- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the types of costs the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service incur in the event of the adjournment of a trial (a) in advance and (b) on the date of the trial.
Answer
The adjournment of a trial on the date of the trial usually involves the payment of expenses to witnesses who have been inconvenienced. The adjournment of a trial at any time means that staff time in preparing for the trial (including administrative staff time in citing witnesses, arranging for productions to be in court and paper handling) has been wasted. The extent of that wasted expense depends on how long before the trial date it is known that there is to be an adjournment.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service set criteria to indicate which cases should be sent to the district court and which are eligible for an alternative to prosecution and whether any such criteria will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
Procurators Fiscal are instructed that cases which may be competently taken in the district court should be taken there unless there is some good reason for prosecuting in the sheriff court or the Lord Advocate directs otherwise. The Lord Advocate has directed that: (a) proceedings should not be taken in the district court for a breach of a Sex Offenders Order, or any offence aggravated by a breach of a Sex Offender Order; (b) proceedings should not be taken in the district court where the prosecutor considers a Non-Harassment Order to be appropriate, and (c) proceeding should not be taken in the district court where the offence is racially aggravated or contrary to section 50A of the Criminal Law (Consolidated) (Scotland) Act 1995. The criteria for the use of alternatives to prosecution are set out in the Prosecution Code which has been published and made available on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service website.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25069 by Colin Boyd on 29 April 2002, what steps it is taking to reduce the number of cases marked "no proceedings" as a result of delay by the procurator fiscal.
Answer
We are implementing the recommendations of the recent management review. Additional prosecutors have been recruited and structural changes are being made to improve the management support given to prosecutors.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25069 by Colin Boyd on 29 April 2002, what the reason is for the rise in the number of cases marked "no proceedings" as a result of delay by the procurator fiscal since 1998-99.
Answer
The proportion of these cases is very small, having risen from 205 to 451. There are likely to be a number of factors leading to this, including the need to devote resources to serious cases and other competing pressures on the time of Procurators Fiscal.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reason is for the decline in the number and proportion of cases reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service being sent to the district court since 1997-98.
Answer
The reduction in business in the district court is a consequence of the reduction in the overall number of cases reported to the procurator fiscal, the availability of fiscal fines and other alternatives to prosecution and the shift in the balance of business towards more serious crime.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25069 by Colin Boyd on 29 April 2002, what the reason is for the rise in the number of cases marked "no proceedings" due to a time-bar under section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 since 1998-99.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. However, we are addressing the timeliness of reporting with the police and other reporting agencies.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25236 by Mr Jim Wallace on 3 May 2002, how it reconciles the answer with the evidence given by Michael Crossan, former deputy governor of Low Moss to the Justice 1 Committee on 14 May 2002 (Official Report col. 3544), that Eric Murch had prepared the report Constructing the Future.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The Constructing the Future report bore the name of Eric Murch as he was governor of Low Moss at the time, but as stated by Mike Crossan it was prepared in conjunction with the management team at Low Moss.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25671 by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002, what the criteria were for accessing the Special Educational Needs Innovation Grants Programme funding and in what ways Independent Special Education Advice failed to meet those criteria.
Answer
The following criteria and priorities were set out in the grant application pack:
- promoting inclusive policies in mainstream and special schools
- approaches to improving links, and sharing skills/expertise between special and mainstream schools
- empowering parents to enable them to participate fully in their children's education
- improving children's participation in decisions which affect them
- promoting integrated and co-ordinated approaches to service delivery (e.g. key worker role)
- offering new approaches to advice and resolution of disagreements between professionals and families
We are writing to those unsuccessful applicants who have requested feedback on their bids. This includes Independent Special Education Advice and a letter outlining the reasons for refusing funding was issued to them on Thursday 30 May.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what figures are available regarding the number of threats, assaults and other criminal activity involving sub-postmasters.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered, or will consider, making business advisers available to sub-postmasters in rural and deprived urban areas, on a similar basis to the use of the #700,000 spent under the Phoenix Fund for such a scheme in England.
Answer
Responsibility for business support services in Scotland rests largely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) networks. Access to business advisers for small businesses in Scotland, including sub-postmasters, is already available. It is accessible in the Scottish Enterprise area through the Small Business Gateway and in the HIE area by contacting the Local Enterprise Company (LEC) direct. Dedicated training for subpostmasters on business planning and diversification has been offered in a number of Scottish Enterprise LEC areas, and more is planned in the HIE area.
