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-22056

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 30 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there were for the (a) sale of alcohol to a person under 18, (b) purchasing of alcohol for consumption by a person under 18, (c) purchase of alcohol or its consumption on a licensed premises by a person under 18 and (d) confiscation of alcohol from a person under 18 in 2007-08, broken down by police force.

Data on criminal proceedings in Scottish courts for 2007-08 will be published on 28 April 2009. For 2006-07, the latest year for which data is currently available, prosecutions for offences related to underage alcohol consumption are contained in the following table.

Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Offences Related to Underage Alcohol Consumption¹, by Police Force Area, 2006-07

Police Force Area	(a) Sale of Alcohol to Person Under 18²	(b) Purchasing Excisable Liquor for Consumption by Person Under 18	(c) Person Under 18 Buying Excisable Liquor or Consuming in Bar	(d) Confiscation of Alcohol from Person Under 18³	Total
Central	8	7	-	-	15
Dumfries and Galloway	-	3	-	-	3
Fife	5	4	-	-	9
Grampian	8	9	-	-	17
Lothian and Borders	16	14	4	-	34
Northern	4	12	-	-	16
Strathclyde	45	40	2	-	87
Tayside	2	9	1	-	12
Scotland	88	98	7	-	193

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Covers the crime categories sale of drink to person under 18 and wholesaler selling liquor to person under 18 although there were no prosecutions in 2006-07 for wholesalers selling liquor to persons under 18.

3. The offence being failure to comply with a confiscation request by a police officer made under Section 61 of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997.

Please note that prosecution is not the sole course taken in dealing with these offences.

With regard to this answer, and the answer to question S3W-22055 on 30 March 2009, it should be noted that statistics dealing with court proceedings and recorded crime are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim and there is the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings. Also a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year.

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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Question reference: S3W-21927

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of concerns raised by the Community trade union, whether it is aware of an increased incidence of weapons being used against betting shop workers in crimes of robbery and assault with the intention to rob and, if so, what action it intends to take to protect such workers.

The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice met with Community trade union on 11 September 2008 when issues relating to incidents in betting shops were discussed. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice agreed to host a meeting of representatives from betting shop operators and employees. This meeting is being arranged.

We have no official information on increased incidence of weapons being used against betting shop workers in crimes of robbery and assault.

Question reference: S3W-21924

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Department for Work and Pensions’ summit on tackling violence against betting shop workers convened by Pat McFadden MP, Minister for Employment Relations, with key stakeholders in November 2008, whether it intends to hold a similar summit and, if so, (a) when, (b) what stakeholders will be invited and (c) what issues will be discussed.

The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice met with Community trade union on 11 September 2008 to discuss issues relating to betting shops.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice agreed to host a meeting of representatives of betting shop owners and employees. This meeting is being arranged.

The Scottish Government has no other plans to hold a summit on tackling violence against betting shop workers at this time. However, the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives is considering a forum to bring appropriate parties together to look at making the workplace safer and healthier and to consider the criminal issues.

Question reference: S3W-21926

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in light of concerns raised about the incidence of (a) verbal and (b) physical abuse against betting shop workers, as outlined in the Safer Betting Shops - Minimum Standards Report, published by the Community trade union in March 2009.

Question reference: S3W-21928

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what work it is undertaking with employers to ensure that their duty of care is upheld in ensuring that provisions are implemented to protect frontline betting shop workers from all forms of abuse and violence.

Acts of violence and abuse against anyone working in a public facing role are unacceptable.

The Scottish Government is continuing to support the campaign for the protection of public service workers from violence that has been run for the last few years. The successful work of this campaign has now moved into the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives.

The centre is in discussion with trade unions and employers in the betting trade on how best to tackle the abuse of workers. Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice will meet with representatives of betting shop owners and employees in the near future to discuss action on the risks facing staff.

Ultimately, responsibility for protecting workers from harm in the workplace lies with the employer, who should carry out a risk assessment for their workplaces and put in place measures to ensure that risk of harm to their employees is minimised, including recording and reporting of incidents of abuse and assault and their consequences for the victims.

Question reference: S3W-21929

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned at the betting industry’s reaction to the Community trade union’s Safer Betting Shop poster campaign, which received significant cross-party support in the Parliament, and, if so, what action it intends to take to ensure that safety of betting shop staff is a priority.

The campaign for the protection of public service workers from violence, which is continuing to be supported by the Scottish Government and is run by the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives, has been positively received.

The Community Trade Union''s Safe Betting Shop poster campaign has not been so well received as bookmakers feel that the campaign is too aggressive.

The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives is considering a forum to bring appropriate parties together to look at making the workplace safer and healthier and to consider the criminal issues.

Question reference: S3W-21925

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 24 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the 10 minimum standards outlined in the Safer Betting Shops - Minimum Standards Report, published by the Community trade union in March 2009, and whether it intends to take action to support the standards.

Acts of violence and abuse against anyone working in a public facing role are unacceptable. The Scottish Government is continuing to support the campaign for the protection of public service workers from violence that has been run for the last few years. The successful work of this campaign has now moved into the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives.

The centre is already in discussion with trade unions and employers in the betting trade on how best to tackle the abuse of workers.

Question reference: S3W-21863

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 23 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the answers to questions S3W-20964, S3W-20965 and S3W-20967 by Fergus Ewing on 11 March 2009, on what basis the decision to target students in the most recent campaign by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency was taken.

SCDEA activity under the Shared Responsibility campaign is a general awareness campaign which has been, and will continue to be, promoted to varied audiences via a range of media and initiatives. The engagement with students in Scotland, which was supported by the National Union of Students, was part of this wider exercise to seek to reduce future demand for cocaine based on a better understanding of the effect its consumption has on the environment and communities of Colombia.

Question reference: S3W-21793

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students studying dietetics were (a) unable to graduate and (b) delayed in graduating due to a lack of placement opportunities in the last academic year, broken down by (i) institution and (ii) course.

Question reference: S3W-21792

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students studying dietetics are undertaking placements in England and Wales in order to satisfy their degree requirements.