Chamber and committees

Each local authority determines its own criteria and rates for the payment of fostering allowances to its approved foster carers.

Information on the fostering allowances paid by each local authority is not held centrally.

Information on the number of direct flights connecting London and Scotland each day is set out in the following table:

Information for week 9-15 February 2009 in Current Timetables

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
London to Scotland	75	88	117	103	109	111	115
Scotland to London	78	87	118	103	107	111	111
Total flights London/Scotland/London	153	175	235	206	216	222	226

 

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0212-01.htm

No. Decisions on remand are for the courts, not for the Scottish ministers.

The test in relation to dual criminality is, in essence, encompassed in the definitions of extradition offence as provided for in sections 64 and 65 (in relation to category 1 territories) and sections 137 and 138 (in relation to category 2 territories) of the Extradition Act 2003. The same definitions apply with one exception. In relation to category 1 requests, an extradition request also includes an alleged offence (or conviction) which is certified by the requesting state as falling within the European framework list and attracts the necessary minimum periods of detention. In respect of those European framework list offences (which are applicable in category one cases only) there is no requirement for dual criminality.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20216 on 6 February 2009. 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.

Two people have been extradited from Scotland to the United States of America under the terms of the Extradition Act 2003.

Only one outgoing request has been made to the United States from Scotland in terms of the Extradition Act 2003. That case involved a contravention of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The request was successful.

Extradition from the United States of America is governed by an Extradition Treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It provides that requests for extradition require to be supported by:

an accurate description of the person sought;

a statement of the facts of the offence;

the relevant law applicable to the offence, and

the relevant law relating to punishment for the offence.

If the extradition is requested for someone who is sought for prosecution then additionally, the following requires to be provided:

a copy of the warrant;

a copy of the Indictment, and

information which provides the basis to believe that the person sought committed the offence.

If the extradition relates to someone who has already been convicted of the offence then:

information that the person sought is the person to whom the conviction applies;

a copy of the conviction;

a copy of the sentence imposed (and if the person has been sentenced, the extent to which the sentence has been carried out), and

in the case of a person convicted in absentia, information regarding the circumstances under which the person was absent from the proceedings should also be provided.

We do not hold information on how many individuals extradited from Scotland to the United States of America under the terms of the Extradition Act 2003 have been exonerated.