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-18725

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 23 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners were interviewed by the Parole Board for Scotland in each of the last two years, broken down by month.

This is a matter for the Parole Board for Scotland which has provided the following information covering the last two years.

Month	No of Interviews	Month	No of Interviews
January 2007	45	January 2008	71
February 2007	58	February 2008	63
March 2007	58	March 2008	48
April 2007	39	April 2008	55
May 2007	47	May 2008	46
June 2007	38	June 2008	45
July 2007	39	July 2008	70
August 2007	58	August 2008	44
September 2007	45	September 2008	63
October 2007	82	October 2008	48
November 2007	50	November 2008	49
December 2007	42	December 2008	49
Total	601	Total	651

Question reference: S3W-18527

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 17 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce a timetable for the construction of improvements at the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) is timetabled to complete in 2012, around the time the STPR starts. Much of the congestion on the Haudagain Roundabout currently comes from traffic which will then travel via the new AWPR route.

We will address the issue of the remaining traffic at Haudagain and provide whatever improvements may be required prior to handing over responsibility for the existing road to Aberdeen City Council.

Question reference: S3W-18736

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people breaching (a) community sentence, (b) probation, (c) supervised attendance and (d) drug treatment and testing orders in 2007-08 served a prison sentence as a result.

Question reference: S3W-18737

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) overall cost was of breach applications made in respect of (i) community sentence, (ii) probation, (iii) supervised attendance and (iv) drug treatment and testing orders in 2007-08.

Question reference: S3W-18738

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was following sentencing before offenders commenced (a) community sentence, (b) probation, (c) supervised attendance and (d) drug treatment and testing orders in 2007-08, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S3W-18495

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) what type of offences were committed by people on bail for knife-related offences in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

This information is not held centrally.

The following table gives the number of bail orders made in the last five years where the original offence was for handling an offensive weapon. Bail orders for crimes involving knives cannot be identified separately from those involving other types of offensive weapon. Information is not available on the number of these bail orders where the individual subsequently committed a further offence while still subject to the order.

Bail Orders where the Main Offence was Handling an Offensive Weapon by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2006-07

Police Force Area	Year
Police Force Area	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Central	67	69	86	110	162
Dumfries and Galloway	22	44	52	37	64
Fife	62	38	43	35	102
Grampian	59	83	96	92	155
Lothian and Borders	214	201	254	310	423
Northern	33	37	45	67	99
Strathclyde	1,360	1,684	1,822	1,990	2,158
Tayside	159	172	234	179	213
Scotland	1,976	2,328	2,632	2,820	3,376

Question reference: S3W-18526

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the funding mechanism for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

Question reference: S3W-18494

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) what type of offences were committed by people on bail in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

The following table contains the number of offences with a charge proved, in each of the last five years for which data is available, where a bail aggravation was recorded. The table is broken down by the main crime category of the offence that was committed while on bail.

While data has been provided in this answer for each of the years 2002-03 to 2006-07, data on bail aggravators has only been published in the annual Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts bulletin for the years 2005-06 and 2006-07. This is because 2005-06 was the first year when the data was considered to be of sufficient quality and coverage to be published.

Offences with a Charge Proved, 2002-03 to 2006-07 with a Bail Aggravator Recorded, by Main Crime and Police Force Area

2002-03	Police Force Area
Crime category	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian And Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	Scotland
All crimes and offences	1,932	330	1,576	1,947	3,429	713	6,139	2,016	18,082
All crimes	916	184	786	1,043	1,648	301	3,087	967	8,932
Non-sexual crimes of violence	16	2	18	9	47	8	53	13	166
Crimes of indecency	0	0	1	4	5	1	8	0	19
Crimes of dishonesty	655	147	615	771	1,132	193	1,906	496	5,915
Fire-raising, vandalism, etc	51	6	29	47	93	24	131	47	428
Other crimes	194	29	123	212	371	75	989	411	2,404
All offences	1,016	146	790	904	1,781	412	3,052	1,049	9,150
Miscellaneous offences	464	95	351	388	899	261	1,721	485	4,664
Motor vehicle offences	552	51	439	516	882	151	1,331	564	4,486

