Written Answers

Wednesday 9 February 2005

Scottish Executive

Antisocial Behaviour

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11134 by Cathy Jamieson on 28 October 2004, how many antisocial behaviour orders granted in each local authority area in each year since 1999 related to noise nuisance.

Hugh Henry: The Executive has commissioned research on the use of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs), including data on the types of prohibitions made. Initial findings indicate that, in 2003-04, 46% of ASBOs included prohibitions on noise nuisance. Information on the content of antisocial behaviour orders has not been collected for previous years. An interim report will be published in the spring.

Section 15 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 requires local authorities to keep records of orders in their area, including information on prohibitions imposed by the order. This will inform data collection on the use of ASBOs in future.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders granted in each local authority area in each year since 1999 have been breached and how many of these related to noise nuisance.

Hugh Henry: Information on convictions where the offence involved breach of an antisocial behaviour order is provided in the following table. The information is provided by court area as robust information by local authority area is not currently available.

Information is not available on the type of conduct which led to the orders being broken.

Breach of Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Charges Proved in Scottish Courts - 1999 to 2003

Notes:

1. Includes a small number of High Court and District Court cases.

2. Provisional data.

Asylum Seekers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question 204530 by Des Browne MP on 17 January 2005 (Official Report, c 740W), how it distributed the payments it received from the National Asylum Support Service from 1999-2000 to date, broken down by local authority.

Malcolm Chisholm: The payments received by the National Asylum Support Service were distributed according to claims submitted by the local authorities accommodating asylum seekers who arrived prior to the dispersal programme being introduced. Information on individual payments to authorities is set out in the following table.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources it plans to invest in programmes to reskill and retrain refugees, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish Executive is considering what resources are needed in 2005 to help refugees reskill and retrain in the future.

The Executive is working with key stakeholders (the Enterprise Networks, Jobcentre Plus and many others) to develop a framework for employability interventions which will enable individuals to access training for work, get into employment and to continue to develop their skills once in work.

In 2004-05 the Scottish Executive funded a total of £323,913 for a range of programmes, mainly in Glasgow where most refugees live, to help improve refugees’ employment prospects. Another round of funding for 2005-06 will be announced in spring 2005 which will include projects with a focus on reskilling and retraining refugees.

Broadcasting

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has met BBC Scotland to discuss what action is being taken to promote a greater uptake of BBC Radio Scotland’s programmes and to ensure the sustainability of jobs within the station.

Patricia Ferguson: Broadcasting is a reserved matter. Action to increase the popularity of BBC Radio Scotland’s programmes is a matter for the BBC itself.

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been earmarked to promote Scotland as a venue for (a) television and (b) radio commercial production.

Patricia Ferguson: We are committed to developing Scotland as a production centre for film, TV and new media and as a location for film-making; to encouraging and promoting wider creative industries, and to supporting the promotion of Scottish films and TV programmes overseas.

Scottish Screen is the Executive’s principal agency for the development of the screen industries in Scotland and for the promotion of Scotland as a location for production. Scottish Screen’s budget amounts to some £2.875 million per annum. We have not earmarked Scottish Screen’s funds for specific purposes.

Scottish Development International leads on delivering Scotland’s international economic development effort focussing on delivering the priorities set out in the Executive’s Global Connections strategy. This includes the attraction of high value economic activity to Scotland, the internationalisation of Scottish companies and the exchange of skills, ideas, intellectual capital and networks of people.

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what value it places on the role of regional broadcasting in maintaining local culture and identity and what steps it has taken to protect this service.

Patricia Ferguson: Broadcasting is a reserved matter. We attach considerable importance to the role that regional broadcasting and programming play in nurturing local culture and identity. We have made our views clear in discussions with the broadcasters, Ofcom and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Cancer

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in West Dunbartonshire died from cancer, shown also as a proportion of the national average, in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is presented in the table:

Notes:

1. Calculated using ICD10 codes C00-C97 (malignant neoplasms) for 2000-03 and ICD9 codes 140-209 (malignant neoplasms) for 1999.

2. Standardised mortality ratio: Scotland =100.

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in West Dunbartonshire died from respiratory cancer, shown also as a proportion of the national average, in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is presented in the table:

Notes:

1. Calculated using ICD10 codes C30-C39 for 2000-2003 and ICD9 codes 160-165 for 1999.

2. Standardised mortality ratio: Scotland =100.

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths were due to cancer in 2004, broken down by (a) region and (b) cancer type in each region.

