Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-16129

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 September 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of graffiti and vandalism have taken place in the Lothians region in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S3W-16131

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 September 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 18 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the £100 million to be brought forward under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme will be earmarked for new affordable housing in the Lothians region, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S3W-16126

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 September 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) crimes and (b) offences were prosecuted in Edinburgh Sheriff Court in each of the last 10 years and what percentage resulted in a conviction.

The available information is given in the following tables.

Persons Prosecuted and Persons Convicted of Crimes in Edinburgh Sheriff Court¹, 1997-98 to 2006-07

Financial Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	Percentage Convicted
1997-98	4,375	3,782	86
1998-99	4,119	3,556	86
1999-2000	3,686	3,150	85
2000-01	3,630	3,106	86
2001-02	3,319	2,872	87
2002-03	3,547	3,040	86
2003-04	3,345	2,892	86
2004-05	3,624	3,126	86
2005-06	3,785	3,321	88
2006-07	4,182	3,607	86

Note: 1. Where main offence.

Persons Prosecuted and Persons Convicted of Offences in Edinburgh Sheriff Court¹, 1997-98 to 2006-07

Financial Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	Percentage Convicted
1997-98	6,576	6,103	93
1998-99	6,230	5,750	92
1999-2000	5,519	4,992	90
2000-01	5,459	4,923	90
2001-02	5,468	4,989	91
2002-03	6,088	5,566	91
2003-04	5,903	5,365	91
2004-05	5,516	5,035	91
2005-06	5,651	5,179	92
2006-07	6,238	5,599	90

Note: 1. Where main offence.

Question reference: S3O-04161

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide full statistics on the take-up of the small business bonus scheme.

Question reference: S3W-15372

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the analysis of submissions to its A Fairer Local Tax for Scotland consultation.

Question reference: S3W-15166

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of hand hygiene compliance has been by staff in hospitals in the Lothians in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) began collecting information on the compliance of hand hygiene procedures of staff in January 2007, following the launch of Scotland''s Hand Hygiene Campaign, Germs. Wash your hands of them. The information collected by HPS is published according to staff type and NHS board, but not by hospital. Information by hospital is available from the NHS board on request.

Information on the compliance of hand hygiene procedures for NHS Lothian is provided in the following table:

Audit Period for Hand Hygiene Compliance

NHS Board	15-28 February 2007	3-14 September 2007	18-29 February 2008	5-16 May 2008
NHS Lothian	66%	82%	79%	87%

Source: NHS Hand Hygiene Campaign 3rd Audit Report, July 2008

In addition, a healthcare associated infection (HAI) reporting template will be developed for NHS boards to use as a framework to report progress against the HAI agenda to all board meetings and form the basis of the Boards Infection Control Managers HAI annual report that will be part of the Director of Public Health''s Report.

Question reference: S3W-15165

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diagnosed with (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetes in the Lothians region in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

The information requested is provided in the following tables. In each case, the year in question runs from July to July.

East Lothian	Type 1	Type 2
2003-04	12	285
2004-05	11	298
2005-06	23	257
2006-07	14	293
2007-08	19	258

Edinburgh City	Type 1	Type 2
2003-04	82	1,221
2004-05	85	1,052
2005-06	84	1,085
2006-07	107	1,129
2007-08	86	1,012

Midlothian	Type 1	Type 2
2003-04	15	310
2004-05	20	256
2005-06	19	242
2006-07	13	237
2007-08	18	256

West Lothian	Type 1	Type 2
2003-04	35	788
2004-05	42	676
2005-06	28	697
2006-07	37	752
2007-08	31	684

Source: NHS Lothian Diabetes Managed Clinical Network.

Question reference: S3W-15015

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 12 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct measures have been issued by procurators fiscal for carrying a knife in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has a robust policy on knife crime, including charges reported for offences under Section 49 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (offence of having in a public place an article with a blade or point).

Any person caught carrying a knife will be arrested and kept in custody. If an accused has one or more previous convictions involving possession or use of a knife or has a previous conviction for an offence of violence which resulted in a custodial sentence, prosecutors will oppose bail. If an accused has a previous conviction for a similar offence there will be a presumption in favour of prosecution before a jury.

COPFS receives on average 294 charges per month in respect of this offence, resulting in approximately 5,290 charges for the period in question. During this time, there were no charges in which the initial decision taken by the Procurator Fiscal for carrying a knife was to issue a Fiscal Fine.

The following table shows the number of charges reported under section 49 in respect of which the initial decision taken by the Procurator Fiscal was either to issue a warning or refer the accused for local social work support, for example to help with tackling alcohol abuse. Guidance to prosecutors makes it clear that such action is only appropriate in exceptional circumstances and must be approved by the District Procurator Fiscal.

Of the 27 charges in the table, amounting to 0.5% of the charges reported during this period, 21 (78%) were dealt with by way of a warning and 6 (22%) were referred for local Social Work support.

Charges: Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 49

Direct Measures Issued by Procurators Fiscal: January 2007 to June 2008

Procurator Fiscal Office	Jan -07	Feb-07	Apr-07	May-07	Jun-07	Jul-07	Aug-07	Sep-07	Oct-07	Nov-07	Jan-08	Feb-08	Mar-08	Apr-08	May-08	Jun-08
Aberdeen	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Airdrie	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-
Dumbarton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Dumfries	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dundee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-
Dunfermline	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-
Edinburgh	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Falkirk	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Glasgow	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Greenock	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hamilton	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Linlithgow	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paisley	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Perth	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-
Peterhead	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	-
Tain	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wick	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Grand Total	1	1	3	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	1	1	1	3	2	1

Notes:

1.The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service''s case management database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency, the database will record details only of the amended charge.

