Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-25892

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted in the Lothians region in 2006-07 for handling an offensive weapon had a criminal record at the time of prosecution, broken down by most recent offence.

There were 446 persons proceeded against in Scottish courts in the Lothians region for handling an offensive weapon in 2006-07. This relates to 430 individuals, as some people have been proceeded against on more than one occasion.

Information about whether or not individuals had a criminal record at the time of prosecution is not held centrally. However, the following table shows the number of these individuals who had a previous charge proved in court at least once in the previous 10 years. The previous charge has been identified as having a date of sentence which is earlier than the date of sentence for the latest charge of handling an offensive weapon.

The source of this information is the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database, which is derived from data held on the Criminal History System. Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options for dealing with an individual who has been charged with an offence. Other actions include the use of fiscal warnings, diversion to social work, fixed penalty notices and fiscal fines. However, these alternatives to court prosecution are not currently held on the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database and are not included in the following data provided.

Number of individuals proceeded against in the Lothians¹ region for handling an offensive weapon^{2 3} in 2006-07 who had a previous charge⁴ proved in court, by main crime⁵ for that offence.

Main Crime		Number of Individuals
All Crimes	Non-sexual Crimes of Violence
	Serious assault and attempted murder	5
	Robbery	1
	Other	1
	Crimes of Indecency
	Lewd and indecent behaviour	1
	Other	1
	Crimes of Dishonesty
	Housebreaking	12
	Theft by opening a lockfast place	9
	Theft of/from a motor vehicle	7
	Shoplifting	33
	Other theft	14
	Fraud	4
	Other	5
	Fire-raising, Vandalism, etc
	Vandalism etc	19
	Other Crimes
	Crimes against public justice	19
	Handling an offensive weapon	23
	Drugs	28
All Offences	Miscellaneous Offences
	Common assault	34
	Breach of the peace	58
	Other	6
	Motor Vehicle Offences
	Dangerous and careless driving	4
	Drunk driving	7
	Speeding	2
	Unlawful use of vehicle	24
	Vehicle defect offences	1
	Other	4
All		322

Notes:

1. Based upon an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas.

2. Where main offence.

3. Handling an offensive weapon covers the crime categories possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

4. Where there was more than one previous charge the most recent was selected.

5. The crime categories used are the same as in the Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts Statistical Bulletin.

Question reference: S3W-25890

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted in the Lothians region in 2006-07 for handling an offensive weapon had previously been prosecuted for such an offence, broken down by main penalty issued.

There were 446 persons proceeded against in Scottish courts in the Lothians region for handling an offensive weapon in 2006-07. This relates to 430 individuals, as some people have been proceeded against on more than one occasion.

The following table shows the number of these individuals who had previously been proceeded against for the same offence at least once in the previous 10 years (based on the date of sentence for both the latest and previous offence).

Number of individuals proceeded against in the Lothians region¹ for handling an offensive weapon^{2 3} in 2006-07 who had previously been proceeded against⁴ for such an offence, by main penalty for the prior offence

Main Penalty Issued	Number of Individuals
Custody	29
Community sentence	18
Monetary	26
Charge proved - Other⁵	2
Not guilty	8
Total	83

Notes:

1. Based upon an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas.

2. Where main offence.

3. Handling an offensive weapon covers the crime categories possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

4. Previous prosecution derived from sentence date of latest and prior offence.

5. Including caution, admonition, absolute discharge and remit to children''s hearing.

Question reference: S3W-25889

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted in the Lothians region in 2007-08 for handling an offensive weapon had previously been prosecuted for such an offence, broken down by main penalty issued.

There were 376 persons proceeded against in Scottish courts in the Lothians region for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08. This relates to 367 individuals, as some people have been proceeded against on more than one occasion.

The following table shows the number of these individuals who had previously been proceeded against for the same offence at least once in the previous 10 years (based on the date of sentence for both the latest and previous offence).

Number of individuals proceeded against in the Lothians region¹ for handling an offensive weapon^{2 3} in 2007-08 who had previously been proceeded against⁴ for such an offence, by main penalty for the prior offence.

Main Penalty Issued	Number of Individuals
Custody	23
Community sentence	17
Monetary	17
Charge proved - Other⁵	1
Not guilty	6
Total	64

Notes:

1. Based upon an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas.

2. Where main offence.

3. Handling an offensive weapon covers the crime categories possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

4. Previous prosecution derived from sentence date of latest and prior offence.

5. Including caution, admonition, absolute discharge and remit to children''s hearing.

Question reference: S3W-25891

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people prosecuted in the Lothians region in 2007-08 for handling an offensive weapon had a criminal record at the time of prosecution, broken down by most recent offence.

