- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 August 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 17 August 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement the Lord Advocate had in assessing the prosecution case brought against Thomas McAnae, Raymond Dean, John McGregor and Dennis McGinnis in their 1998 Edinburgh High Court case.
Answer
This case was considered by Crown Counsel in the usual way when the circumstances were reported to Crown Office by the Procurator Fiscal for consideration of proceedings in the High Court. It is not the practice of this office to disclose which of Crown Counsel considered the evidence. All indictments are at instance of the Lord Advocate.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 7 August 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it received a consultative document from the Ministry of Defence on the future of HMS Gannet and the site upon which it operates at Monkton, Prestwick, and, if so, whether it will publish details of any response given.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has submitted comments to the Ministry of Defence following receipt of the consultative document on the future of HMS Gannet. As a reserved matter, final decisions on the future of HMS Gannet are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 5 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the Annual Report and Accounts of the Scottish Prison Service.
Answer
I have asked Mr Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The Annual Report and Accounts of the Scottish Prison Service for 1999-2000 will be published in July.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate and report on the backlog of complaints which currently exist with the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman.
Answer
The Executive already has been monitoring the workload of the office and agreed appropriate action. Information on action being taken on the backlog of cases is given in the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman's Annual Report 1999 (at paragraphs 2.5 to 2.7), which was published on 7 June 2000. A copy is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 6774).
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what staffing arrangements are currently in place within the office of the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman and whether these arrangements are adequate.
Answer
The information requested is given in the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman's Annual Report 1999 (at paragraph 7.2), which was published on 7 June 2000. A copy is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 6774). The staffing complement of the office was increased last July with the appointment of an additional complaint investigator. The Ombudsman's hours are to increase from three days a week to four days per week from 1 July 2000. I am content that these staffing arrangements are adequate in present circumstances.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the task forces, working groups, review groups, action groups and similar committees established by the Minister for Justice and his deputy Minister since 6 May 1999 and when each group is expected to publish its report.
Answer
The information requested is listed in the following table:
Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act National Implementation Steering Group | Announced on 9 December 1999 | No report will be published |
Scottish Charity Law Review Commission | Announced on 29 March 2000 | Will report within 12 months |
Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Steering Group | DFM announced on 20 July 1999 that a group would be set up. | Revised Action Plan will be published in 2001 |
Part V of the Police Act 1997 Voluntary Issues Review Group | Announced on 7 October 1999 | By End 2000 |
Cross-Parliamentary Working Group on a Replacement Diligence to Poinding and Sale | Invitations to the Group were issued on 7 June. Membership still to be finalised. | No later than December 2001 |
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 3 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol related deaths there were for the last year for which figures are available.
Answer
There were 831 deaths from alcohol related diseases in Scotland in 1998. The provisional total for 1999 was 928.
The figures cover deaths certified for the following underlying causes (the relevant codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, are given in brackets): alcoholic psychoses (ICD9 291), alcohol dependence syndrome (ICD9 303), non-dependent abuse of alcohol (ICD9 305.0), alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ICD9 425.5) and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis with a mention of alcohol (ICD9 571.0 - 571.3).
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 27 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of rape were reported in the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and how many of these were (a) found to be based upon false allegation, (b) prosecuted, (c) abandoned at the request of the victim and (d) abandoned due to lack of evidence or for other reasons, and in how many of the cases the victims were women and in how many cases male.
Answer
There are no statistics held as to the information requested at (a) and (c). Statistics on the number of reports of rape recorded by the police, of persons proceeded against for rape, and the number of cases in which proceedings were dropped, discontinued or deserted were published in the reply to question S1W-4882, to which Mr Gallie is referred. In cases other than rape, information cannot be extracted about the gender of the victim.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 27 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how many applications were made by those accused of rape to have victims questioned on their sexual history and how many applications were granted in each of the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
Answer
Statistics are not held regarding the number of applications made on behalf of accused to, and granted by, the court in terms of section 275 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 to question an alleged victim of rape about her previous sexual history or character.
- Asked by: Phil Gallie, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 27 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of rape prosecutions processed through the courts in each of the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 ended with verdicts of (i) guilty of rape or lesser charge, (ii) not proven and (iii) not guilty and in how many cases the victims were women and in how many cases male.
Answer
The available statistics were published in the reply to question S1W-4882 to which Mr Gallie is referred. In addition, the Crown Office conducted a review of all rape cases that were indicted at the High Court in 1998. The conviction rate, including pleas of guilty and convictions of rape and of lesser offences, was 43%. The acquittal rate was 40%. In the remaining 17% of cases a warrant was issued because of the accused's failure to appear.
In Scotland, the crime of rape is defined as sexual intercourse by a man with a woman achieved by the overcoming of her will. Apart from the crime of rape, information cannot be extracted as to the gender of the victim.