Tavish Scott: Provisional 2004 figures for deaths from the principal types of cancer, broken down by health board area, will be published in the Registrar General’s Preliminary Return on 24 March 2005. Final figures for 2004 will be made available on the GROS website (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk) in July 2005. Final figures for 2003, broken down by council area and health board area, may be found on the GROS website at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/03t6-3.pdf.

Climate Change

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which recommendations identified in Potential Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in Scotland (a) have and (b) have not been acted upon, giving details in relation to each recommendation, and when a Scottish adaptation strategy will be published.

Ross Finnie: Recommendations in Potential Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in Scotland identified priorities for a climate change adaptation strategy in Scotland. The study recognised that an adaptation strategy to climate change in Scotland did not require a fundamentally different framework to that already existing. Therefore, rather than publishing a strategy at this time, we are working with the UK Government to consider how the proposed UK Framework for Climate Change Adaptation might be developed to inform our approach to climate change adaptation in Scotland.

In parallel, we are progressing those study recommendations which were directed specifically at the Scottish Executive: the need for a partnership approach between the Executive and stakeholders; the role of the Scottish Executive as educators and facilitators, and the need for strategic oversight from the Scottish Executive. One of the ways in which we are taking these forward is by funding development of a Scottish Climate Change Impacts Partnership (SCCIP) to provide a forum at strategic and local levels to address climate change impact issues. A further recommendation concerned the need for the Executive and local authorities to have further discussions on flood risks and land use planning. These took place during the preparation of Scottish Planning Policy 7 – Planning and Flooding - which was published in February 2004.

Culture

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage and promote the animation industry.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive, through Scottish Screen, is very supportive of the animation industry in Scotland. Scottish Screen works closely with Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and Edinburgh College of Art, in particular, to promote and encourage a high level of animation skills.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of applications per place has been at each dental school in each of the last three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on the number of applications is not held by the Scottish Executive. These statistics are a matter for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

The target intake for undergraduate dentistry in universities in Scotland for 2004-05 is given in the following table, as published by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council at the website address http://www.shefc.ac.uk/library/06854fc203db2fbd000000fa803fa922/annex2.html.

Undergraduate Dentistry: University 2004-05 Intake Targets

Source: Scottish Higher Education Funding Council - Circular letter HE/03/04.

Drug Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that pharmacies, drug misuse and harm-reduction services are not punitive in their outlook when working with those involved in drug misuse.

Hugh Henry: Staff attitudes are central to effective engagement with drug users and it is recognised that punitive and/or judgemental attitudes are counterproductive. The Scottish Executive has published research which describes good practice in prescribing, and clearly explains the risk to public health of re-using and sharing injecting equipment. A range of training programmes delivered by Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol addresses attitudes towards drug use and drug users.

The Right Medicine - A Strategy for Pharmaceutical Care in Scotland acknowledges the contribution that pharmacists can play in delivering services to drug misusers in Scotland.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made in respect of the numbers of sterile injecting equipment required for each episode of illicit drug injecting in each of the last five years.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive has published research which estimates that the numbers of injecting drug users in Scotland in 2000 and 2003 were 22,805 and 18,737 respectively. The frequency of injecting by any drug user will vary considerably. However, by assuming that the number of injecting episodes varies between one and three per day, the estimated numbers of sterile injecting equipment required per year were 8 to 25 million in 2000 and 7 to 20.5 million in 2003.

The reports of the National Prevalence Studies in 2000 and 2003 can be viewed at:

http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/prevalence.htm

http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/prevalence3.htm.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many needles and syringes were distributed to illicit drug injectors last year and how it will address any shortfall in the number of needles and syringes being provided.

Hugh Henry: Information provided by drug and alcohol action teams in the annual Corporate Action Plans indicates that 3,937,553 needles and syringes were distributed across Scotland in 2003-04.

The Lord Advocate’s guidance on needle exchange was changed in December 2002 to allow needle exchange facilities to give out a greater number of needles and syringes, per individual per transaction. The impact of this change is currently being evaluated by the Executive under the Scottish Drug Misuse Research Programme. The final report of the study will be made available later this year.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of paraphernalia has been distributed in needle and syringe exchanges following amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and whether any financial restrictions have had an impact on the amount of additional paraphernalia that needle exchange programmes can distribute as a preventative measure against blood-borne viruses.

Hugh Henry: This information is not currently available. The Executive is currently in the process of commissioning research, jointly with the National Treatment Agency in England, to undertake a national survey of needle exchange services in Scotland and England. The findings will give a clear indication of the extent and nature of paraphernalia distribution by needle exchanges, including pharmacy schemes.

