- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 19 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received about the procedure by which a publisher in Scotland would be able to seek to contest an order made under clause 59(3) or 69(3) of the Criminal Justice Bill on the grounds of too great a restriction on reporting.
Answer
The legislation does not specify who may make an application contesting the extent of the restriction and so it will be open to the media as well as a party to the case to submit an application to the court.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 19 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans it has to support fishing communities in the event of a ban on cod fishing.
Answer
The Executive remains committed to ensuring a viable future for the communities that depend on the Scottish fishing industry and we will not agree to a ban on cod fishing. In the context of the cuts that are being proposed, the Executive would have a key role in dealing with their wider economic impact. For example, each local enterprise company has a remit to support business and skills development in order to strengthen local economies.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 18 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice, legal or otherwise, it seeks before seeking the agreement of the Scottish Parliament, through a Sewel motion, to the UK Parliament legislating for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive determines, in all the circumstances of the case, whether it is appropriate to seek the agreement of the Scottish Parliament by means of a Sewel motion to the UK Parliament legislating for Scotland on devolved matters.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, whether, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill, its officials played a role in drafting clauses 7(6), 76(2), 83(7) and 85(7) and, if so, what specific work they carried out on these clauses.
Answer
Executive officials considered the provisions in clauses 7, 76, 83 and 85 for England and Wales and, given that the bill provides for a legislative framework which should, so far as is possible, provide consistent law throughout the UK, instructed provisions that were comparable for Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, whether, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill, it sought to postpone bringing into force the clauses of the bill relating to implementation of the European arrest warrant until common standards with regard to the presumption of innocence have been adopted across the European Union and common standards with regard to the (a) right to legal advice and representation, (b) rules of evidence and (c) practice of custodial remands have been established and applied across the countries to which the European arrest warrant applies and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
The question of postponing the bringing into force of any part of the Extradition Bill for any reason is a policy issue for the UK Government given that the bill relates to a reserved matter.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, what steps it has taken, in drafting amendments to the Extradition Bill, to ensure protections equivalent to the 110-day rule or the English writ of habeas corpus in trials of persons arrested using the European arrest warrant procedure.
Answer
None. I would refer the member to the provisions of the Council of the European Union Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant (EAW) about time limits and procedures for the execution of the EAW which are being implemented by means of the Extradition Bill. These provide for a timescale of a maximum 70 days, or exceptionally 100 days, from arrest to surrender. Where a fugitive consents to his return the timescale will be much shorter.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 16 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has had concerning the protection of the human rights of suspects arrested under a European arrest warrant.
Answer
No such representations have been received.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 10 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gives to Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 before seeking the agreement of the Scottish Parliament, through a Sewel motion, to the UK Parliament legislating for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive will always consider Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 in order to determine whether provisions in a Westminster Bill require the consent of the Scottish Parliament by means of a Sewel motion.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to publicise to members of the public their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answer
The Scottish Office produced guidance for members of the public on their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights in 1999. However, we announced in June this year that we would be taking forward a package of awareness-raising activities over the next year. This will include producing further guidance for members of the public, completely revising and updating our human rights website and working with other human rights organisations to support awareness-raising activities.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 6 December 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the enhanced checks and controls are that have been put in place as referred to in the debate on its response to the foot-and-mouth disease inquiries on 21 November 2002 (Official Report, c 15674).
Answer
The following enhanced checks and controls have been introduced:
- a pig swill ban;
- the power of local authority staff to seize meat has been increased;
- better intelligence gathering and dissemination;
- sniffer dog trial at Heathrow airport;
- additional inspection staff and activities at ports and airports, and
agreement with the European Commission in that the 1 kg personal allowance of meat imports will be removed from 1 January 2003.
