Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11801 on 23 April 2008. 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.

Also, as part of the national physical activity strategy published in 2003, the Scottish Government will invest £12 million for physical activity initiatives over the next three years, this will be used to expand a wide range of programmes, including the creation of better recreational spaces and improve environments for walking and cycling.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11801 on 23 April 2008. 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.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Bike Station in Edinburgh, part funded by the Scottish Government, received 1,568 second hand bicycles worth a resale total of £82,000 in 2007-08. This was the highest sales value achieved in any one year since the establishment of the Bike Station.

In the National Transport Strategy, there is a commitment to continue to promote cycling and walking as sustainable forms of transport especially for short journeys. This Scottish Government will honour that commitment through continued funding support for local authorities and other key stakeholders.

The Scottish Government is currently working in partnership with Cycling Scotland and other stakeholders in developing a Cycling Action Plan for Scotland which will aim to get more people cycling more often. The action plan will be published by March 2009.

There will be a series of promotional events held in the core Government buildings in Edinburgh and Glasgow. These will include information stands from Trycycling in Edinburgh and Bike Station. There will also be two maintenance sessions at Bike Station in Leith.

The focus of this year’s internal Bike Week promotion is to encourage novice riders to try cycling. To support this we will promote cycle training and the two events being held by Trycycling in Edinburgh on 21 and 29 June.

A full events calendar will be available for all government staff through our local intranet, including details of the Edinburgh Bike Week Film Festival.

The data held centrally is based on an aggregate return, so it is not possible to distinguish the circumstances of the crime, such as the age of the perpetrator. For the available information, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13685 on 9 June 2008. 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.

In the Grampian police force area 74 persons had a charge proved for having in a public place an article with a blade or point, and 81 had a charge proved for possession of an offensive weapon in the financial year 2006-07, where these were the main offences.

In the Grampian police force area twelve persons aged 18 and under had a charge proved for having in a public place an article with a blade or point, and nine had a charge proved for possession of an offensive weapon in the financial year 2006-07, where these were the main offences.

The recorded crime data held centrally has the number of crimes recorded by the police and the number recorded as detected (that is, there is sufficient evidence to justify consideration of criminal proceedings). We cannot provide any information on the number of people involved in crimes, since it is possible that individuals may be responsible for more than one of the crimes recorded. In 2006-07, 375 crimes of possession of an offensive weapon were detected and 187 crimes of having in a public place an article with a blade or a point were detected.

This information is not held centrally. The Grampian police force or local authorities may be able to give you some information about such incidents.