Chamber and committees

Figures provided by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) indicate that:

(a) the number of financial, welfare and combined financial and welfare guardianship orders sought since part 6 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 came into effect on 1 April 2002 to 31 August 2004 is 1,264, and

(b) the number of guardianship orders granted over the same period is 1,199.

Table 1: Guardianship Orders (All Types) Sought and Granted by year

Year	Orders Sought	Orders granted
2002-03	316	288
2003-04	625	593
1 April 04 to 31 August 04	323	318
Total	1,264	1,199

 

For the period 1 April 2004 to 31 August 2004 a breakdown of guardianship orders granted by (i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) local authority area is as follows. A similar breakdown for the earlier periods is not available.

Table 2: Guardianship Orders (All Types) Granted* by Age from 1 April 2004 to 31 August 2004

Age Range
16-30	30
31-45	26
46-60	35
60 plus	216
Undefined	11

Table 3: Guardianship Orders (All Types) Granted* by Gender from 1 April 2004 to 31 August 2004

Female	212
Male	106

 

Table 4: Guardianship Orders (All Types) Granted* by Local Authority Area from 1 April 2004 to 31 August 2004

Local Authority Area**
Aberdeen City	12
Aberdeenshire	18
Angus	8
Argyll and Bute	12
City of Edinburgh	28
Clackmannanshire	6
Dumfries and Galloway	13
Dundee City	3
East Ayrshire	2
East Dunbartonshire	5
East Lothian	6
East Renfrewshire	1
Eilean Siar	1
Falkirk	6
Fife	26
Glasgow City	18
Highland	19
Inverclyde	5
Midlothian	3
Moray	4
North Ayrshire	11
North Lanarkshire	12
Orkney	0
Perth and Kinross	14
Renfrewshire	3
Scottish Borders	4
Shetland Islands	2
South Ayrshire	13
South Lanarkshire	38
Stirling	9
West Dunbartonshire	2
West Lothian	13

Notes:

*The figures do not include any orders granted in August but not yet notified to the OPG.

**The discrepancy of one between total orders granted and those ascribed to individual local authority areas may be attributable to the location of an adult’s property being outwith Scotland.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has supplied the following figures. Mental health statistics are not available according to local authority as they are collected by Health Board area. Further detail may be obtained from the Commission’s Annual Report.

Table 1: Episodes of Detention Initiated Under Section 18 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 by Age and Gender, Since April 2000

Age Range	Male	Female	Total
01-14	*	*	10
15-24	387	204	591
25-44	1,231	786	2,017
45-64	576	548	1,124
65-84	327	410	737
85-	27	62	89

Note: **Figures for children 1 to 14 by gender are omitted due to very small numbers.

 

Table 2: Detentions Initiated Under Section 18 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act by Health Board Area, for Each Year, from April 2000 to April 2004

Health Board	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Argyll and Clyde	109	89	103	112
Ayrshire and Arran	88	74	77	96
Borders	27	35	42	24
Dumfries and Galloway	42	40	39	48
Fife	54	88	81	81
Forth Valley	44	43	49	36
Grampian	107	98	103	97
Greater Glasgow	201	214	195	228
Highland	46	51	53	50
Lanarkshire	78	93	72	101
Lothian	192	208	222	213
Tayside	90	100	123	101
Western Isles	**	**	**	**

Note: **Figures for Western Isles are omitted due to very small numbers.

With recorded crime at its lowest level for 25 years, these figures show that our record investment in frontline policing and our on-going reforms of the criminal justice system are helping to create a safer Scotland. But there is no room for complacency. The figures also show that there is still more work to do, particularly in tackling the number of sexual assaults and dealing with anti-social behaviour.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-8753. 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.

Decisions on the use of the available resources within police forces, including the level of funding for family liaison officers, is an operational matter for each Chief Constable. Funding for the Scottish Police Service is currently at record levels. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is currently developing guidance for use by all police forces which includes nationally agreed criteria for the deployment of family liaison officers. I understand that the guidance is due to issue later this year.

The procedures in place for family liaison officers are an operational matter for chief constables. Last year, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary carried out a thematic inspection of family liaison arrangements. Their report, Relatively Speaking – A Thematic Inspection of Family Liaison in Scotland, was published in May 2003 and is available at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/fltr-00.asp.

The report contained 17 recommendations.

Following this report, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is currently developing guidance for use by all police forces, including nationally agreed criteria for the deployment of family liaison officers. I understand that the guidance is due to issue later this year.

As I said during the debate onChildren’s Hearings on 18 May, ministers have received a report from the ScottishChildren’s Reporters Administration summarising the conclusions of their work onMunchausen’s syndrome by proxy. We are now considering what steps to take next,including publication of the contents of the report, and will announce our decisionsin due course.

No. A valuation appeal panelis a body consisting of at least 12 individuals, appointed by the appropriate sheriffprincipal, from which are drawn members of valuation appeal committees (VACs). TheCouncil on Tribunals, which operates independently of both central and local government,has a statutory duty to monitor the constitution and working of tribunals (whichincludes VACs) under its supervision.

We have no immediate plans todo so.

Scottish Enterprise addressesinclusion and social justice in growing the Scottish economy through its skillsand learning activities and also by mainstreaming social justice into all otherfunctional activities.

Information on programmes andpartnerships and the allocation of expenditure to activities which promote socialinclusion is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.