Chamber and committees

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:There are a range of programmes/activities available for offenders to enable them to address their offending behaviour. Although not all offence specific, they would be suitable for domestic violence, e.g. Cognitive Skills, Anger Management, Problem Solving and Relationship Skills.

The most relevant information available is given in Table 1 of the statistical bulletin Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 1 April - 31 December 1999, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17267). Incidents of domestic abuse are defined as those involving "any form of physical, non-physical, or sexual abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship, committed either in the home or elsewhere. This relationship will be between partners (married, co-habiting or otherwise) or ex-partners." The figures therefore exclude other crimes of violence committed against women.The bulletin does not present information on those convicted but Tables 1, 14 and 15 give information on the numbers of perpetrators referred to the Procurator Fiscal by police force area.The statistics collected centrally on crimes recorded by the police and persons proceeded against at court do not include information about the victims and cannot, therefore, distinguish crimes of violence against women.

The Scottish Executive has not commissioned research into the reasons for cases involving violence against women failing to reach court. I would, however, refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19180 on 15 November 2001 concerning research into and reasons for rape cases failing to reach court.

The Scottish Executive is not aware of any research specifically into the relationship between alcohol and substance abuse and violence against women. However, there are a small number of on-going and recently completed research projects in the UK into the relationship between alcohol and violence, details of which are available from the National Research Register, a copy of which is in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Information in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In the light of the provisions of the Parliament's Standing Orders, ministers aim to answer parliamentary questions for written answer within 14 days (or 28 days for those lodged in the seven days before, or during, a period of recess of more than four days). The Executive publishes regular audits of performance which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The latest published audit, which covers the period April to June 2001, showed that the proportion of questions answered ahead of, or on time, was just over 70%. For the equivalent period in 2000 the proportion was 51%.

Research completed in 1999 followed a sample of sex offence cases, which included complaints of rape, retrospectively through each stage of the criminal justice system from the first report of the incident to its outcome. The research found no overriding reason for rape complaints not being prosecuted. The main reason for rape complaints not proceeding from the police to the Procurator Fiscal was that no suspect had been found, while the main reason for not prosecuting was lack of evidence. In cases where a more minor sex offence was involved, this was sometimes not prosecuted as the public interest was seen to be better served by leaving the accused to the psychiatric or social work services.

The available information, on the crimes of rape which were recorded by the police and on persons with a charge proved in court where the main offence was rape, is given in the following tables:Crimes of rape recorded by the police and persons with a charge proved in court¹

Police force area	Number of offences recorded by the police, 1999	Number of persons with a charge proved,19992	Number of offences recorded by the police, 2000
Scotland	591	27	562
Central	5	2	14
Dumfries & Galloway	40	1	19
Fife	32	2	54
Grampian	82	5	60
Lothian & Borders	111	8	119
Northern	36	1	15
Strathclyde	218	8	219
Tayside	67	0	62

Notes:1. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, or a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year.2. Where rape was the main offence.Crimes of rape recorded by the police

Council area	Number of offences recorded by the police, 1999	Number of offences recorded by the police, 2000
Scotland	591	562
Aberdeen City	53	27
Aberdeenshire	21	23
Angus	23	10
Argyll & Bute	7	8
Clackmannanshire	0	5
Dumfries & Galloway	40	19
Dundee City	35	32
East Ayrshire	14	8
East Dunbartonshire	7	3
East Lothian	7	11
East Renfrewshire	4	6
Edinburgh, City of	60	76
Eilean Siar	1	0
Falkirk	3	4
Fife	32	54
Glasgow City	79	99
Highland	33	13
Inverclyde	12	15
Midlothian	12	18
Moray	8	10
North Ayrshire	19	13
North Lanarkshire	18	16
Orkney Islands	0	0
Perth & Kinross	9	20
Renfrewshire	22	16
Scottish Borders	17	5
Shetland Islands	2	2
South Ayrshire	13	8
South Lanarkshire	15	18
Stirling	2	5
West Dunbartonshire	8	9
West Lothian	15	9

The National Group to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland first met in June 2001. Its annual report will therefore be prepared in June 2002.

The Refuge Development Programme is providing £10 million for capital projects to increase and improve refuge provision. This may include furnishing. Funding for revenue costs are the responsibility of the local authorities.

This is a matter for the National Group to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland to consider in due course.