There were 376 persons proceeded against in Scottish courts in the Lothians region for handling an offensive weapon in 2007-08. This relates to 367 individuals, as some people have been proceeded against on more than one occasion.

Information about whether or not individuals had a criminal record at the time of prosecution is not held centrally. However, the following table shows the number of these individuals who had a previous charge proved in court at least once in the previous 10 years. The previous charge has been identified as having a date of sentence which is earlier than the date of sentence for the latest charge of handling an offensive weapon.

The source of this information is the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database, which is derived from data held on the Criminal History System. Prosecution in court is only one of a range of possible options for dealing with an individual who has been charged with an offence. Other actions include the use of fiscal warnings, diversion to social work, fixed penalty notices and fiscal fines. However, these alternatives to court prosecution are not currently held on the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database and are not included in the following data provided.

Number of individuals proceeded against in the Lothians¹ region for handling an offensive weapon^{2 3} in 2007-08 who had a previous charge⁴ proved in court, by main crime⁵ for that offence.

Main Crime		Number of Individuals
All Crimes	Non-sexual Crimes of Violence
	Serious assault and attempted murder	5
	Robbery	4
	Other	1
	Crimes of Indecency
	Lewd and indecent behaviour	1
	Other	1
	Crimes of Dishonesty
	Housebreaking	12
	Theft by opening a lockfast place	4
	Theft of/from a motor vehicle	2
	Shoplifting	23
	Other theft	8
	Fraud	1
	Other	2
	Fire-raising, Vandalism, etc
	Vandalism etc	11
	Other Crimes
	Crimes against public justice	23
	Handling an offensive weapon	15
	Drugs	21
All Offences	Miscellaneous Offences
	Common assault	41
	Breach of the peace	30
	Other	7
	Motor Vehicle Offences
	Dangerous and careless driving	3
	Drunk driving	11
	Speeding	3
	Unlawful use of vehicle	27
	Vehicle defect offences	6
	Other	8
Total		270

Notes:

1. Based upon an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas.

2. Where main offence.

3. Handling an offensive weapon covers the crime categories possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

4. Where there was more than one previous charge the most recent was selected.

5. The crime categories used are the same as in the Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts Statistical Bulletin.

Question reference: S3W-25888

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were (a) prosecuted in the Lothians region in 2006-07 for handling an offensive weapon and (b) on bail at the time of the offence.

There were 446 persons proceeded against for handling offensive weapons (where main offence) in the Lothians region in 2006-07, of which 79 had a bail aggravator recorded against them, indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

These data are based on an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas.

Handling an offensive weapon covers the crime categories possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

Question reference: S3W-25887

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 10 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were (a) prosecuted in the Lothians region in 2007-08 for handling an offensive weapon and (b) on bail at the time of the offence.

There were 376 persons proceeded against for handling offensive weapons (where main offence) in the Lothians region in 2007-08, of which 67 had a bail aggravator recorded against them, indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

These data are based on an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas.

Handling an offensive weapon covers the crime categories possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of an offensive weapon and having in a public place an article with a blade or point.

Question reference: S3W-26084

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils in the Lothians region have been suspended for drug-related issues in each local authority area in each of the last three years.

The number of pupils suspended (temporarily excluded) for incidents of substance misuse (not alcohol) in each local authority in the Lothians region, in each of the last three years, is:

	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
East Lothian	8	1	8
Edinburgh, City of	24	3	7
Midlothian	15	6	0
West Lothian	4	10	13

Question reference: S3W-26083

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils in the Lothians region have been suspended for alcohol-related issues in each local authority area in each of the last three years.

The number of pupils suspended (temporarily excluded) for incidents of substance misuse (alcohol) in each local authority in the Lothians region, in each of the last three years, is:

	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
East Lothian	2	2	5
Edinburgh, City of	0	6	3
Midlothian	0	3	9
West Lothian	2	10	5

Question reference: S3W-25993

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average class size was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Lothians region in May (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007 and (iv) 2008, broken down by local authority area.

Information on class sizes is not collected in May. A school census is conducted annually in September. Information on average class sizes by local authority is published in the statistical bulletins Pupils in Scotland for the years in question which can be accessed at the following links:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/28083932/64.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/27083941/78.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/07/28100032/82.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/01090908/77.

Question reference: S3W-25878

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the aims and objectives of the Scottish Investment Bank will be.

Chamber and committees