- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Solicitor General is concerned that appeals in rape cases take an average of over a year to be heard and whether it will investigate urgently whether the courts are in need of more resources so that appeals can be pursued speedily.
Answer
The Solicitor General shares with all ministers a desire to ensure that the Appeal Courts operate as effectively as possible. I refer the member to my answer to question S1W-28835 on 13 September 2002, that describes steps being taken to help speed up the appeals procedure. 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.Since then, ministers have agreed to a request by the Lord Justice General that an additional five temporary Judges should be appointed to help with the backlog of work generally. The number of permanent Judges stands at a record level of 32.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons convicted of murder are now on bail pending appeal against conviction.
Answer
The available information indicates that a total of five persons, including four whose cases have been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, are currently on interim liberation pending an appeal against their conviction for murder.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons convicted of (a) murder, (b) culpable homicide, (c) rape and (d) serious assault were released on bail in (i) 1998, (ii) 1999, (iii) 2000, (iv) 2001 and (v) 2002 to date.
Answer
The information available is given in the following table.Persons Granted Bail Following the Lodging of Appeal Against Conviction for Selected Offences, 1998-2002
1,2,3Main offence of conviction | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
Murder | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Culpable homicide | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rape | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Attempted murder and serious assault | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 |
1. Provisional data, as at 10 September 2002.2. May exclude some cases where convictions were quashed on appeal and for whom details of their original conviction are no longer held on the current Scottish Criminal Records Office database.3. Includes cases referred by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission to the Court of Appeal.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of crimes were committed by people on bail in each of the last ten years, broken down by crime.
Answer
The information available is given in the following table. Offenders convicted for offences committed while subject to a bail order issued prior to 1 April 1996 will, if the main part of the sentence related to the offence under the Bail (Scotland) Act 1980 of re-offending while on bail, have been classified to the "Other crimes" grouping. Where the bail order was issued on or after 1 April 1996, the offender will have been classified to the main offence committed while on bail. Convictions data for 2001 are expected to be available in November.Persons with a Charge Proved with a Bail Aggravation
1, by Main Offence Grouping, 1991-2000
Year | All Crimes and Offences | Non-Sexual Crimes of Violence | Crimes of Indecency | Crimes of Dishonesty | Criminal Damage | Other Crimes | Miscell-aneous Offences | Motor Vehicle Offences |
Number |
1991 | 10,752 | 421 | 125 | 5,127 | 352 | 2,739 | 1,551 | 437 |
1992 | 11,502 | 569 | 125 | 5,255 | 405 | 2,993 | 1,633 | 522 |
1993 | 12,010 | 551 | 140 | 5,115 | 379 | 3,395 | 1,846 | 584 |
1994 | 12,651 | 599 | 145 | 5,282 | 373 | 3,663 | 1,960 | 629 |
1995 | 12,511 | 631 | 192 | 4,765 | 384 | 3,992 | 1,835 | 712 |
1996 | 11,748 | 667 | 110 | 4,271 | 376 | 3,354 | 2,251 | 719 |
1997 | 9,989 | 521 | 93 | 3,920 | 318 | 1,559 | 2,914 | 664 |
1998 | 9,925 | 491 | 128 | 4,133 | 327 | 1,033 | 3,279 | 534 |
1999 | 9,292 | 534 | 62 | 4,261 | 239 | 893 | 2,678 | 625 |
2000 | 7,942 | 549 | 31 | 3,487 | 254 | 759 | 2,376 | 486 |
| Percentage of all persons with a charge proved | | |
1991 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 28 | 3 | 1 |
1992 | 6 | 16 | 9 | 16 | 7 | 30 | 3 | 1 |
1993 | 7 | 15 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 30 | 4 | 1 |
1994 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 30 | 4 | 1 |
1995 | 8 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 8 | 31 | 4 | 1 |
1996 | 8 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 26 | 5 | 1 |
1997 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 1 |
1998 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
1999 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
2000 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
Note:1. Persons with a charge for bail reoffending under the Bail (Scotland) Act 1980 or a bail aggravation for reoffending on bail under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 26 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of houses were sold under the (a) right to buy and (b) rent to mortgage schemes in each year since the schemes were introduced and how the figures compare with sales in England.