In addition to specific allocations for blood-borne viruses and drug treatment, health boards are given a unified budget to meet the health care needs of their resident population. It is for boards to decide how best to utilise this funding to meet local and national priorities.

Employment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13368 by Malcolm Chisholm on 21 January 2005, what percentage of children in Scotland lived in non-working families, broken down by local authority area, in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is in table 1 below. As the information is only available at local authority level for 1999-2000 and 2001-02, additional information is contained in table 2.

Table 1: Percentage of Children in Scotland who live in Households with no Adults in Paid Employment, by Local Authority

Table 2: Percentage of Children in Scotland who Live in Households with no Adults in Paid Employment, by Local Authority Grouping

Notes:

1. Source: The Scottish Household Survey (SHS), 1999-2003.

2. Figures for 2004 have not yet been published.

3. Comparisons between years and areas should be treated with caution as the statistics may differ due to, for example, sampling variability.

4. For the purposes of this parliamentary question, "adults in paid employment" are defined as being people aged 16 or over who are in full- or part-time employment, or who are self-employed.

5. Children are defined here as being people aged less than 16 years.

6. The results are given for calendar years as the survey is not designed to be representative for any council area for a financial year.

7. Table 1 gives figures for two-year periods, as the SHS is not designed to be representative for all councils over a one-year period.

8. Table 2 gives figures for each calendar year for local authority groupings. For further information on these groups, please refer to the SHS publications (www.scotland.gov.uk/shs).

9. The base numbers show the size of the population sub-group questioned in the survey (i.e. children examined in each area) but cannot be used to calculate how many respondents gave a certain answer.

Environment

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been made available for the enforcement of EU environmental law.

Ross Finnie: Primary responsibility for the enforcement of EU environmental law lies with the Scottish Executive’s Environment and Rural Affairs Department, working with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and other bodies as appropriate. The department’s resources allocated to this work are not separately identified but are included in its programme budgets, including the grant in aid provided to the SEPA and the income it obtains through charges, and its directly allocated administration costs. More detailed information on spending proposals for the Department in 2005-06 is contained in the appropriate section of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2005-06: Budget (Scotland) (No. 2) Bill Supporting Document, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35000).

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13508 by Ross Finnie on 24 January 2005, in which month it expects to introduce a revised code of practice for the safe use of plant protection products.

Ross Finnie: There are some complex issues to be resolved prior to the introduction of a revised Code of Practice and I cannot be any more specific than the answer given to question S2W-13508.

Film Industry

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its strategy is for promoting Scotland at a UK and international level as a venue for interactive screen programming.

Patricia Ferguson: We are committed to developing Scotland as a production centre for film, TV and new media and as a location for film-making; to encouraging and promoting wider creative industries, and to supporting the promotion of Scottish films and TV programmes overseas.

Our support to the screen industries, and to the wider creative industries, is channelled through Scottish Screen, Scottish Enterprise, and the Scottish Arts Council, who provide support for a variety of projects relating to different aspects of interactive screen programming.

Scottish Development International leads on delivering Scotland’s international economic development effort focussing on delivering the priorities set out in the Executive’s Global Connections strategy. This includes the attraction of high value economic activity to Scotland, the internationalisation of Scottish companies and the exchange of skills, ideas, intellectual capital and networks of people.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what levels of emamectin benzoate (SLICE) residues have been found in the flesh of farmed Scottish salmon in each year since 1999.

Rhona Brankin: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate runs a programme of surveillance for residues of veterinary medicinal products and certain other substances in products of animal origin. As part of this, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s Fisheries Research Service collects samples of salmon, which are analysed for avermectins. Emamectin was included in this surveillance in 2003, but not included prior to this date.

During 2003 and 2004, a total of 359 samples of salmon were collected for emamectin analysis. No samples were found to contain residues above the MRL of 100µg/kg. In 2003 two samples were found to contain residues at concentrations of 60 and 70µg/kg. No samples analysed in 2004 were found to contain detectable residues of emamectin.

Health

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in West Dunbartonshire died from strokes or heart disease, shown also as a proportion of the national average, in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is presented in the table:

Notes:

1. Calculated using ICD10 codes I60-I69 (cerebrovascular diseases) and I20-I25 (ischaemic heart diseases) for 2000-2003, and ICD9 codes 430-438 (cerebrovascular diseases) and 410-414 (ischaemic heart diseases) for 1999.

