Chamber and committees

The medical report on which my decision was based was published on 20 August. It is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/lockerbie.

I received advice on 14 August 2009 concerning the application by Mr Megrahi. As set out in my statement on 20 August, I was provided with reports and recommendations by the Governor of Greenock Prison, the doctors and prison social work staff. Also, as laid out in statute, I consulted the parole board. This is the normal process for consideration of an application for compassionate release and my decision was in accordance with all the advice given to me. That advice has been published and is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/lockerbie.

None. Correspondence with the United Kingdom Government relating to Mr Megrahi has been published and is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/lockerbie.

Yes, the parole board was consulted. It recommended that Mr Megrahi was suitable for release on compassionate grounds and that, if he were to be released, the mandatory life licence conditions would be sufficient. The parole board''s advice has been published and is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/lockerbie.

As I explained in my statement on 20 August, the advice on which I based my decision was contained in a report dated 10 August from the Director of Health and Care for the Scottish Prison Service.

He had access to and reviewed all the information about Mr Megrahi''s medical records. The latest assessment of Mr Megrahi''s condition was conducted by the Scottish Prison Service primary care physician treating him, in close consultation with a highly experienced NHS consultant oncologist of many years experience “ both of whom have dealt with Mr Megrahi''s case since the earliest stages following the diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. It was assessed that Mr Megrahi''s clinical condition had declined significantly during the week 26 July to 3 August.

It was the conclusion of the report submitted by the Scottish Prison Service Director of Health and Care, in light of all the medical information, and having reviewed the contributions of all of the clinicians involved in Mr Megrahi''s case, that: the clinical assessment is that a three month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate for this patient. This view is based upon an analysis of all of the views expressed and the consensus of the medical experts that the condition of Mr Megrahi was now entering its final stages.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S3W-26068 on 6 August 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26356 on 1 September 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.

I can confirm that all applications were subject to the same four stage assessment process: an initial sift to check eligibility, scoring against key assessment criteria for the fund, consideration of the ranked order by an independent advisory panel before final deliberation by myself and ministerial colleagues. Our decisions were guided by the extent to which projects demonstrated that they met the aims of the fund, whilst taking as much account of geographic spread as was possible.

The assessment process is detailed in full on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/town-centres/tcrf/FeedbackFAQs.

The available information is given in the following tables. The information on remand prison receptions is based on information extracted from the Scottish Prison Service database, while the information relating to those sentenced is based on those persons with a charge proved in the Scottish Government court proceedings database (which is based on criminal history system information provided by the Scottish Police Services Authority).

These results are not directly comparable. One remand prison reception is counted where a person is given remand for one or more offence by a court on the same day. However, in the court statistics, if a person is sentenced for more than one separate set of charges from the same court on the same day, this person will be counted more than once (in the table below), as multiple charges are proven. The following table showing charges proven counts instances of charges proven, which may include multiple charges against the same individual.

Remand Prison Receptions^{1, 2} for Handling Offensive Weapons, 1997-98 - 2007-08

Financial Year	Receptions
1997-98	724
1998-99	832
1999-2000	837
2000-01	895
2001-02	1,092
2002-03	1,361
2003-04	1,388
2004-05	1,536
2005-06	1,627
2006-07	2,322
2007-08	2,147

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services (prison statistics), based on data extracted from the Scottish Prison Service PR2 information management system.

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes offences of having in a public place an article with a blade or point, possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of offensive weapons.

Persons in Scottish Courts with a Charge Proven for Handling an Offensive Weapon^{1, 2}, 1997-98 - 2007-08

Financial Year	Charge Proven
1997-98	2,173
1998-99	2,033
1999-2000	2,118
2000-01	2,340
2001-02	2,633
2002-03	2,771
2003-04	2,875
2004-05	3,447
2005-06	3,500
2006-07	3,550
2007-08	3,418

Source: Scottish Government court proceedings database.

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes offences of having in a public place an article with a blade or point, possession of an offensive weapon, restriction of offensive weapons.

 

The following tables give information on the number of crimes and offences recorded by the eight Scottish police forces for (i) calendar year 1979 to 1995 and (ii) financial year 1995-06 to 2007-08. Reporting by financial year was introduced in 1995.

(i) Crimes and Offences Recorded by the Police in Scotland, Calendar Year 1979-1995

Calendar Year	Crimes	Offences	Total
1979	346,680	327,275	673,955
1980	364,587	360,084	724,671
1981	408,204	336,521	744,725
1982	435,081	327,402	762,483
1983	445,495	351,308	796,803
1984	471,643	334,537	806,180
1985	457,899	338,410	796,309
1986	458,605	358,533	817,138
1987	472,947	376,998	849,945
1988	457,921	385,615	843,536
1989	478,208	408,646	886,854
1990	518,522	423,199	941,721
1991	572,921	427,883	1,000,804
1992	564,890	433,896	998,786
1993	517,247	441,712	958,959
1994	500,110	463,917	964,027
1995	475,697	451,869	927,566

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services.

(ii) Crimes and Offences Recorded by the Police in Scotland, Financial Year 1995-96 to 2007-08

Financial Year	Crimes	Offences	Total
1995-96	478,139	449,105	927,244
1996-97	440,687	460,416	901,103
1997-98	421,002	496,168	917,170
1998-99	434,096	520,465	954,561
1999-00	435,481	499,405	934,886
2000-01	418,494	496,068	914,562
2001-02	426,188	531,956	958,144
2002-03	418,281	524,122	942,403
2003-04	414,214	615,876	1,030,090
2004-051	438,121	638,564	1,076,685
2005-06	417,785	599,888	1,017,673
2006-07	419,257	607,406	1,026,663
2007-08	385,509	571,881	957,390

Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services.

Note:

1. Data from 2004-05 shows the impact of the implementation of the Scottish Crime Recording Standard which, as anticipated, increased the number of minor crimes recorded by the police.

The statistical bulletin Recorded Crime in Scotland 2008-09 is due to be published in September 2009 and will present statistics on crimes and offences recorded and cleared up by the eight Scottish police forces in 2008-09.