- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders who have been on the sex offenders’ register but have not been sentenced to a period of imprisonment have reoffended within a period of (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years in each year since 1999.
Answer
Offenders on a sex offenders register cannot be separately identified in the convictions data held on the Scottish Executive Justice Department court proceedings statistical database. Police Force Record Offices operate a variety of recording systems for monitoring and maintaining information on registered sex offenders locally but data from these operational systems cannot be readily extracted for statistical purposes.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners who have been placed on the sex offenders’ register and released on licence have reoffended within (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years of release in each year since 1999.
Answer
The information requested cannot be provided from the information held centrally.
The available data on the number of persons released on licence from a determinate custodial sentence who were recalled to prison because they faced charges of a sexual nature is given in the following table.
Number of Persons Recalled to Custody and not Subsequently Released Where Facing Charges of a Sexual Nature
| Year | Non-Parole Licensees | Parole Licensees | Total |
| 1999 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Source: Parole Board Annual Reports.
Further information on reoffending by convicted sex offenders is contained in a published Scottish Prison Service research monograph, Sexual offending in Scottish Prisons: some preliminary data on risk and recidivism a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33996).
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the mandatory direction of accused persons to the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office will be reduced or abolished; if so, when and to what extent and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
Mandatory direction wasabolished in June 2000 and there are no plans for it to be re-established.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to restrict the sale and promotion of knives.
Answer
We are deeply concernedabout the knife culture and its contribution to violent crime.
There are already extensiveprovisions under the existing law which restrict the sale and promotion ofknives.
The Criminal Justice Act1988 makes it an offence to sell to anyone under 16 any knife, blade, razorblade, axe, or any other bladed or sharply pointed article made or adapted forcausing personal injury. That act also makes it an offence to import,manufacture, sell or hire a specified offensive weapon or expose or possesssuch a weapon for the purposes of sale or hire. The weapons which have beenspecified as offensive weapons include various types of knife such as butterflyknives and push daggers. The Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 makes itan offence to manufacture, sell or hire a flick knife or a gravity knife.
In addition, the Knives Act1997 makes it an offence to market a knife in a way which indicates that it issuitable for combat or in a way which is likely to encourage violent behaviourinvolving the use of the knife as a weapon.
As promised in ourPartnership Agreement, we are reviewing the enforcement of these measures.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the administration costs of the Scottish Legal Aid Board have been in each year since 1990, shown also as a percentage of total costs in each year.
Answer
The information requested is given in the annual report of the Scottish Legal Aid Board for each year since 1990. Copies of these have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24448).
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether assessments for special educational needs carried out by educational psychologists are based on the needs of the child or resources available to the local authority; whether there are existing guidelines in respect of assessment for such needs and, if so, whether all local authorities are aware of such guidelines, and what steps it will take to ensure that assessments for special educational needs are based entirely on the needs of the child.
Answer
Assessments for special educational needs carried out by educational psychologists are based on the needs of the child. The
Manual of Good Practice for all staff and professionals involved with children and young people with special educational needs;
Effective Provision for Special Educational Needs (EPSEN); Circular 4/96: Children and Young People with SEN - Assessment and Recording; and
The Parents’ Guide to Special Educational Needs all provide guidelines and information on assessment for such needs.
The Parents’ Guide to Special Educational Needs may be accessed at:
http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk/enquire/pdf/Parents%20Guide04.pdf.
The other documents are on the Scottish Executive website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Home.All these documents have been disseminated widely among local authorities.
It is a matter for local authorities to determine that assessments for special educational needs are carried out appropriately. However, following the report of the review of psychological services, Quality Indicators for self evaluation of psychological services have been developed. In addition, HM Inspectorate of Education will include psychological services in their integrated services inspections from 2005.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what data are held in respect of supervision orders; how the success of such orders is monitored, and how an order is followed up and acted upon.
Answer
Data on supervision requirements is held by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. More detail on the types of Supervision and outcomes for looked after children is given in the
Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03 (ISSN 1479-7569) which was published by the Scottish Executive in October 2003.
It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to give effect to decisions made by Children’s Hearings. The success of measures contained in supervision requirements is reviewed at Children’s Hearings. In its role of ensuring the best possible value for money is achieved by councils, Audit Scotland looked at this area in 2002 and in 2003 conducted a follow up report Dealing with Offending by Young People; Audit Scotland also collect and publish information relating to statutory indicators on the performanceof authorities in implementing decisions; more detail can be found on:
http://www.accounts-commission.gov.uk/publications.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 16 have been prosecuted in (a) sheriff courts and (b) the high court in each year since 1999, broken down into (i) solemn and (ii) summary proceedings.
Answer
The available information is given in the following table:
Persons Aged Under 16 Proceeded Against in Sheriff Courts and the High Court, 1999-2002
| Court type | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| High Court1 | 9 | 19 | 8 | 11 |
| Sheriff Solemn | 17 | 16 | 27 | 27 |
| Sheriff Summary | 74 | 50 | 64 | 98 |
| Total | 100 | 85 | 99 | 136 |
Note: 1. Figure for 2002 may be an underestimate due to time taken to record details of some court proceedings in SCRO system.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the number of, and remuneration for, safeguarders.
Answer
The number and remuneration of safeguarders is a matter for local authorities to determine. In respect of remuneration COSLA issued guidance in 2002 to local authorities following discussion with the Scottish Safeguarder’s Association. I understand that the guidance covers the period 2003-06.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children from each local authority have been placed in the young people’s unit as a result of the non-availability of foster accommodation in each month in each year since 1999.
Answer
This is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.
