Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-19276

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16396 by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 July 2013, how many snare users, having attended the required training, had obtained an identification number from the chief constable of their local police force or from Police Scotland by 1 January 2014.

Question reference: S4W-19277

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many snaring training courses have been delivered since 11 March 2010 by (a) Borders College, (b) the British Association for Shooting and Conservation Limited, (c) Elmwood College, (d) the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, (e) North Highland College, (f) the Scottish Agricultural College, (g) the Scottish Association for Country Sports and (h) the Scottish Gamekeepers Association Charitable Trust, and how many participants there were on each.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) voluntarily administers a central register that holds all details of the snare training courses which are run by the following approved bodies: GWCT, Borders College, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation Limited, Elmwood College, North Highland College, the Scottish Agricultural College, the Scottish Association for Country Sports and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association Charitable Trust. GWCT advise that because of the administrative costs involved, they are unable to provide information on the number of training courses and participants on each course run by the respective training providers.

Question reference: S4W-19245

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its questionnaire consulting on the possible mandatory microchipping of dogs and other measures does not include a question on (a) the awareness of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 and (b) what other legislation exists regarding the sale and breeding of dogs.

We are aware that there are a wide range of other concerns surrounding responsible dog ownership, and have used the consultation as an opportunity to gather initial views on other potential new measures. This includes posing an open question on the promotion of responsible dog ownership under which we can take account of any comments on how existing legislation is operating. This process will continue, both through the forthcoming summit on dangerous dogs this spring, and through other separate investigations.

Question reference: S4T-00552

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent discovery of six badger carcasses near Peebles, whether it is content with Police Scotland’s resource allocation for detecting and preventing wildlife crimes.

Question reference: S4F-01794

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2013

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will commemorate the passing of 25 years since the Lockerbie disaster.

Question reference: S4W-17914

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions for (a) sexual abuse, (b) domestic abuse or violence and (c) rape in each year since 2007 before a (i) jury and (ii) single judge resulted in a (A) not proven and (B) not guilty verdict, also expressed as a percentage of such cases.

The available information is given in the following table. Solemn court cases will be tried by a judge and jury, summary court cases will be tried a single judge.

Number of people proceeded against and acquitted where main charge was a crime associated with sexual abuse^1,2, 2007-08 to 2011-12.

Crime/result/court	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Sexual abuse
People proceeded against
Solemn court	183	203	224	214	217
Summary court	195	225	206	206	249
Solemn court
Acquitted not guilty³	16	15	16	26	22
Acquitted not proven	8	11	15	11	7
Summary court
Acquitted not guilty³	30	19	25	15	37
Acquitted not proven	6	7	4	5	8
Percentages acquitted / proceeded against
Solemn court
Acquitted not guilty³	9%	7%	7%	12%	10%
Acquitted not proven	4%	5%	7%	5%	3%
Summary court
Acquitted not guilty³	15%	8%	12%	7%	15%
Acquitted not proven	3%	3%	2%	2%	3%

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes sexual assault, and other sexual offences. Excludes crimes associated with prostitution, public indecency and bestiality.

3. Excludes cases where a plea of not guilty was accepted.

Number of people proceeded against and acquitted where main charge had domestic abuse aggravator recorded, 2007-08 to 2011-12

Crime/result/court	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Domestic abuse
People proceeded against
Solemn court	117	163	184	188	225
Summary court	6,258	7,788	9,975	9,834	10,267
Solemn court
Acquitted not guilty¹	8	21	25	30	31
Acquitted not proven	6	9	14	6	14
Summary court
Acquitted not guilty¹	323	350	576	613	667
Acquitted not proven	64	67	104	85	114
Percentages acquitted / proceeded against
Solemn court
Acquitted not guilty¹	7%	13%	14%	16%	14%
Acquitted not proven	5%	6%	8%	3%	6%
Summary court
Acquitted not guilty¹	5%	4%	6%	6%	6%
Acquitted not proven	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%

Note: 1. Excludes cases where a plea of not guilty was accepted.

Number of people proceeded against and acquitted where main charge was rape^1,2, 2007-08 to 2011-12.

Crime/result/court	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Rape
People proceeded against
Solemn court	88	86	93	58	75
Summary court	0	0	0	0	0
Solemn court
Acquitted not guilty³	26	36	33	27	16
Acquitted not proven	24	18	17	8	15
Summary court
Acquitted not guilty³	0	0	0	0	0
Acquitted not proven	0	0	0	0	0
Percentages acquitted / proceeded against
Solemn court
Acquitted not guilty³	30%	42%	35%	47%	21%
Acquitted not proven	27%	21%	18%	14%	20%
Summary court
Acquitted not guilty³	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Acquitted not proven	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.

Source: Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database.

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Rape cases would normally be remitted to the High Court for sentencing.

3. Excludes cases where a plea of not guilty was accepted.

Question reference: S4W-17913

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 5 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions for (a) sexual abuse, (b) domestic abuse or violence and (c) rape in each year since 2007 before a (i) jury and (ii) single judge resulted in a conviction, also expressed as a percentage of such cases.

The available information is given in the following tables. Solemn court cases will be tried by a judge and jury, summary court cases will be tried a single judge.

Number of people proceeded against and convicted for a crime associated with sexual abuse^1,2, 2007-08 to 2011-12.

Crime/result/court	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Sexual abuse
People proceeded against
Solemn court	183	203	224	214	217
Summary court	195	225	206	206	249
People convicted
Solemn court	149	175	189	168	182
Summary court	146	180	165	169	185
Percentage convicted
Solemn court	81%	86%	84%	79%	84%
Summary court	75%	80%	80%	82%	74%

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes sexual assault, and other sexual offences. Excludes crimes associated with prostitution, public indecency and bestiality.

Number of people proceeded against and convicted where main charge had domestic abuse aggravator recorded, 2007-08 to 2011-12.

Crime/result/court	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Domestic abuse
People proceeded against
Solemn court	117	163	184	188	225
Summary court	6,258	7,788	9,975	9,834	10,267
People convicted
Solemn court	96	131	140	148	178
Summary court	5,554	6,977	8,706	8,416	8,691
Percentage convicted
Solemn court	82%	80%	76%	79%	79%
Summary court	89%	90%	87%	86%	85%

Number of people proceeded against and convicted where main charge was rape^1,2, 2007-08 to 2011-12.

Crime/result/court	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Rape
People proceeded against
Solemn court	88	86	93	58	75
Summary court	0	0	0	0	0
People convicted
Solemn court	35	28	42	22	37
Summary court	0	0	0	0	0
Percentage convicted
Solemn court	40%	33%	45%	38%	49%
Summary court	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.

Source: Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database.

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Rape cases would normally be remitted to the High Court for sentencing.

Question reference: S4F-01715

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2013

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to avert the reported pressures on social care budgets undermining care services for older and vulnerable people.

Question reference: S4W-18336

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Liam McArthur on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S4W-17869 by Liam McArthur on 8 November 2013, whether notes or a record were taken of the oral legal advice and, if so, whether they will be published.

Question reference: S4O-02656

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it plans to use committee rooms for exhibitions on a regular basis.