010 (Official Report c. 2661) has been used by Scottish courts since the coming into force of the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.

Scottish Court Service assumed responsibility for collection and enforcement of fiscal penalties (fines, compensation and a combination of both) as of 10 March 2008 by virtue of the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.

In evidence to the Justice Committee the Solicitor General made reference to recall of direct measures in the context of fiscal penalties. Of the 68,858 fiscal penalties registered between 10 March 2008 and 30 September 2009, 322 (0.5%) have been subject to recall.