2. Standardised mortality ratio: Scotland =100.

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received a copy of the final report by the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters and the response by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation and the Environment and whether it will respond to these reports.

Mr Andy Kerr: Yes. The Executive has received a copy of the report of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters (CERRIE) and of the subsequent response from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) in their 9th report.

CERRIE was set up in 2001 to consider the models used for assessing risk from inhaled and ingested radiation. The COMARE response makes a number of recommendations. Of particular significance is that Government should review the resources made available for research on radon exposures and for remedial action to reduce radon levels in homes. This is the largest source of ionising radiation exposure for most members of the public. In this regard, the Scottish Executive has provided funding of £300,000 to the National Radiological Protection Board to complete its mapping of the distribution of radon exposure in Scottish homes. The board will also advise on the need for further preventative measures in Scotland.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) in cash terms and (b) per capita each NHS board was allocated because of a weighting for deprivation since the introduction of the Arbuthnott formula.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Arbuthnott formula takes account of four main indicators to determine the level of funding allocated to each board. These are each board’s population size, age/sex structure, deprivation levels and remoteness. No specific allocation is made to boards because of the weighting for deprivation. The formula is used to determine the total level of funds allocated to boards for their unified budgets. It is for each board to decide how best to meet the health care needs of their resident population from the totality of the funds it receives, taking account of national and local priorities.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13361 by Mr Andy Kerr on 25 January 2005, whether it will set out the full detail and text of any conditions which are to be imposed in respect of the provision of extra allocations to the NHS prior to the end of the financial year; what "milestones" and "targets" will be used as the basis for the allocation of such funds, and whether the conditions attached to the funds contain any references that interfere with the professional judgement and opinion of clinicians in respect of the way in which patients should be treated and the place where such treatment should be carried out.

Mr Andy Kerr: Where the Executive decides to attach conditions to allocations of additional money to the NHS, these will be agreed at the relevant time. It is entirely appropriate for the Executive, where it makes additional funds available to the NHS for specific purposes, to attach relevant conditions. In that way we can be sure that the extra money is targeted on national service improvement priorities and delivers benefits equitably for all patients in Scotland.

Where boards are allocated additional funds to enable them to reduce waiting times for patients on the waiting list, conditions typically applied to boards (and accepted by them along with the additional funding) will include a requirement to reduce numbers of patients waiting longer than a stated period. This is clearly in the interests of patients. It does not interfere with clinical judgements and opinions. Clinicians – like the Executive - want to see NHS patients treated as soon as possible. It is up to NHS boards to decide where treatment should be given, provided clinical standards are adhered to and patients’ views are taken into account.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider increasing substitution treatment as an alternative to needle exchange in respect of tackling hepatitis C in prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

The Scottish Prison Service is steadily increasing its commitment to substitution treatment. While such treatment reduces the demand for injecting drugs, it does not remove the risk of spread of blood borne infection from sharing needles. International experience is that operating needle exchange schemes can be an effective additional measure to protect the population, rather than as a replacement for substitution. The Scottish Prison Service is currently considering its approach to measures such as making needle exchanges available to prisoners. It has not reached a decision.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake a review of substitution treatment and the dosage supplied in order to develop its effectiveness in addressing injecting drug misuse and in reducing the transmission of hepatitis C.

Hugh Henry: These matters are covered in the Drug Misuse and Dependence - Guidelines on Clinical Management, published jointly in 1999 by the Department of Health and Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts. The Executive is currently in discussion with the Department of Health and others in scoping the work required to update these guidelines.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set target dates in its action plan to tackle hepatitis C.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will identify the resources required and the basis for their allocation in its action plan to tackle hepatitis C.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the question S2W-13828 answered on 7 February 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions & Answers Search.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will consult patients in the preparation of its action plan to tackle hepatitis C.

Mr Andy Kerr: Consultation with stakeholders is integral to the development of the action plan. This will be pursued in a number of ways, including meetings and further discussions to ensure active involvement of the broadest possible range of stakeholders.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why 56.6% of council house sales were completed within 26 weeks in 2003-04 compared to 60.1% in 2002-03 and 67.4% in 2001-02, as referred to in Audit Scotland’s report Housing & Social Work - Performance Indicators 2003/04 - Comparing the performance of Scottish councils.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is no statutory time limit on the overall time from application to a completed sale, however there are statutory time limits on key stages of the process:

Where the landlord is satisfied that a valid application has been received and that all information has been provided, the formal offer to sell must be served on the tenant within two months of the application to buy being received.

