Chamber and committees

Information on the level of use of each exemption by the Scottish Executive during 2005 is availablein a report on information request handling in the Scottish Executive. Thisreport is available in the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number39491) and on the Freedom of Information pages of the Scottish Executive website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/04/monitor2.

The Executive will bepublishing the report for requests received during the first six months of 2006once the figures for this period have been analysed.

Information on appeals and Decisionsof the Scottish Information Commissioner, including those concerning the Executiveare published on the Commissioner’s website: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/appealsdecisions/index.htm.

As of 31 July 2006 the websiteshows 75 outstanding investigations and 33 where a decision has been issued concerningthe Executive.

Information on the use of exemptions by the Scottish Executive during 2005 is available in a report on informationrequest handling in the Scottish Executive. This report is available in the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 39491) and on the Freedom of Information pages of the Scottish Executive website:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/04/monitor2.

The Executive will bepublishing the report for requests received during the first six months of 2006once the figures for this period have been analysed.

An applicant may request aninternal review if dissatisfied with the way in which a Scottish publicauthority has dealt with a request for information, including the applicationof exemptions. Information on numbers ofinternal reviews requested of the Scottish Executive during 2005 is available in a report on information requesthandling in the Scottish Executive. This report is available in the Scottish Parliament’sReference Centre (Bib. number 39491) and on the Freedom of Information pages of the Scottish Executive website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/04/monitor2.

The Executive will bepublishing the report for requests received during the first six months of 2006once the figures for this period have been analysed.

A request by an applicantfor an internal review of a decision is required before any appeal for aDecision of the Scottish Information Commissioner can be made. To end of July2006, 108 Executive requests have been appealed to the Scottish InformationCommissioner and he has issued decisions to date in 33 of these cases. Detailabout the decisions, including whether or not the commissioner has upheld theappeal, is published on the commissioner’s website: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/appealsdecisions/decisions/index.php.

Annual estimates of thenumbers of young people not in education, employment or training nationally aretaken from the Annual Population Survey. For most local authorities, the samplesize of the survey for people aged 16 to 19 is too small to provide reliableestimates of those not in employment, education or training. Table 1 shows theestimates available from 2003 onwards.

Prior to 2003, the samplesize in Scotland was smaller and it was not possible to producereliable estimates of the numbers of young people not in education, employmentor training at a local level. Table 2 gives the estimates for Scotland forthe years 1999 to 2002.

Table 1: Proportion and Numberof 16 to 19-Year-Olds Not in Education, Employment or Training by Local AuthorityArea 2003 to 2005

	Mar 2003 to Feb 2004		Jan 2004 to Dec 2004		Jan 2005 to Dec 2005
	Proportion	Number NEET	Proportion	Number NEET	Proportion	Number NEET
Scotland	13.7%	35,000	13.2%	35,000	14.0%	36,000
Aberdeen City	*	*	*	*	*	*
Aberdeenshire	*	*	*	*	*	*
Angus	15.1%	1,000	*	*	15.3%	1,000
Argyll and Bute	12.6%	1,000	*	*	*	*
Clackmannanshire	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dumfries and Galloway	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dundee City	*	*	*	*	*	*
East Ayrshire	13.7%	1,000	17.5%	1,000	14.0%	1,000
East Dunbartonshire	8.5%	1,000	*	*	*	*
East Lothian	*	*	*	*	*	*
East Renfrewshire	10.1%	1,000	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh, City of	*	*	*	*	*	*
Eilean Siar	*	*	*	*	*	*
Falkirk	*	*	*	*	*	*
Fife	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow City	19.0%	6,000	22.1%	7,000	25.8%	8,000
Highland	*	*	*	*	*	*
Inverclyde	17.7%	1,000	18.5%	1,000	14.8%	1,000
Midlothian	19.6%	1,000	15.6%	1,000	20.1%	1,000
Moray	*	*	*	*	13.3%	1,000
North Ayrshire	17.9%	1,000	20.5%	1,000	11.1%	1,000
North Lanarkshire	21.9%	4,000	*	*	21.2%	4,000
Orkney Islands	*	*	*	*	*	*
Perth and Kinross	*	*	*	*	*	*
Renfrewshire	*	*	*	*	*	*
Scottish Borders	13.9%	1,000	*	*	12.0%	1,000
Shetland Islands	*	*	*	*	*	*
South Ayrshire	15.9%	1,000	19.5%	1,000	11.9%	1,000
South Lanarkshire	*	*	*	*	*	*
Stirling	11.9%	1,000	16.3%	1,000	15.0%	1,000
West Dunbartonshire	16.6%	1,000	19.2%	1,000	16.2%	1,000
West Lothian	*	*	*	*	*	*

Source:Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04 Annual Population Survey 2004 and2005.

Notes:

* -estimate withheld as below reliability threshold

1. Numbers(other than proportions) rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. Proportionsare calculated on unrounded figures.

3. Totalsmay not equal the sum of individual parts due to rounding.

 

Table 2: Proportion and Numberof 16 to-19 Year Olds not in Education, Employment or Training, Scotland1999 to 2002

Year	Proportion	Number
1999	14.9%	37,000
2000	15.0%	38,000
2001	15.4%	38,000
2002	14.0%	35,000

Source:Labour Force Survey combined quarters.

Notes:

1. Numbers(other than proportions) rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. Proportionsare calculated on unrounded figures.

We identified thedisproportionately negative impact that the behaviour of a small minority ofyoung people were having on victims, communities and their own life chances.

We remain determined toprevent that behaviour wherever possible, and confront it when it does occur.That was and is the basis for our focus on persistent young offenders.

With almost one in threeoffence referrals to Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration attributableto persistent young offenders, the intention was to encourage concernedagencies to unite to tackle repeat offending and focus finite resources in waysthat could provide most support to those young people who need it, and the mostimmediate relief to communities affected by youth crime.

A 10% reduction in thenumber of persistent young offenders would have seen 120 of the most recidivistyoung people in Scotland lifted out of a life of crime, and each of them notbeing referred in respect of an average nine offences per annum. That couldpotentially have seen over 1,000 fewer victims of youth crime in each yearsince 2003-04.

We are content that thequarterly and annual youth justice figures published by the Scottish Children’sReporter Administration represent an accurate picture of offence referralsreceived by the administration.

Minor or one-off incidencesof offending behaviour where detected and admitted may not merit theconsideration of compulsory supervision via referral to the Children’sReporter, and could also be effectively dealt with by parental action,restorative police warnings or other diversionary activity.

The total cost to the ScottishExecutive of employing PA Consulting Group between April 2004 and May 2006 to providesupport and advice to local and national partners on youth justice issues was £1,744,256.31.

After considering the options,ministers decided to commission a sculpture which would mark not only the contributionof Scottish women of suffrage but of all Scottish women - past, present and future- in getting the vote for women and advancing democracy.

I announced the name of the successfulartist on 8 March 2006 at an evening event in the Scottish Parliament, whichtook place against the backdrop of a small Executive-funded exhibition that includedsuffragette memorabilia and a large reproduction of a suffragette banner.

Further details aboutthe sculpture, including developing plans for the unveiling in December 2006, canbe found on the following Executive website page.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/18500/comsculp.