- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a ministerial statement on the open prison system and on HM Prison Castle Huntly in particular.
Answer
I will consider the requirementfor a ministerial statement when I have seen the review currently being undertakenby the Scottish Prison Service.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 7 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is delaying the implementation of ending unconditional automatic early release until the Scottish Prison Commission has reported.
Answer
We remain committed to thedelivery of our offender management strategy but we must ensure that any changedoes not compound current problems of unrelenting pressure on high prisonnumbers and put intolerable pressures on prisons, courts and community justiceservices. We will be informed by the Commissions findings and recommendations.
The previous administrationmay have passed the Custodial Sentences and Weapons Act 2007 in the final daysof the last Parliament. However, because of the impact on resources, it hasalways been clear that implementation would unlikely to be before 2009-10.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases accused persons were in custody pending trial for more than 140 days in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006 and (d) 2007.
Answer
I have asked MikeEwart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond.
His response is asfollows:
The information yourequested is not available, because we do not hold information on the start dateof the trial.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, in cases where the 140 days custody limit was exceeded, by what average number of days it was exceeded in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006 and (d) 2007.
Answer
I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond.
His response is as follows:
The information you requested is not available, because we do not hold information on the start date of the trial.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the extension of bail supervision schemes restricts the freedom of sheriffs to determine who is suitable for bail supervision.
Answer
No. The updated guidelinesfor supervised bail identify certain priority groups for this measure but subjectto considerations of public safety and capacity issues do not preclude other accusedfrom being granted supervised bail. The decision on whether an accused person shouldbe bailed or remanded is for the court to make.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 4 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the extension of bail supervision schemes is restricted to certain categories of accused persons.
Answer
The £500,000 investmentin bail supervision recently announced and the updated guidelines issued extendslightly the categories of accused identified as priorities for this measure. Theguidelines suggest priority for those with mental health problems, women accused,single parents, drugs misusers and young people aged between 16 and 21. Where capacityexists and subject to safeguards in respect of public safety, other accused outwiththe priority groups can also be granted supervised bail.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the liability is for police pensions in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11, broken down by police authority.
Answer
The forecast liability for policepensions depends on assumptions about the numbers of police officers who actuallyretire when they are entitled to assumptions made about police rates of pay andestimates of pension entitlements. As a result, the forecasts can vary quite widely.The latest estimates provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers inScotland (ACPOS) for the total pensions liability for 2008-09 are as follows:
| Central Scotland Police | £8.5 million |
| Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary | £4.5 million |
| Fife Police | £10.5 million |
| Grampian Police | £13.0 million |
| Lothian and Borders Police | £35.1 million |
| Northern Constabulary | £8.7 million |
| Strathclyde Police | £100.6 million |
| Tayside Police | £17.1 million |
A similar breakdown is not availablefor future years but ACPOS estimate the total liability to be £232 million in 2009-10and £215 million in 2010-11.
As the Cabinet Secretary forFinance and Sustainable Development announced in his statement to Parliament on14 December, funding for police pensions is included within the overall Local GovernmentSettlement.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 25 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Review of Civil Judicial Statistics Advisory Board last met and when it will publish its recommendations.
Answer
The Project Board for the Reviewof Civil Judicial Statistics last met on 13 April 2006.Correspondence with the board has occurred since this meeting via email, with themost recent communication taking place during summer 2007.
As part of the review, researchhas recently been carried out with users, and potential users, of civil judicialstatistics, to identify their data requirements and suggestions for a revised Civil Judicial Statistics publication. The next step for the review is to considereach of the responses submitted as part of this research, and develop a specificationfor the revised dataset and publication. The first draft of this specification isexpected to be produced by spring 2008.
Further details of the Reviewof Civil Judicial Statistics can be found at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/review-civjudicial-stats.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 21 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure parents seeking contact with children under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 have the appropriate support.
Answer
Support is provided tofamilies experiencing difficulties with contact issues through funding of thefour national family support organisations - Relate Scotland, Family MediationScotland, Stepfamily Scotland and Scottish Marriage Care - as well as 13 localfamily mediation services. Family support work aims to reduce conflict and healrelationships where possible and where parental relationships have broken downirretrievably to support parents in developing child contact and maintenancearrangements which protect the health and best interests of children.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in establishing pilot schemes on the appointment of court facilitators to help to increase contact with children in Scottish courts.
Answer
Pilot projects to place a FamilyContact Facilitator in two sheriff courts were developed and terms of referenceagreed with sheriffs. Unfortunately, the procurement exercise did not attract atender which met the specifications. It was therefore not possible to let the contractand proceed with the pilot.
