- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 19 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4498 by Ross Finnie on 10 December 2003, whether it will now comment on the Water Customer Consultation Panel's report Affordability of Water and Sewerage Charges for Low Income Households and specifically on the recommendations that the Executive's current water and sewerage charges reduction scheme, due to expire in April 2004, should be extended in scale, scope and time, that Scottish Water should consider assuming responsibility for collecting water and sewerage charges and that the policy of selective household metering should be pursued with more vigour across the country.
Answer
The Executive is committedto securing substantial efficiency savings at Scottish Water as the principalmeans of easing pressure on water and sewerage charges for all customers,including those in low income and vulnerable households. In addition,particular assistance to low income households is provided through the linkbetween water charges and the council tax banding and discount arrangements.
TheExecutive is assessing the impact that ending the current Water and SewerageCharges Reduction Scheme will have in light of harmonisation of charges. Adecision on whether any further action is required will be made in light ofthis assessment.
In terms of collecting waterand sewerage charges, local authoritiesare currently responsible for collecting charges for domestic customers. Thisis an efficient and customer friendly way of charging. It enables customers to payfor two services with one bill; and it avoids them having to meet, throughhigher water bills, the costs that otherwise would arise from having toestablish and maintain a separate billing system for water and sewerageservices.
Thepractice of local authorities collecting water and sewerage charges is also thebasis of the crucial link between charges and the council tax banding anddiscount arrangements. Giving Scottish Water responsibility to collect chargeswould not only result in increased bills for customers, it would undermine thesearrangements to the detriment of low income and vulnerable households.
The Executive has no plansof directing Scottish Water to pursue a policy of household metering.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the benefits of an awareness-raising campaign with the general public to reduce the incidence of air-related deep vein thrombosis.
Answer
The Executive has no plansfor such a campaign. The possible effects of air travel as a trigger factor indeep vein thrombosis have already received widespread publicity.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive to what offences restriction of liberty orders have been applied.
Answer
Restriction of liberty borders have been used in the main as a high tariff disposal. The table shows the range of offences for which restriction of liberty orders have been imposed for the period 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2003
| Offence | Number of RLOs imposed |
| Assault | 107 |
| Breach of the peace | 80 |
| Loitering with intent to steal | 6 |
| Housebreaking | 7 |
| Misuse of Drugs Act | 27 |
| Assault on a police officer | 8 |
| Reset | 9 |
| Theft | 144 |
| Criminal Law (Consolidation) Act | 48 |
| Includes: suspicion of carrying a weapon – 3 vandalism – 5 having an article with a blade or point in a public place – 16 carrying an offensive weapon - 24 |
| Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act | 36 |
| Includes: breach of a bail condition – 32 in breach of liberation by police – 1 suspicion of committing an offence – 1 failure to appear in court - 2 |
| Road Traffic Act | 69 |
| Includes: failure to provide a sample – 1 drink driving – 7 reckless driving – 6 stealing a motor vehicle – 9 driving without insurance – 1 driving whilst disqualified - 41 |
| Others: | 31 |
| Includes: attempt to open a lockfast vehicle – 1 attempt to pervert the course of justice – 6 attempted theft of a motor vehicle – 6 culpable and reckless conduct – 3 culpable fire-raising – 2 throwing a firework – 1 making a false 999 call – 1 fraud – 6 drinking alcohol in a public place – 1 making an obscene message over the phone – 1 uttering – 1 wilful fire-raising - 2 |
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of use is by Dumbarton Sheriff Court of restriction of liberty orders as a disposal.
Answer
Dumbarton Sheriff Court has not yet imposed a restriction of liberty order.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of use is of restriction of liberty orders across Scotland.
Answer
1,093 restriction of libertyorders have been imposed in the period from national rollout on 1 May 2002 to 31 December 2003.This includes six orders restricting offenders away from a specified place and11 restricting offenders to and from specified places.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for the use of a restriction of liberty order.
Answer
Offenders must be aged 16 orover and must consent to the order. The court must obtain and considerinformation about the places involved and the attitudes of the persons mostlikely to be affected by the enforced presence of the offender. In addition,provisions in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 made restriction of liberty orders a directalternative to custody.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 15 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, in respect of its fuel poverty reduction target, whether it is aware of statistics published by Ofgem on the number of disconnections broken down by energy company.
Answer
Yes and we have expressedour concern about the rise in disconnections to the companies concerned.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 15 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to energy companies about the rising number of disconnections.
Answer
The legislation andregulation of the energy sector is a reserved matter and the performance of theenergy companies is monitored by the regulator, Ofgem, and also by the consumerwatchdog, energywatch. We have, however, expressed our concern to the energycompanies about the rise in disconnections and how the companies are operatingin Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Personal Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill will end the practice of bank arrestment being used as a form of diligence against those who receive state benefits by way of (a) personal bank accounts or (b) Post Office card accounts.
Answer
We recognised, in our April2002
Enforcement of Civil Obligations in Scotland consultation
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/justice/CivOb-00.asp, the need for protecting those living on subsistencelevels from the effects of the arrestment of their social security benefits whenin their bank or other accounts. Respondents supported but gave no clearpreference for the solutions offered. We are combining the best elements of theseoptions with further discussions with the UK departments on the practicalitiesof delivery into proposals for reform of the law of diligence to be consultedupon in this parliamentary year. This is a complex matter. I will write to themember with more detailed background information and a copy of the letter willbe placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will address in a revised system of water relief for domestic consumers the issue of closing the gap between the income support allowance for water and sewerage and the actual charges levied.
Answer
Income support is a reservedmatter for the UK Government.