2.The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

Question reference: S3W-15020

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 12 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new sheriff court prosecutions there were before the implementation of summary justice reform in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

The following table shows the number of accused persons for whom an initial decision was taken to commence Sheriff Court proceedings by month since April 2007. Information for periods prior to April 2007 is not currently available in the same format.

This table does not include any accused person for whom the initial decision was to offer any of the range of Direct Measures which are now available to Procurators Fiscal.

Accused Persons: Initial Decisions - Sheriff Summary Court Proceedings

Procurator Fiscal Office	Apr-07	May-07	Jun-07	Jul-07	Aug-07	Sep-07	Oct-07	Nov-07	Dec-07	Jan-08	Feb-08	Mar-08
Aberdeen	387	553	425	490	465	375	399	482	389	472	464	371
Airdrie	243	306	344	295	288	252	241	209	182	233	258	161
Alloa	135	126	118	142	95	101	109	114	115	130	99	80
Arbroath	124	108	80	120	78	89	67	95	87	114	80	88
Ayr	245	248	220	222	314	234	269	216	227	251	213	240
Banff	30	30	29	29	39	22	32	32	37	31	30	24
Campbeltown	18	31	22	33	21	45	16	16	28	19	15	28
Cupar	56	81	84	84	50	56	62	93	67	67	44	44
Dingwall	43	84	49	59	67	52	80	68	37	52	45	59
Dornoch	14	20	9	15	11	6	28	10	14	11	12	4
Dumbarton	234	248	237	226	284	207	207	224	195	246	207	169
Dumfries	210	349	228	256	285	214	336	244	208	236	194	168
Dundee	341	367	365	288	395	253	278	267	240	299	294	265
Dunfermline	196	239	275	232	237	235	194	256	233	197	169	143
Dunoon	50	32	56	35	65	43	58	24	36	31	30	32
Duns	24	25	22	19	32	26	23	18	25	19	23	13
Edinburgh	1,194	1,089	1,066	892	897	789	882	1,016	721	885	690	702
Elgin	123	90	146	112	135	104	156	110	124	177	123	91
Falkirk	269	354	317	290	306	246	298	243	265	260	296	283
Forfar	77	80	53	71	42	62	63	66	69	55	52	56
Fort William	26	40	31	35	57	27	67	32	42	25	28	29
Glasgow	1,221	1,235	1,143	1,096	1,152	1,045	1,093	1,060	1,020	1,134	968	840
Greenock	106	140	105	189	131	186	134	159	127	106	115	118
Haddington	96	86	101	80	102	95	68	120	103	87	86	94
Hamilton	396	534	358	491	564	516	536	478	409	563	474	386
Inverness	198	235	231	263	234	273	256	242	223	253	221	208
Jedburgh	60	64	49	63	80	57	59	65	53	51	39	34
Kilmarnock	404	432	450	359	445	391	417	405	395	477	393	356
Kirkcaldy	282	329	286	311	296	284	346	337	281	337	251	191
Kirkcudbright	29	40	32	35	37	23	44	12	38	28	27	18
Kirkwall	23	26	33	19	31	15	12	20	16	25	8	20
Lanark	80	77	83	105	156	90	48	96	85	65	78	52
Lerwick	28	42	37	37	41	20	55	31	31	37	32	28
Linlithgow	218	327	229	254	307	207	228	218	212	236	255	224
Lochmaddy	11	7	7	13	5	7	3	9	8	6	6	4
Oban	30	28	49	36	30	12	20	32	19	27	30	26
Paisley	230	360	270	262	302	381	326	261	287	282	281	261
Peebles	19	15	14	25	20	21	18	17	18	12	20	10
Perth	173	214	193	263	268	179	133	196	175	180	129	148
Peterhead	119	94	72	64	126	79	107	93	121	123	76	60
Portree	8	2	2	4	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	1
Rothesay	3	5	9	32	19	15	16	13	12	15	5	14
Selkirk	63	62	59	60	56	64	48	62	41	47	47	42
Stirling	186	168	204	177	154	156	149	154	141	171	150	168
Stonehaven	43	33	60	51	58	34	23	50	31	34	24	28
Stornoway	33	41	40	36	32	26	36	23	22	37	26	18
Stranraer	107	104	78	82	88	86	81	83	57	107	89	93
Tain	41	45	49	45	48	35	59	51	26	36	36	34
Wick	46	41	47	43	49	39	24	33	35	53	33	26
Grand Total	8,292	9,286	8,466	8,440	8,994	7,781	8,204	8,155	7,327	8,339	7,265	6,552

Question reference: S3W-15016

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 12 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct measures have been issued by procurators fiscal for crimes involving a knife in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

I refer the member to the question S3W-15015, answered on 12 August 2008. It shows the number of charges reported to Procurators Fiscal for offences under Section 49 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (offence of having in a public place an article with a blade or point) where the Procurator Fiscal issued a direct measure.

It is not possible to identify accurately in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service''s case management database other offences (e.g. assault or breach of the peace) where a knife was used in connection with the commission of the offence.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has a robust policy on knife crime. Any person caught carrying a knife will be arrested and kept in custody. If an accused has one or more previous convictions involving possession or use of a knife or has a previous conviction for an offence of violence which resulted in a custodial sentence, prosecutors will oppose bail. If an accused has a previous conviction for a similar offence there will be a presumption in favour of prosecution before a judge and jury.

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/wa.search.