- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce a practice of flying the Saltire at Victoria Quay at all times.
Answer
The Executive has no plans to introduce such a practice. It is not our practice to fly any flags routinely, but only to mark special occasions in the calendar.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 28 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions marked by the Procurators Fiscal for solemn proceedings were returned from the Crown Office marked down for summary jury trial in the sheriff court, expressed also as a percentage of total criminal prosecutions, in 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01 to date.
Answer
It is assumed that "summary jury trial" should read summary trial.Statistics do not exist to show the number of summary prosecutions commenced as a result of Crown Counsel's instructions. The statistics for all reductions from petition procedure to summary proceedings whether by Procurator Fiscal or Crown Counsel are as follows.Cases reduced from preliminary solemn proceedings to summary proceedings
| Reduction to Summary | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
| 1,409 | 1,753 | 1,652 | 1,409 | 1,493 |
Cases reduced from preliminary solemn proceedings to summary proceedings, expressed as a percentage of all criminal prosecutions
| Reduction to Summary as % of total court disposals | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
| 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% |
It should be noted that the decision of a Procurator Fiscal to place an accused on petition is not an expression of his or her view of where proceedings should ultimately be taken. It is a preliminary procedure which is followed by further investigation and consideration of the case.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 14 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3508 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 31 May 2001, how it will ensure that there is no further delay in making the Regional Selective Assistance payment to Signum Circuits, Selkirk; what effect any such delay would have on jobs in the Borders, and when this payment will now be made.
Answer
I recognise the very difficult trading conditions faced by the company. Indeed, the Executive has recently revised the grant agreement with Signum Circuits, leaving a substantial RSA offer in place despite recent redundancies and a downward revision of project numbers.
The grant offer has always been conditional upon Signum providing the Executive with a charge on its assets, so as to provide some security to protect taxpayers interests. This remains the only obstacle to Signum receiving a first payment and the Executive stands ready to release grant as soon as the company has provided this security.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 14 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive on what occasions in each of the past five years prisoners have exhibited their artwork; whether any sales of the prisoners' work took place on these occasions and, if so, what happened to the proceeds from the sales.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
Annually, the national Koestler Trust Competition exhibits Scottish prisoner art on a no fee basis. Any proceeds from sales go, in part, to the provision of art materials and the remainder, either to an appropriate charity or to the prisoner's personal cash for use upon release.
In addition, a Scottish health-related competition, no sales involved, has been run for over 2 years.
Information about a range of local competitions and exhibitions agreed by individual establishments over recent years are not collected centrally, but the normal presumption is for the proceeds for sales to be in line with those for the Koestler Competition.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 14 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why prisoners will not have the opportunity to exhibit at the "Scene of the Crime" art exhibition later this year given that the Prison Trust Award scheme and the Koestler Award Trust will be offering cash pri'es for prisoners' artwork.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The SPS consider the particular exhibition referred to might cause considerable public offence. Prisoner art displayed in a "Scene of the Crime" exhibition, to be woven into a "Murder Mystery Tour" by a well known crime writer, might be seen as distasteful at best particularly by victims and their families.
We are unaware of the Prison Trust Award scheme.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 14 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16485 by Mr Jack McConnell on 11 July 2001, by what date it will require Scottish Borders Council to publish its allocations from the Additional Financial Resources for Schools funding.
Answer
The Council submitted a return to the Scottish Executive Education Department on 11 July which detailed the total spend by most of the schools in its area under different categories. The Council has advised that it will forward the finalised information as soon as it becomes available from the remaining schools, probably after the schools re-open for the autumn term.
I expect the Council to publish the information as soon as it has been finalised and, if necessary, considered by its Education Committee.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 14 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16487 by Mr Jack McConnell on 11 July 2001, who the signatories were on behalf of Scottish Borders Council on its Additional Financial Resources for Schools application and what the date or dates of the signatures were.
Answer
The signatories to the application are Mr John Christie, the Director of Education and Mr John Campbell, the Director of Finance. The date against both signatures is 18 December 2000.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is an anticipated #17 million underspend in the Scottish Prison Service budget for the current financial year.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The underspend in the financial year 2000-01 was approximately £17 million.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what policy guidance it has given to the Scottish Prison Service, in order to comply with the Service's mission statement commitment to provide prisoners with a range of opportunities, regarding the participation of Scottish prisoners in exhibitions of their art work on the basis that the prisoners exhibit anonymously, derive no profit from any sales of their art work and that any such profits are applied to the provision of art materials within the prison service.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
None. The SPS is responsible for drawing up its procedures concerning prisoner art competitions and exhibitions. In future all requests to SPS for involvement in art and craft exhibitions, competitions and the like will be considered by an Art Exhibition Advisory Group with both internal and external representatives.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 9 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of ending slopping out in HM Prison Barlinnie would be.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The options for ending slopping out in all Scottish Prisons, including HM Prison Barlinnie, are being considered as part of the Estates Review which is currently underway. Costings will be published as part of this exercise.