Note: 1. Indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

2003-04	Police Force Area
Crime category	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian and Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	Scotland²
All crimes and offences	1,474	432	2,077	2,515	2,872	852	9,693	2,596	22,512
All crimes	729	203	1,169	1,352	1,507	348	4,834	1,346	11,488
Non-sexual crimes of violence	25	2	10	25	50	8	103	6	229
Crimes of indecency	0	1	0	4	3	1	44	2	55
Crimes of dishonesty	457	138	906	981	978	189	2,755	546	6,950
Fire-raising, vandalism, etc	51	14	57	52	84	45	267	65	635
Other crimes	196	48	196	290	392	105	1,665	727	3,619
All offences	745	229	908	1,163	1,365	504	4,859	1,250	11,024
Miscellaneous offences	399	146	427	515	723	336	2,956	674	6,177
Motor vehicle offences	346	83	481	648	642	168	1,903	576	4,847

Notes:

1. Indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

2. Scotland total includes one record for which the police force area was not known.

2004-05	Police Force Area
Crime category	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian and Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	Scotland
All crimes and offences	1,984	547	1,846	2,262	3,174	877	11,895	2,958	25,543
All crimes	1,047	283	1,052	1,306	1,748	352	5,851	1,654	13,293
Non-sexual crimes of violence	31	3	16	24	41	4	179	14	312
Crimes of indecency	2	0	0	0	11	1	65	2	81
Crimes of dishonesty	572	154	764	926	1,000	180	2,915	879	7,390
Fire-raising, vandalism, etc	92	48	51	62	112	58	371	88	882
Other crimes	350	78	221	294	584	109	2,321	671	4,628
All offences	937	264	794	956	1,426	525	6,044	1,304	12,250
Miscellaneous offences	608	192	407	513	864	392	4,057	774	7,807
Motor vehicle offences	329	72	387	443	562	133	1,987	530	4,443

Note: 1. Indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

2005-06	Police Force Area
Crime category	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian and Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	Scotland²
All crimes and offences	1,719	512	1,710	2,214	3,407	838	12,520	2,873	25,794
All crimes	864	237	989	1,276	1,832	353	5,752	1,673	12,977
Non-sexual crimes of violence	19	9	27	20	60	12	137	23	308
Crimes of indecency	4	1	4	10	17	3	109	10	158
Crimes of dishonesty	411	135	648	879	1,055	177	2,580	886	6,771
Fire-raising, vandalism, etc	61	17	88	57	95	41	373	96	828
Other crimes	369	75	222	310	605	120	2,553	658	4,912
All offences	855	275	721	938	1,575	485	6,768	1,200	12,817
Miscellaneous offences	579	208	373	514	996	363	4,511	735	8,279
Motor vehicle offences	276	67	348	424	579	122	2,257	465	4,538

Notes:

1. Indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

2. Scotland total includes one record for which the police force area was not known.

2006-07	Police Force Area
Crime category	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian and Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	Scotland
All crimes and offences	2,230	680	1,914	2,417	3,788	1,091	13,809	3,036	28,965
All crimes	1,131	325	1,176	1,413	2,040	512	6,505	1,920	15,022
Non-sexual crimes of violence	43	16	29	41	91	15	265	43	543
Crimes of indecency	6	4	2	15	15	1	136	6	185
Crimes of dishonesty	509	162	782	821	1,092	225	2,656	986	7,233
Fire-raising, vandalism, etc	117	43	99	81	117	60	414	62	993
Other crimes	456	100	264	455	725	211	3,034	823	6,068
All offences	1,099	355	738	1,004	1,748	579	7,304	1,116	13,943
Miscellaneous offences	749	264	456	616	1,067	456	5,099	737	9,444
Motor vehicle offences	350	91	282	388	681	123	2,205	379	4,499

Note: 1. Indicating that the offence was committed while the offender was on bail.

Question reference: S3W-18493

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is recorded on offences committed by people on bail.

Court proceedings data reported on by the Scottish Government is derived from data held on the Criminal History System at the Scottish Police Services Authority. Among the information collected are the offences which individuals are charged with in Scottish courts, the result of the court proceedings and whether or not a bail aggravator has been recorded against the offence. The fact that a bail aggravator has been recorded indicates that the offence was committed while the individual was on bail. The data does not, however, specify the original offence which the bail aggravator committed in the first place.

Question reference: S3W-18426

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 December 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce high-visibility vests for offenders completing community service sentences.

No. However, this government is determined that communities should be made more aware of the work done by offenders as payback for the damage they have caused. Our strategy is focused on giving communities greater say in the work done, and better information about the nature and value of work completed.

We have funded three Community Justice Authorities to develop innovative approaches to community engagement in this area.