Answer
The numbers and percentages of local authority, new town and Scottish Homes/Scottish Special Housing Association dwellings sold each year under the statutory right to buy and rent to mortgage schemes in Scotland are shown in the following tables. Comparable data for England can be obtained from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).Right to Buy Sales 1980-81 to 2001-02
Period | Stock as at 31 March of Previous Year | Sales in Year | % of Stock Sold During the Year |
1980-81 | N/A | 6,243 | N/A |
1981-82 | 1,042,396 | 11,704 | 1.12 |
1982-83 | 1,030,058 | 15,189 | 1.47 |
1983-84 | 1,007,564 | 17,973 | 1.78 |
1984-85 | 1,000,182 | 16,693 | 1.67 |
1985-86 | 988,337 | 14,068 | 1.42 |
1986-87 | 977,102 | 14,602 | 1.49 |
1987-88 | 962,861 | 22,791 | 2.37 |
1988-89 | 941,851 | 34,896 | 3.71 |
1989-90 | 909,393 | 38,820 | 4.27 |
1990-91 | 869,642 | 28,447 | 3.27 |
1991-92 | 837,876 | 22,968 | 2.74 |
1992-93 | 805,921 | 22,053 | 2.74 |
1993-94 | 775,849 | 20,384 | 2.63 |
1994-95 | 747,606 | 20,461 | 2.74 |
1995-96 | 715,689 | 15,485 | 2.16 |
1996-97 | 682,914 | 14,190 | 2.08 |
1997-98 | 650,935 | 15,468 | 2.38 |
1998-99 | 624,108 | 13,190 | 2.11 |
1999-2000 | 598,389 | 13,809 | 2.31 |
2000-01 | 576,342 | 13,525 | 2.35 |
2001-02 | 552,815 | 13,469 | 2.44 |
Source: Scottish Executive, Housing Statistics Branch.Note: Includes local authority, new town and Scottish Homes and Scottish Special Housing Association dwellings. The right to buy scheme was introduced in Scotland on a voluntary basis in 1979; some voluntary sales also took place after the introduction of the statutory scheme in 1980 and these are included in the above figures.Rent to Mortgage Sales 1993-94 to 2001-02
Period | Stock as at 31 March of previous year | Sales in year | % of Stock sold during the year |
1993-94 | 775,849 | 138 | 0.018 |
1994-95 | 747,606 | 87 | 0.012 |
1995-96 | 715,689 | 85 | 0.012 |
1996-97 | 682,914 | 63 | 0.009 |
1997-98 | 650,935 | 28 | 0.004 |
1998-99 | 624,108 | 21 | 0.003 |
1999-2000 | 598,389 | 34 | 0.006 |
2000-01 | 576,342 | 16 | 0.003 |
2001-02 | 552,815 | 19 | 0.003 |
Source: Scottish Executive, Housing Statistics Branch.Note: Includes local authority, new town and Scottish Homes dwellings.The rent to mortgage scheme was introduced in Scotland on a voluntary basis in 1989; some voluntary sales may also have taken place after the introduction of the statutory scheme in 1993; if so they will be included in the above figures.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances an accused person can be tried in absentia and whether it will list all cases where this has happened in each of the last 30 years, broken down by criminal and civil court.
Answer
In general, criminal trials in Scotland must be held in the presence of the accused. There are, however, certain exceptions to the general rule.If during the course of his trial an accused person so misconducts himself that a proper trial cannot take place, the court may order that the trial proceed in his absence.In summary proceedings an accused may be tried in his absence where he fails to appear in court after being duly notified and he is charged with a statutory offence:
for which a sentence of imprisonment cannot be imposed, or in relation to which there is provision authorising procedure in the absence of the accused.In addition, an examination of the facts, held to determine whether an accused person who is insane did the acts or made the omission alleged, may proceed in the absence of the accused where it appears to the court that it is not practical or appropriate for the accused to attend.In civil proceedings decree may be granted in the absence of a defender after service of a writ or summons. Details of trials in absentia in the criminal courts in Scotland are not collected centrally. The number of decrees granted in absence in civil proceedings in Scotland are published annually in the Civil Judicial Statistics.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 17 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many empty (a) public and (b) private sector houses there currently are in each local authority area and what short- and long-term plans it has to increase occupancy in these houses.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not collect data on the number of empty properties in each local authority area. Ministers recognised that empty homes were a serious issue and the Empty Homes Initiative, which was introduced in 1997 and extended until March 2002, encouraged local authorities to identify the extent of the problem in their local area and provided funding to help meet the identified need. It now falls to local authorities to take this issue forward as part of their Local Housing Strategy.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 16 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of road accidents have been caused by drug driving in each of the last 10 years and how many and what percentage have resulted in (a) injury and (b) death.
Answer
Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only accidents in which one or more people were injured: they do not cover damage only accidents. The returns do not provide information about the causes of the accidents.UK Government research, published in 2000, into the incidence of drugs in fatal road accident victims, found that illegal drugs were present in 18% of the sample group and that medicinal drugs were present in 6%. The presence of drugs is not, however, evidence of impairment nor of accident causation. The research report TRL495 is available on the TRL website at:
http://www.trl.co.uk/1024/mainpage.asp?page=141.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reasons for refusing a bail application after an (a) charge of and (b) conviction for (i) serious assault, (ii) rape, (iii) culpable homicide and (iv) murder and the name of the judge who considered the application are recorded and, if so, where and when.
Answer
The judiciary is not required by law to give reasons for its decisions to grant or refuse to grant bail. In any event, applications for bail are not categorised by type of offence.The identity of the judge who considered an application for bail is retained within the records of the Scottish Court Service.
- Asked by: Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance or directions it has issued to the judges and prosecutors in respect of the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on bail applications, conditions and appeals.
Answer
On guidance and directions to judges, I would refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28832 today. However, I understand that the Judicial Studies Committee provided comprehensive assistance to judges in their study of all aspects of the ECHR. Prosecutors received a three-day intensive course in human rights law and that included a component on bail issues.