- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the Daubert judgement which currently governs the admissibility of expert testimony in courts in the United States of America and, in particular, the implications of the judgement with regard to the present means, technique and quality of similar evidence offered in Scottish courts, with particular reference to fingerprint evidence brought forward by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in criminal cases in the last five years from experts working in the Scottish Criminal Records Office.
Answer
We have considered the recent developments in the law of expert evidence in the United States of America, including the judgements in the Daubert and Kumho Tire Co cases and the Federal Rule of Evidence No 702. The rules of evidence in Scotland in relation to skilled witnesses are comparable in many respects, but we do not consider that they have any implications for the use of expert evidence, including fingerprint evidence, in Scotland.We have, however, set out proposals for the greater use of expert evidence in some types of case. These are contained in Vital Voices, Helping Vulnerable Witnesses Give Evidence: Policy Statement, paragraph 2.31, published by the Scottish Executive on 27 February 2003. Copies are available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 26600).
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the judgement in the case considered in the Supreme Court of the United States of America, Kumho Tire Co v Carmichael (US 137 1999); whether it agrees that a court's "gatekeeping" function in respect of the reliability of expert evidence applies to all expert evidence, whether or not it is given by scientists, and, if so, what steps it is taking to ensure that such a function is exercised in the same way in Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34146 today. 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/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 3 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) target times are between full inspections of (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools.
Answer
I have asked Graham Donaldson, Chief Executive of HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), to respond. His response is as follows:HMIE is working towards the generational cycle whereby a primary school will be inspected once every seven years and a secondary school will be inspected once every six years. We are aiming to complete the delivery of the first generational cycle by 2008 for secondary schools and 2009 for primary schools. To ensure delivery of this target, we are giving priority to schools which have yet to be inspected. For those primary schools which have been inspected twice, the average time between inspections has been 14 years. For those secondary schools which have been inspected at least twice, the average time between inspections has been nine and a half years.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 27 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths there were from coronary heart disease in the Clydesdale area of the Lanarkshire NHS Board area in each of the last four years and how these figures compared with the national average.
Answer
The information requested is given in the following table.Deaths from Coronary Heart Disease
1, Clydesdale
2, 1998-2001
| | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| Clydesdale | | | | |
| Number of deaths | 188 | 172 | 151 | 168 |
| Rate per 100,000 population3 | 319 | 291 | 255 | 283 |
| Scotland | | | | |
| Rate per 100,000 population3 | 262 | 261 | 245 | 235 |
Notes:1. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes 410-414 (1998 and 1999) and Tenth Revision codes I20-I25 (2000 and 2001), ischaemic heart disease.2. Former Clydesdale local government district area.3. The rates have been calculated using the latest available mid-year population estimates. Those for 1998 to 2000 are subject to revision to make them consistent with population results from the 2001 Census. The rates have not been age standardised.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Watson on 26 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how the (a) Scots and (b) Gaelic language will be assisted by the events planned to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns.
The member has provided the following translation:
A dh? fhaighneachd do Riaghaltas na h-Alba ciamar a bhios (a) Scots agus (b) Gaidhlig air an cuideachadh leis na tachartasan a thathar a? dealbhadh gus an 400mh ceann-bliadhna aig Aonadh nan Crun a chomharrachadh.
Answer
A wide range of events is proposed across Scotland to commemorate the Union of the Crowns anniversary, which we believe will be of interest to all of Scotland's people. The Scottish Executive has provided the following translation:Thathar am beachd raon fharsaing de thachartasan a chur air adhart air feadh na h-Alba gus ceann bliadhna Aonadh nan Crùn a chomharrachadh agus tha sinn am beachd gum bi ùidh aig muinntir na h-Alba air fad ann an sin.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 26 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of a full inspection of an (a) primary and (b) secondary school.
Answer
I have asked Graham Donaldson, Chief Executive of HM Inspectorate of Education, to respond. His response is as follows:The average cost of an inspection of a medium-sized primary, without a nursery class or any special units, is approximately £7,850. The average cost of an inspection of a medium-sized secondary, without any special unit, is approximately £19,925.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to ensure that any public concern about gas leaks, such as the one reported from Park Place and Westport in Lanark, is reflected in urgent action by the relevant authorities and supervised by those responsible for public safety.
Answer
Gas safety is a reserved matter. Transco is responsible for running the gas emergency service under its licence conditions. This service is provided free of charge, at point of delivery, and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year round. The Health and Safety Executive monitors Transco's overall safety performance. Local authorities and the emergency services are primarily concerned with consequence management. As part of their emergency planning responsibilities, local authorities are required to have in place arrangements to deal with the consequences of major gas leaks. Their response and that of the emergency services would reflect the expert advice of the pipeline operator.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 24 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school leavers had no national qualification to Scottish Credit Qualification Framework level 3 or better in academic year 2001-02.
Answer
The information requested is not yet available for the academic year 2001-02. It will be made public in the Statistics Publication Notice, School Attainment and Qualifications of School Leavers in Scotland: 2001-02, on 25 March 2003.The Statistics Publication Notice will be available on the Scottish Executive website and a hard copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Watson on 21 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure effective marketing of the events that it is organising to mark the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns by emphasising the distinctiveness of a location, rather than its similarity to other competing destinations.
Answer
Events to commemorate the Union of the Crowns will be promoted by VisitScotland, area tourist boards and Historic Scotland as appropriate.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mike Watson on 21 February 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how its plans to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns will assist in marketing Scotland as a clearly identifiable tourist destination.
Answer
Scotland's unique heritage is a proven attraction for visitors to this country, and the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns is a significant date in Scotland's rich cultural and political history. We expect that the wide range of events planned to commemorate the Union will attract more people to experience Scotland for themselves.
