- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 20 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive why the Public Defence Solicitors" Office (PDSO) is allocated a fixed percentage of the custody court duty plan rather than applying as an individual agent as is the case with private firms; whether it is satisfied that this allocation does not constitute preferential treatment for the PDSO; whether any suggestion was made to private firms that the allocation would be reduced, and whether it now has any plans to reduce the allocation.
Answer
In 2000, following theremoval of the general scheme of direction of legally-aided clients withbirthdays in January and February to the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office(PDSO), the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) and the Edinburgh Bar Association (Summary)agreed that, from 2001 onwards, a fixed percentage of the Edinburgh SheriffCourt plan would be allocated to the PDSO. It was also agreed that SLAB wouldkeep the size of the allocation under review. Since 2001, the percentage allocationhas been:
| 2002 | 60% |
| 2003 | 50% |
| 2004 | 40% |
For 2005 and followingdiscussion with representatives of the Edinburgh Bar Association the percentageshare has been reduced to 28%. The board will review this further when itconsiders the 2006 plan. The PDSO also has a pro rata share of the sheriffsolemn plan and the district court plan.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 20 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to increase the number of artificial turf football pitches.
Answer
The Executive welcomes and issupportive of proposals which will deliver modern facilities capable of supportingan increase in sports participation. A number of artificial pitches are being developedthrough the New Opportunities for Physical Education and Sports (NOPES) Lotteryprogramme and funding is also available to support their development through sportscotland’sBuilding for Sport programme.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the value of proceeds of district court fines sent to HM Treasury has been in each year since 1999.
Answer
The available information is given in the following table:
Value of fines sent to Exchequer (£000s)
| 1999-20001 | 2000-012 | 2001-023 | 2002-034 | 2003-045 |
| 2,860 | 2,200 | 2,259 | 2,847 | 2,927 |
Notes:
1. Excludes North Lanarkshire and Stirling.
2. Excludes Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire and Stirling.
3. Excludes North Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Lothian.
4. Excludes Eilean Siar, North Lanarkshire and Stirling.
5. Provisional data. Excludes Eilean Siar, North Lanarkshire and Stirling.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement it has in projects associated with the redevelopment of Granton waterfront.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
The redevelopment of the Granton waterfront is being led by Waterfront Edinburgh Limited. This is a joint venture company supported by the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian.
The Scottish Executive is supporting the Granton waterfront initiative through significant investment in a number of areas that are key to the success of this major regeneration initiative. This includes: improved public transport including support to develop the tram network in the city; substantial investment in the provision of affordable housing within the waterfront area, and significant up-front funding to the joint venture company through the Scottish Executive funded enterprise agency Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 17 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11897 by Ms Patricia Ferguson on 18 November 2004, which football clubs have benefited from, and what funding has been allocated under, the Building for Sport programme since inception.
Answer
Since the establishment of the Building for Sport programme on 1 May 2004, only Kyleakin Football Club has received an award (£46,186) for a new playing field. Over the years 2003–07 of
sportscotland’s Lottery Distribution Strategy, details of which can be obtained from the
sportscotland website at
www.sportscotland.org.uk,£18 million has been allocated to the Building for Sport programme.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 13 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on ad hoc or temporary procurator fiscal deputes in each sheriff court district in each year since 1999.