Where an offer to sell is served on the tenant and the tenant wishes to proceed, they will have up to two months from the most recent offer to accept the landlord’s offer.

Once offer is accepted, there is no timeframe within which conveyancing must be completed.

The time taken to complete sales will be affected by the time taken for each of these stages in the process. The overall fall in % of sales completed within 26 weeks in 2003-04 reflects a mix of improved and reduced performance by individual councils compared with 2002-03. The report shows that 14 councils improved performance while 14 completed a lower percentage of sales within the period. The Executive expects councils to achieve and maintain high standards of performance in all the services they provide.

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for rural home ownership grants have been made in each local authority area in each of the last seven years, showing year-on-year percentage changes.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The number of applications for rural home ownership grants (RHOGs) which have been made and progressed in each local authority area in each of the last seven years, showing year-on-year percentage changes is as follows.

Number of RHOG Applications made and Progressed by Unitary Authority (1997-98 to 2003-04) (Number and Percentage change)

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority-owned residential properties there are in each local authority area and, of these, how many properties are (a) considered difficult to let, (b) vacant and not scheduled for reletting and (c) scheduled for demolition.

Malcolm Chisholm: Of the information requested, only the number of local authority-owned dwellings is available centrally, which is shown in table 1.

Responsibility for assessing housing needs and conditions rests with local authorities as part of their Local Housing Strategies. It is an expectation set out in the guidance that, as part of a wider strategic approach to address housing need, alongside neighbourhood renewal and community planning initiatives, their strategy should consider whether the existing public and private housing stock is being managed to best effect and if there are management solutions based on that stock to existing or emerging housing problems.

Additional background information is provided in tables 1 and 2.

Table 1 shows the number of local authority-owned dwellings for each local authority, along with a breakdown showing the normal use of the stock.

Table 2 shows the number of local authority-owned vacant dwellings for each local authority, along with a breakdown for the reason for the vacancy. This table shows how many vacant properties are to be demolished or sold (although the number to be demolished cannot be obtained separately).

Table 1: Local Authority-Owned Housing Stock, as at 31 March 2004

Notes:

1. Source: Stock1 returns by local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development Department.

2. Figures for Edinburgh are estimates based on March 2002 due to outstanding returns.

3. Figures for Aberdeenshire, Shetland and West Lothian are estimates based on incomplete returns from March 2004.

4. Following housing stock transfers, figures for Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Scottish Borders are not included.

5. Letting stock includes all dwellings which are either currently let or are available or potentially available for letting.

6. Other stock includes:

(a) Tied housing;

(b) Dwellings which are currently out of use and expected to be permanently out of use because of planned demolition;

(c) Dwellings which are currently out of use and expected to be out of use for at least a year;

(d) Dwellings which are classed as low demand, and

(e) Dwellings used solely for decant.

Table 2: Local Authority-Owned Vacant Housing Stock, as at 31 March 2004

Notes:

1. Source: Stock2 returns by local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development Department.

2. Figures for Edinburgh are estimates based on March 2002 due to outstanding returns.

3. Due to housing stock transfers, figures for local authority dwellings in Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders are not included.

4. If a dwelling falls into more than one category, it is allocated to the category that appears first in the table from left to right.

5. Dwellings are included in category (a) if they are used solely as temporary accommodation for the homeless.

6. There is no information to determine whether dwellings in category (b) could be made habitable.

7. Dwellings are included in category (c) if the modernisation or repair scheme is due to be implemented within two years.

8. Dwellings are included in category (d) if the authority has developed a strategy to deal with the low demand.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-85 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, how many, and what value of, fines were written off in each sheriff court district in 2003-04.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information on Sheriff Court fines and compensation orders is given in the table.

Fines/Compensation Order Write-Offs - 2003-04

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-86 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, how many, and what value of, district court fines were remitted (a) fully or (b) in part in each year since 1999, broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The information available relates to the number of district court fines remitted and is given in the table. Data on the value of district court fines remitted is not held centrally. As district courts are operated by Local Authorities the information is provided by local authority area. Yearly totals for Scotland are not comparable due to data being unavailable in different courts in different years.

Number of District Court Fines Fully Remitted, 1999-2000 to 2003-04

Notes:

"N/A" denotes data not available.

1. Includes partly remitted fines – a separate breakdown of fully and partly remitted fines was not collected for 1999-2000.

