- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what body was responsible for the decision not to include in-cell showers in the design of the new Iona houseblock at HM Prison Polmont.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The Scottish Prison Service.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1869 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003, whether, as a result of the revision of baseline figures for HM Prison Kilmarnock's performance, any repayment has been made to the operators of the prison.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
Yes, a repayment of £10,622 wasmade to Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the underspend in the Justice budget was for 2002-03 and under which budget headings the underspend took place.
Answer
The total net underspend forthe Justice budget for the financial year 2002-03 was £50 million. Detailed informationon the underspend and plans to allocate these resources in the current financialyear was sent to all members of Justice 1 and 2 Committees on 25 September, andis published on the Scottish Parliament website.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 25 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve road safety.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is addressing road safety through a wide variety of measures which involvevery substantial engineering, enforcement and education initiatives.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 11 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the structure of criminal justice social work.
Answer
Our policy is laid out in APartnership for a Better Scotland. Itstates: “our policy is to publishproposals for consultation for a single agency to deliver custodial andnon-custodial sentences in Scotland with the aim of reducing reoffending rates”. We are planning to publish a consultation documentbefore the end of the year.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will start consultation on civil partnership registration.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has been carefully considering the issue of civil partnership registrationin recent months. The Department of Trade and Industry published a consultationpaper at the end of June on a possible civil partnership registration schemefor same-sex couples. The scheme is a mixture of reserved policies such aspensions, benefits, taxation and immigration issues and devolved matters suchas registration, family law issues on the breakdown of a relationship or thedeath of one party, and detailed considerations such as prison visiting and whocan register a death or consent to medical treatment for an ill partner.
We have been considering howbest to handle the implications of the UK Government’s proposals should theydecide to proceed with legislation.
The Scottish Executive has also been mindful of the legal rights of same-sex couples. Thecreation of a civil partnership registration scheme to provide same-sex coupleswith the opportunity to register their partnership and trigger access to someemployment benefits is the approach taken by the UK Government to ensure compliancewith the EU Employment Directive (2000/78/EC). In the absence of Scottishprovisions, couples will have to travel down south to get some of the rights oftheir counterparts in England and Wales. There could be a legal challenge by a Scottishsame-sex couple on grounds of discrimination.
In examining the options forScottish legislation, key considerations have been the intertwining of devolvedand reserved policy issues, our desire to avoid a complex web of differingrights emerging between Scotland and England and Wales, and the advantageswhich parity offers in relation to cross-border issues. Separate legislationnorth and south of the border would lead to a complicated set of arrangementsunderstood by few people. We have therefore concluded that a Sewel motion toinclude Scottish provisions in any future UK legislation offers the most effective and sensiblemeans of delivering a package of rights and responsibilities for committedsame-sex couples.
The DTI is alreadyconsulting with Scottish interests on the reserved elements of their civilpartnership scheme. It is our intention to consult on the devolved elements andto publish a short paper around the end of this month.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1360 by Hugh Henry on 29 July 2003, who conducted the interviews for membership of the Judicial Appointments Board and how the interview panel was selected.
Answer
The process was carried outin accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for PublicAppointments. Interviews were conducted by the Rt Hon Lord Ross (the formerLord Justice Clerk), Mr Alastair Dempster (former Chief Executive of TSBScotland and a member of the Panel of Independent Assessors) and Mr J DGallagher, Head of the Scottish Executive Justice Department. Lord Ross and MrDempster were selected to bring expertise and independence to the appointmentprocess.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of the performance targets of the Scottish Prison Service for each prison in each year since 1999-2000.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
The information is notavailable in the form requested. Key performance indicators are set for the Scottish Prison Service as a whole and all parts of the business contributetowards achieving them. SPS is currently in the process of considering how bestto prepare and publish more disaggregated performance information.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive why the last four annual reports of the Scottish Prison Service have been published during a parliamentary recess and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.
Answer
It has been long standing governmentpolicy that agency annual reports and accounts should be published as soon aspossible after the end of the year to which they relate, following completionof the audit of the accounts. Since the establishment of the agency on 1 April1993, the publication of the annual report and accounts has been in July inevery year but one, 2000-01, when, due to a delay in the completion of theAudit Scotland opinion on the accounts, publication was in December.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1360 by Hugh Henry on 29 July 2003, how many nominations were made by the (a) Lord President for a High Court judge and (b) Convener of the Sheriffs principal group for the Sheriff Principal to sit on the Judicial Appointment Boards.
Answer
The Lord President nominatedone judge from the group of 10 Inner House Judges. The convener of the SheriffsPrincipal nominated one Sheriff Principal from the group of six.
