Questions and answers

Question reference: S4O-01235

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of pupils left education in 2012 with standard grades at level 7 only.

Question reference: S4W-08790

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how much money received through (a) court and (b) fixed penalty fines it has remitted to the Treasury in each year since 2007.

The Scottish Government has no role in the collection of fines, or in their remission to HM Treasury. These are operational matters for the Scottish Court Service (SCS).

SCS has provided the following information in response to your question:

	JP Non-Statutory Court Fines £000	Sheriff Court Fines £000	Total Court Fines £000	Fiscal Penalties £000	Police Fixed Penalties £000	Total £000
Value Collected by SCS
2007-08	0	16,086	16,086	659	0	16,745
2008-09	326	17,188	17,514	1,959	4,190	23,662
2009-10	733	13,998	14,731	3,167	9,348	27,246
2010-11	1,010	27,776	28,786	3,565	13,273	45,625
2011-12	1,013	10,179	11,192	4,107	13,476	28,775
Value Retained by SCS
2007-08	0	0	0	659	0	659
2008-09	326	0	326	1,599	840	2,764
2009-10	733	0	733	2,036	2,168	4,938
2010-11	1,010	0	1,010	2,297	3,056	6,362
2011-12	1,013	0	1,013	2,786	2,922	6,720
Value Remitted to Consolidated Fund
2007-08	0	16,086	16,086	0	0	16,086
2008-09	0	17,188	17,188	360	3,350	20,898
2009-10	0	13,998	13,998	1,130	7,180	22,308
2010-11	0	27,776	27,776	1,269	10,218	39,262
2011-12	0	10,179	10,179	1,321	10,554	22,054

Notes:

SCS commenced collecting fiscal fines in all courts from December 2007. Figures for 2007-08 are therefore not directly comparable with other years

Figures for JP court fines are not directly comparable between years prior to 2010-11 due to the progressive nature of court unification.

The total fines income remitted to HMT includes all sheriff court fines income and the non-retainable element of the JP court fines income - the JP court element (statutory) is not separately identifiable.

Total remitted to HMT includes fines, confiscations and forfeitures.

There was a significant single confiscation of £17 million in 2010-11.

Question reference: S4W-08791

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 16 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the money received through (a) court and (b) fixed penalty fines it has (i) retained and (ii) had returned to it through the block grant in each year since 2007.

The Scottish Government has no role in the collection of fines. This is an operational matter for the Scottish Court Service (SCS). Accordingly, it retains no monies from fines collection.

Please see the reply to S4W-08790 on 16 August 2012 for the amount of fine income which SCS retained in the years in question. All answers to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

There is no direct relationship between the amounts arising from fines collection remitted to the Consolidated Fund by SCS, and the block grant to the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S4W-08793

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the money received through proceeds of crime legislation it has (a) retained and (b) had returned to it through the block grant in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-08792

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 27 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how much money received through proceeds of crime legislation it has remitted to the Treasury in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-08206

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce legislation relating to the Scottish Law Commission's Report on Succession.

The Scottish Government is considering the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Succession (SCOT LAW COM No 215) 2009. Officials have met informally with a number of stakeholders because, although some of the report’s recommendations had significant support, others are controversial. That preparatory dialogue has confirmed that some stakeholders have real concerns about important aspects of the package. Formal consultation, when other priorities allow, will be necessary to inform the way forward.

Question reference: S4W-08207

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there are problems relating to special destinations registered before 1990 and, if so, whether it plans to introduce legislation to deal with them.

The Scottish Government is considering the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Succession (SCOT LAW COM No 215) 2009 which followed a review of the law of succession, including special destinations. The 2009 report supersedes the Report on Succession (SCOT LAW COM No 124)1990 and reaches different conclusions in respect of special destinations.

A number of the recommendations of the 2009 report are controversial and we will carry out formal consultation when other priorities allow. That exercise will inform decisions on the way forward on the report’s recommendations, including those on special destinations.

Question reference: S4W-08208

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 3 July 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there are problems relating to evacuations of special destinations registered before 1990 and, if so, whether it plans to introduce legislation to deal with them.

The Scottish Government is considering the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Succession (SCOT LAW COM No 215) 2009 which followed a review of the law of succession, including the evacuation of special destinations. The 2009 report supersedes the Report on Succession (SCOT LAW COM No 124)1990 and reaches different conclusions in respect of the evacuation of special destinations.

A number of the recommendations of the 2009 report are controversial and we will carry out formal consultation when other priorities allow. That exercise will inform decisions on the way forward on the report’s recommendations, including those on the evacuation of special destinations.

Question reference: S4O-01184

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many probationer teachers have found employment in the last year.

Question reference: S4O-01172

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 June 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what new primary care facilities have been completed recently by NHS Lothian.

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