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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2136 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S3W-23244

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 1 May 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail its expenditure on visits to the Red Hook Community Justice Centre in New York in relation to the development of a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow, broken down by (a) date of trip, (b) person travelling, (c) reason for visit and (d) items covered.

A visit to New York was undertaken by Cathy Jamieson, then Minister for Justice, Elizabeth Carmichael, Head of Community Justice Services Division, John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service, Francesca Osowska, Head of Reducing Reoffending Division, Jeane Freeman, Senior Special Adviser and Penny Curtis, Minister''s Private Secretary between 16 and 19 February 2004.

The purpose of the visit was to learn more about the criminal justice process in New York and elsewhere in the United States and to discuss the system with those managing and delivering the services with particular references to the community justice centres at Red Hook, Brooklyn and Midtown, New York. Meetings were held with:

Criminal Justice Co-ordinator from the New York Mayor''s Office;

Deputy Commissioner of the New York Police Department;

Representatives with the North Carolina and New York Departments of Corrections;

Judge Juanita Bing Newton;

District Attorney, and

magistrates and clerks from Midtown Community Court.

Visits were made to a number of criminal justice initiatives including:

Midtown Community Court;

Red Hook Community Justice Centre;

The Centre for Employment Opportunities;

Beacon Project;

Project Greenlight, and

Brooklyn Treatment Court.

We do not have exact costs for the visit but have established that, excluding flights, expenses were approximately £650 per person (including accommodation and meals). Flights were arranged according to the SE Air Travel Policy.

Question reference: S3O-06711

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding mechanism it will use for construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Question reference: S3W-22859

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recent media reports, whether it is concerned that some local authorities are reported to have approached the Scottish Courts Service to ask for community service orders to be revoked due to a backlog and an inability to meet demand.

Question reference: S3W-23242

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive which ministers have been involved in the development of plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow; how many hours were spent by each minister, and between what dates this work was completed.

Question reference: S3W-23237

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the basis was for its decision not to pursue a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow.

Question reference: S3W-23235

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of expenditure in relation to the development of a pilotcommunity court in the east end of Glasgow, broken down by (a) nature, (b) amount and (c) date of each expenditure.

In addition to the costs of Scottish Government officials working on the Community Justice Centre project, £15,525 was paid in March 2009 to Ridgeway Consultants who were commissioned to produce a detailed business plan setting out the full capital and revenue costs of the project.

The Project Lead was seconded from Glasgow City Council who paid all salary and expenses costs in respect of that role. Glasgow City Council was also fully funded for the provision of administrative support to the Project Lead at a cost of £7,078.02. This amount was also paid in March 2009.

Project Board members attended five board meetings and provided advice and information when requested. Their costs were fully met by their respective organisations.

Question reference: S3W-23238

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reintroduce plans for a pilot community court.

We have no plans at present to reintroduce plans for a community justice centre. The business plan highlighted the high capital and revenue costs for creating and staffing a new court facility and these costs did not include the service gains for which the community justice centre would have been a springboard. We are therefore discussing with Glasgow City Council the extent to which those service gains may be realised without the requirement for a specific building.

Question reference: S3W-23239

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its officials were involved in the development of plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow and between what dates this work was completed.

Question reference: S3W-23240

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours its officials spent developing plans for a pilot community court in the east end of Glasgow and between what dates this work was completed.

Question reference: S3W-23236

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 April 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its research, what benefits it considers that community courts would bring.

The business plan, produced by external consultants, anticipated the following benefits from the establishment of a Community Justice Centre:

Increase community safety by contributing to reducing crime in the area and in particular those crimes identified by local people as a priority.

Improve community involvement in the justice system by responding to community concerns of nuisance behaviour and crime and creating a more responsive and integrated approach in the area.

Improve the effectiveness of local justice by reducing re-offending rates, including seriousness and frequency, by those sentenced at the centre. This will be through a problem solving approach to local issues and a holistic approach to offenders and victims, tackling the underlying causes of crime.

Improve the efficiency of local justice by dealing with cases quickly; reducing the time it takes from someone being charged to being sentenced.

Improve confidence in the justice system and its agencies by the community, victims and participants.

Improve offender accountability by increased compliance with community sentences and reducing the use of short term prison sentences where possible.

Improve community outcomes by having those sentenced by the centre carry out unpaid work in the local community as part of payback or reparative justice.