2. Provisional data.

3. Coatbridge only.

4. Includes fully and partly remitted fines, registered fines and compensation orders.

5. Includes fully and partly remitted fines; excludes partly remitted fines for Coatbridge; includes remitted registered fines and compensation orders for Motherwell.

6. Includes partly remitted fines.

Number of district court fines partly remitted, 2000-01 to 2003-04¹

Notes:

"N/A" denotes data not available.

1. The numbers of fines which were partly remitted in 1999-2000 are included with the number of fully remitted fines in the first table – a separate breakdown of fully and partly remitted fines was not collected for that year.

2. Coatbridge only.

3. See footnote to corresponding figure of fully remitted fines in the first table

4. Provisional data.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-89 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, how many, and what value of, sheriff court fines were outstanding on 31 March (a) 2003 and (b) 2004, in total and broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The information is provided in the following tables. It should be noted that the outstanding balances for each year are not cumulative. Not all of the balance currently outstanding is due to default in payment - over half the accounts are within their valid payment period and should be paid within that period. Collection levels have been steadily improving over recent years, with over 80% of all financial penalties imposed in the sheriff and High Court in 2001-02 (the most recent year in which the majority of fine accounts are now closed) collected in full.

As at 31 March 2003

As at 31 March 2004

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-90 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, how many, and what value of, district court fines were outstanding on 31 March (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004, in total and broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the table by local authority area. Yearly totals for Scotland are not comparable due to data being unavailable in different courts in different years. The figures for outstanding balances are the total values of imposed fines which have not yet been paid plus any remaining balance on fines which are being paid by instalments. It should be noted that the outstanding balances for each year are not cumulative, collection efforts take place continuously and the data for the most recent year reflects the existing position. Not all of the balance currently outstanding is due to default in payment - a proportion of these fines will be within their valid payment period.

Value (£000s) of Fines Imposed by District Courts Outstanding at 31 March, 1999-2004

Notes:

"N/A" denotes data not available.

1. Provisional data.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-91 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, how many fines were recovered by civil diligence following the procedure under section 221 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and what proportion this represents of the total number of all fines imposed in 2004, in total and broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the table.

Note: There Are No Figures Available On The Actual Amounts Recovered.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-92 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, what value of fiscal fines accepted as an alternative to prosecution under section 302 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 was outstanding on 31 March (a) 2003 and (b) 2004, in total and broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the table. Yearly totals for Scotland are not comparable due to data being unavailable in different courts in different years. Fiscal fines are generally collected by the district courts and, as such, the information collected centrally and given in the table is by district court, rather than sheriff court. It should be noted that a number of the fines quoted as outstanding in 2004 are still within their valid collection period and no enforcement action will yet have been taken. Information on the value of fiscal fines outstanding in Orkney and Shetland, where payment is made to the sheriff court, is not readily available from the information held centrally.

Value (£000s) of Fiscal Fines Outstanding at 31 March, 2003 and 2004

Notes:

"N/A" denotes data not available.

1. Provisional data.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-93 by Mrs Elish Angiolini on 2 June 2003, how many (a) reports have been sent to the procurator fiscal and (b) convictions have been obtained under section (i) 68(1), (ii) 68(2), (iii) 68(3), (iv) 68(5), (v) 69(1), (vi) 69(2) and (vii) 70(1) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 in 2003-04 in each sheriff court district.

Elish Angiolini QC: The information requested, for the period 2003-04, is as follows:

No reports were sent to Procurators Fiscal in respect of sections 68(5), 69(2) and 70(1) of the Licensing Scotland Act 1976. A break down of the number of cases containing charges under sections 68(1), 68(2), 68(3), and 69(1), and the number of convictions on charges under those sections, broken down by Procurator Fiscal Office is shown in the following table. It should be noted that:(a) It is possible that the cases reported contained other charges – for different offences or under other sections of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 – that resulted in convictions, which do not show up in the data provided;(b) The data provided does not show how many of the charges were prosecuted;(c) The data provided does not show charges in respect of which non-court action was taken (such as fiscal fines, warning letters or diversion to social work or other agencies), and(d) Some of the cases reported during the period may not yet have reached a conclusion.

Financial Year 2003-04

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-94 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2003, how many recorded offences there were under section (a) 68(1), (b) 68(2), (c) 68(3) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003 and (iii) 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is shown in the following tables.

Recorded Crimes Under Section 68(1) of the Licensing Scotland Act 1976, 2002 to 2003

Recorded Crimes Under Section 68(2) of the Licensing Scotland Act 1976, 2002 to 2003