- 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: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-31154 and S1W-33899 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 November 2002 and 18 February 2003 respectively, what performance-related revenue deductions were incurred under the contract to operate HM Prison Kilmarnock by the prison's operator in the quarters January to March and April to June 2003.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:
This table includes somefigures which have been corrected since publication of the answer to question S1W-34453on 13 March 2003. Previous figures are shown in brackets.
| Year | Quarter | £000 (as at 21/8/03) |
| 1 | 1 | 105 |
| 2 | 176 |
| 3 | 174 |
| 4 | - |
| 2 | 1 | - |
| 2 | - |
| 3 | - |
| 4 | - |
| 3 | 1 | 56 (60) |
| 2 | 31 (32) |
| 3 | 21 (27) |
| 4 | 125 (88) |
| 4 | 1 | 161 |
| 2 | 160 (131) |
| 3 | 159 |
| 4 | 160 |
| 5 | 1 | 100 |
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-34453 and S2W-50 by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 February and Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2003 respectively, what the quarterly baseline total, as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule F of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock, was in the first quarter of the performance year 2003-04.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:
The following table includessome figures which have been corrected since publication of the answer to questionS1W-34453 on 13 March 2003. Previous figures are shown in brackets.
| Performance Year | Performance Quarter | Baseline |
| Year 1 | 1 | 408 |
| 2 | 685 |
| 3 | 685 |
| 4 | 685 |
| Year 2 | 1 | 651 |
| 2 | 693 (675) |
| 3 | 713 (697) |
| 4 | 713 (690) |
| Year 3 | 1 | 678 (664) |
| 2 | 678 (656) |
| 3 | 678 (659) |
| 4 | 678 (700) |
| Year 4 | 1 | 644 (636) |
| 2 | 644 (629) |
| 3 | 644 (629) |
| 4 | 676 |
| Year 5 | 1 | 665 |
- 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, whether incumbent members of the Judicial Appointments Board will be involved in future interviews for membership of the board.
Answer
The current members of theJudicial Appointments Board have all been appointed until mid-2005. Decisionson replacing them will not be taken until late in 2004. I have no plans toinvite board members to play a part in choosing their successors.
- 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 what training it offers to (a) lay and (b) legal members of the Judicial Appointments Board.
Answer
The Judicial AppointmentsBoard is independent of ministers and is responsible for the training of itsown membership. During its first year of operation the board has taken a numberof steps to develop its role in the selection of suitable individuals forservice on the bench.
- 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.