Answer
Expenditure on temporary procurator fiscal deputes by Procurator Fiscal office for the last five financial years was:
| | 1999-00 (£) | 2000-01 (£) | 2001-02 (£) | 2002-03 (£) | 2003-04 (£) |
| Aberdeen | 860 | 13,665 | 26,650 | 6,075 | 18,289 |
| Airdrie | 41,253 | 36,881 | 18,964 | 21,923 | 47,783 |
| Arbroath | 0 | 0 | 705 | 705 | 0 |
| Ayr | 1,850 | 4,050 | 7,050 | 1,650 | 11,460 |
| Campbeltown | 1,800 | 450 | 4,200 | 450 | 3,995 |
| Cupar | 0 | 705 | 0 | 0 | 2,850 |
| Dumbarton | 4,450 | 17,055 | 14,659 | 15,596 | 3,503 |
| Dumfries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0- | 3,960 |
| Dundee | 8,039 | 12,670 | 10,676 | 48,274 | 78,167 |
| Dunfermline | 6,607 | 2,291 | 881 | 176 | 476 |
| Duns | 0 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edinburgh | 42,433 | 105,993 | 52,069 | 132,004 | 128,667 |
| Falkirk | 16,582 | 0 | 18,454 | 19,046 | 33,761 |
| Forfar | 0 | 0 | 353 | 705 | 0 |
| Fort William | 0 | 1,234 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glasgow | 178,506 | 150,754 | 236,571 | 194,751 | 113,054 |
| Greenock | 0 | 3,968 | 1,800 | 10,605 | 12,683 |
| Haddington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 450 | 8,250 |
| Hamilton | 25,604 | 40,669 | 89,749 | 87,431 | 55,159 |
| Jedburgh | 0 | 0 | 2,100 | 750 | 0 |
| Kirkcudbright | 3,904 | 2,100 | 3,000 | 2,100 | 2,475 |
| Kirkcaldy | 21,802 | 10,046 | 5,640 | 4,406 | 0 |
| Kilmarnock | 2,795 | 9,595 | 881 | 0 | 329 |
| Kirkwall | 1,500 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 1,125 | 1,875 |
| Lerwick | 1,694 | 1,800 | 1,571 | 1,125 | 1,875 |
| Linlithgow | 47,012 | 12,806 | 22,312 | 19,200 | 14,250 |
| Lanark | 585 | 1,586 | 2,001 | 855 | 176 |
| Oban | 0 | 750 | 1,350 | 326 | 329 |
| Paisley | 10,240 | 12,289 | 35,139 | 29,775 | 29,770 |
| Peebles | 0 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perth | 16,257 | 39,248 | 21,212 | 27,912 | 19,056 |
| Rothesay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| Selkirk | 0 | 2,231 | 6,880 | 150 | 0 |
| Stranraer | 1,670 | 150 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| Stirling | 4,574 | 1,058 | 7,705 | 24,641 | 9,900 |
| Stornoway | 375 | 1,500 | 2,250 | 0 | 2,625 |
| Wick | 1,603 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 12 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time football development officers there are in each local authority area and what their salary costs are, broken down into those employed by (a) it, (b) a local authority, (c) the Scottish Football Association and (d) sportscotland.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. No football development officers are employed by the Executive or sportscotland.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 11 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all funds allocated to community learning strategy partnerships for adult literacy and numeracy projects in 2001 were used for this purpose; if not, what steps will now be taken to ensure that the funds are so used, and what action will be taken against any local authority not using such funds for this purpose; whether funding for adult literacy and numeracy for 2006-08 will be allocated to community learning strategy partnerships, and whether such funding will be ring-fenced.
Answer
Our information is that the funds allocated to the partnerships since 2001 have been used for activities relating to adult literacy and numeracy.
Funding for adult literacy and numeracy for 2006-2008 will be routed as previously through the GAE of local authorities and will not be ring-fenced. We anticipate that these funds will be allocated to the Community Learning Strategy Partnerships.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many injuries that were reportable to the Health and Safety Executive there were in each prison in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The available information is given in the following table:
| Establishment | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 |
| Aberdeen | 2 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 6 |
| Barlinnie | 6 | 18 | 17 | 47 | 31 |
| Castle Huntly | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Cornton Vale | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 14 |
| Dumfries | 9 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 11 |
| Edinburgh | 9 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 15 |
| Glenochil | 25 | 13 | 19 | 17 | 13 |
| Greenock | 5 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| Inverness | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Low Moss | 10 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 13 |
| Noranside | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Perth | 4 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| Peterhead | 7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 15 |
| Polmont | 7 | 13 | 28 | 13 | 28 |
| Shotts | 2 | 25 | 21 | 27 | 17 |
| Total | 94 | 133 | 170 | 195 | 195 |
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 24 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will promote Edinburgh as a destination following the restructuring of area tourist boards; what funding will be available for Edinburgh as a distinct and specific destination; what input there will be from local government and businesses in the city to any marketing of Edinburgh, and whether it is aware of any other capital city in Europe that does not have a dedicated marketing organisation and, if so, which city.
Answer
The promotionfrom next year of Edinburgh and the Lothians as a leisure tourism destination willfrom April 2005 be the responsibility of the VisitScotland network office in Edinburgh, while business tourism in thearea will be promoted by the city’s Convention Bureau, being set up jointly by EdinburghCity Council and VisitScotland. In addition, Edinburgh will continue to feature prominently in VisitScotland’snational marketing campaigns.
Tourismbusiness and local authority involvement in these new marketing arrangements iscrucial to their success. VisitScotland’s total budget in 2004-05 for marketingEdinburgh stands at just under £2 million,with a further £668,000 specifically allocated to business tourism promotion of the city. VisitScotland will maintain this level of marketing spend in 2005-06,and in addition, Edinburgh will benefit from VisitScotland’s new city/rural campaignwhich will equate to a further £2 million of marketing spend. Edinburgh and Lothiansbusiness groups will also be able to access the recently announced Challenge Fundof £1 million on top of the above amounts.
