- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to objective 3, target 4 of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning chapter of its Draft Budget 2004-05, whether increasing the number of modern apprenticeships (MAs) to over 25,000 by 2006 represents a change of policy from its target of 30,000; if so, why the target has been reduced, and whether the reduction has been announced to the Parliament.
Answer
The statement in the DraftBudget 2004-05, concerning the increase in the number of MAs to 25,000 by 2006,was an outcome of the 2002 spending review and was reported in
Building aBetter Scotland. This target was subsequently revised when the partnership agreementwas drawn up, to over 30,000 MAs by 2006.
The reference to the earliertarget of 25,000 was a transcription error and does not represent a change inpolicy or reduction in the partnership agreement target. We are committed to increasing the apprenticeship programme to 30,000 places by2006.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the items covered under “other enterprise and lifelong learning” in each of the three financial years covered by table 6.01 on page 96 of its Draft Budget 2004-05.
Answer
Adetailed breakdown of the items covered under the heading “other enterprise andlifelong learning” in each of the three financial years covered by table 6.01on page 96 of the Scottish Executive’s Draft Budget 2004-05 is available on page 118 intable 6.09 in the same document with a description of the purpose for eachbudget heading given on pages 118 to 120.
This document can be foundon the following Scottish Executive website:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/finance/db05-00.asp.Within the detailed table6.09 on page 118 there is a miscellaneous heading. Further detail of theexpenditure under this heading is in the answers given to questions S2W-3183 on30 October 2003 and S2W-3948 on 20 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website:, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for the selection of fingerprint experts within the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO); how many such experts there are in SCRO; what the level of staff turnover is, and how many cases of disciplinary action there have been in each of the last five years.
Answer
A trainee fingerprint officerwho successfully completes the advanced fingerprint course at the national trainingcentre, Durham may, on the recommendation of the head of bureau, be put forwardfor authorisation by Scottish ministers under section 280(5) of the CriminalProcedure (Scotland) Act 1995 as an expert witness.
There are currently 34 fingerprintexperts at the Scottish Criminal Record Office. The level of turnover for thisgroup of employees, including retirements, is below 10% per annum.
The only disciplinaryactions, which resulted in the formal disciplinary process being applied inrelation to fingerprint experts in the last five years, were in respect of workattendance-related matters.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 12 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the relationship is between the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Minister for Justice in respect of responsibility for the Scottish Criminal Record Office.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-4463 on 12 December 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 12 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the responsibilities of the (a) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (b) Justice Department are in respect of the (i) Scottish Criminal Record Office and (ii) fingerprinting policy.
Answer
The Scottish Criminal RecordOffice (SCRO) is a common police service established through section 36 of thePolice (Scotland) Act 1967, under which the facilities and servicessupplied by the organisation are provided and maintained by the Scottish ministersfor promoting the efficiency or effectiveness of thepolice in Scotland. The maintenance of a fingerprint collection andfingerprint identifications are functions of SCRO as part of the ScottishFingerprint Service. The Head of JusticeDepartment in the Scottish Executive is the accountable officer for SCRO’sbudget. The Lord Advocate is not responsible for the operation of SCRO. Policydecisions in respect of methods of fingerprint identification are a matter forthe Scottish Fingerprint Service and chief constables, but it is a matter forthe Crown to decide whether to lead such evidence in criminal proceedings.
Sections 18 to 20 of theCriminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 set down the procedures required for thetaking of prints and samples in criminal investigations. Section 280(5) of the1995 act also provides for Scottish ministers to authorise fingerprint officersfor the purposes of section 280(4) of the 1995 act.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 12 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider removing control over fingerprinting services from the police to a national fingerprint service.
Answer
The future structure,organisation and oversight of all common police services in Scotland,including the Scottish Criminal Records Office which is currently responsiblefor the Scottish Fingerprint Service, is being considered as part of an on-goingreview.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 11 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget was of the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01 and how many staff have been employed by SCRO in each year since 1999, broken down by qualifications and skills.
Answer
The budget for each yearwas:
| 1999-2000 | £5,224,999 |
| 2000-01 | £5,600,000 |
| At 31 March 1999 | 96 |
| At 31 March 2000 | 116 |
| At 31 March 2001 | 144 |
| At 31 March 2002 | 165 |
| At 31 March 2003 | 193.5 |
Information about thequalifications and skills of each member of staff is not readily available in theform requested.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 11 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made with regard to Her Majesty's Government's draft Asylum and Immigration Bill laying out the rights of appeal of asylum seekers, in respect of any impact it may have on its responsibilities.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is inregular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including theimplications for devolved matters in Scotland of its legislative programme. This contact reflectsthe approach, set out in Devolution Guidance Note 1 in accordance with theprinciples set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, that the administrationsnormally consult each other from an early stage on the development of relevantlegislative proposals.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its total expenditure has been allocated to (a) higher and (b) further education in each year since 1999 and what this figure represents in (a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of expenditure on education as a whole.
Answer
Thefigures requested are not held centrally.
Percentage of ScottishExecutive expenditure allocated to higher and further education in cash termssince 1999.
Total Scottish Executiveexpenditure and the amounts made available to the Scottish Higher EducationFunding Council and the Scottish Further Education Council are contained in the Scottish Executive’s core accounts which can be found on the Scottish Executive’swebsite at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications.The amount of funding allocated to higher education institutes and FurtherEducation Institutes by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and the Scottish Further Education Council can be found in their annual reports. Theseare available on their websites at the following links:
http://www.shefc.ac.ukhttp://www.sfefc.ac.ukExpenditure allocated tohigher and further education as a percentage of education as a whole
Education is also fundedthrough local authorities and the vast majority of resources provided to local authoritiesfor education are paid through revenue support grant, which is largelyunhypothecated. Details of how much each authority has spent on educationservices can be found in the CIPFA Rating Review publications. The mostrecent year published for expenditure is 2001-02 (Bib. number 26652); the prioryears are also available. A copy of the local government finance circulars andCIPFA publications can be obtained from the Parliament’s Reference Centre byquoting the relevant Bib. number.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 11 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many signatories are required within the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) to confirm fingerprint evidence; what qualifications the signatories possess, and how often has evidence confirmed by signatories been rejected (a) internally within SCRO and (b) by an external agent.
Answer
Three signatures of authorisedfingerprint experts are required for fingerprint identification – the expertwho identifies the mark, followed by two separate fingerprint experts forverification. In certain cases a mark may have less than 16 points and in theseidentification by the quality assurance manager is also required.
All signatories arequalified fingerprint experts authorised by Scottish ministers under section280(5) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 as expert witnesses.
We are aware of one casewhere identification has been rejected internally at SCRO and four cases wherethe identifications have been challenged by an external agent.
