Chamber and committees

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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

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Question reference: S1W-11013

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Colin Boyd on 22 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of (a) solemn cases and (b) summary cases was for each of the last three years, listed by district and regional procurator fiscal's office.

The figures are as shown in the attached tables.

Total Solemn Disposals	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000
Aberdeen	158	205	168
Airdrie	151	138	171
Alloa	15	20	31
Arbroath	36	33	44
Ayr	93	104	91
Banff	7	11	8
Campbeltown	5	3	2
Cupar	20	28	20
Dingwall	9	7	16
Dornoch	4	3	2
Dumbarton	108	122	93
Dumfries	59	59	66
Dundee	169	117	144
Dunfermline	65	81	84
Dunoon	12	10	13
Duns	6	2	9
Edinburgh	413	401	362
Elgin	31	21	33
Falkirk	94	103	112
Forfar	13	7	24
Fort William	9	7	14
Glasgow	1,054	935	1,155
Greenock	70	80	71
Haddington	17	23	16
Hamilton	242	195	196
Inverness	43	47	39
Jedburgh	25	35	52
Kilmarnock	142	134	184
Kirkcaldy	101	115	118
Kirkcudbright	8	9	4
Kirkwall	7	5	3
Lanark	22	22	23
Lerwick	3	3	3
Linlithgow	71	78	89
Lochmaddy	-	1	-
Oban	19	10	11
Paisley	130	172	166
Peebles	1	2	4
Perth	54	66	68
Peterhead	41	22	29
Portree	1	2	3
Rothesay	3	3	2
Selkirk	10	10	14
Stirling	61	59	58
Stonehaven	13	7	8
Stornoway	3	1	1
Stranraer	38	15	25
Tain	11	15	10
Wick	11	6	6
Totals	3,678	3,554	3,865

Total Summary Disposals	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000
Aberdeen	8,066	9,443	7,554
Airdrie	3,588	3,693	3,656
Alloa	1,079	898	1,033
Arbroath	1,494	1,998	1,317
Ayr	4,967	4,660	4,987
Banff	584	672	758
Campbeltown	390	381	357
Cupar	1,094	837	980
Dingwall	701	715	710
Dornoch	211	200	182
Dumbarton	3,786	2,846	3,237
Dumfries	2,926	3,023	3,329
Dundee	4,666	4,319	4,597
Dunfermline	2,834	2,632	2,563
Dunoon	629	512	505
Duns	621	535	547
Edinburgh	14,131	12,049	10,956
Elgin	1,812	1,971	1,559
Falkirk	3,698	3,333	3,567
Forfar	1,067	1,057	1,410
Fort William	778	547	604
Glasgow	27,386	26,036	22,303
Greenock	2,202	2,145	2,484
Haddington	1,792	1,520	1,392
Hamilton	9,001	8,382	6,991
Inverness	2,718	2,653	2,599
Jedburgh	782	756	855
Kilmarnock	6,022	5,862	5,325
Kirkcaldy	3,905	4,124	3,002
Kirkcudbright	778	518	640
Kirkwall	276	270	258
Lanark	2,445	2,359	1,915
Lerwick	272	303	421
Linlithgow	3,394	3,336	2,825
Lochmaddy	108	87	85
Oban	638	637	600
Paisley	4,591	3,666	3,727
Peebles	310	249	289
Perth	4,211	4,361	3,281
Peterhead	1,696	1,506	993
Portree	213	146	137
Rothesay	99	97	81
Selkirk	917	917	780
Stirling	1,916	1,720	1,660
Stonehaven	1,893	1,603	1,374
Stornoway	760	487	349
Stranraer	1,263	1,169	1,273
Tain	707	662	768
Wick	484	498	419
Totals	139,901	132,390	121,234

Question reference: S1W-11014

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Colin Boyd on 22 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of cases marked "no proceedings" were for each district and regional procurator fiscal's office for each of the last three years.

The figures are shown in the attached table.

Total Cases 'No Proceedings'	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000
Aberdeen	1,406	1,727	2,198
Airdrie	1,157	1,396	1,319
Alloa	435	400	362
Arbroath	234	433	389
Ayr	841	1,025	1,009
Banff	162	305	456
Campbeltown	55	59	76
Cupar	451	450	388
Dingwall	263	227	143
Dornoch	55	44	39
Dumbarton	1,239	1,528	1,275
Dumfries	1,118	1,299	806
Dundee	1,100	1,221	1,251
Dunfermline	885	956	1,153
Dunoon	250	150	148
Duns	64	61	56
Edinburgh	2,681	2,810	3,386
Elgin	504	456	486
Falkirk	1,126	1,062	864
Forfar	190	231	276
Fort William	95	131	109
Glasgow	8,601	10,562	13,726
Greenock	865	842	817
Haddington	285	442	347
Hamilton	2,662	2,533	2,440
Inverness	986	927	720
Jedburgh	161	154	175
Kilmarnock	1,033	1,085	1,451
Kirkcaldy	1,005	1,232	1,308
Kirkcudbright	226	214	171
Kirkwall	67	93	72
Lanark	372	340	346
Lerwick	116	118	94
Linlithgow	775	832	841
Lochmaddy	37	25	24
Oban	129	218	184
Paisley	1,659	1,410	2,036
Peebles	7	52	81
Perth	909	1,134	893
Peterhead	411	240	204
Portree	62	46	32
Rothesay	39	40	30
Selkirk	285	403	273
Stirling	767	777	660
Stonehaven	112	104	118
Stornoway	52	50	34
Stranraer	391	450	446
Tain	209	129	134
Wick	167	169	112
Totals	36,701	40,592	43,958

Question reference: S1W-11012

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Colin Boyd on 22 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, for each district and regional procurator fiscal's office, what the weighted workload was for each of the last three years and what the projections are for the next three years, and what the corresponding allocated resources are for each year.

The figures are shown in the attached table. Average time (weighted unit) values exist for all disposal avenues - these values are national averages which do not take account of varying local circumstances. In addition, the values do not yet take account of the impact of any additional work attributable to the introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The values have been multiplied by the number of cases of each type in each office to obtain a weighted output for each office.

Resources are allocated at regional level and are not comparable with the weighted workload data.

Weighted Units	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000
Aberdeen	2,995,949	3,762,090	3,405,781
Airdrie	2,301,363	2,371,232	2,534,705
Alloa	430,477	425,485	523,601
Arbroath	662,881	787,841	717,636
Ayr	2,031,619	2,050,303	2,030,279
Banff	202,729	299,746	274,098
Campbeltown	139,397	142,300	133,793
Cupar	418,360	454,183	352,678
Dingwall	322,115	251,493	259,902
Dornoch	96,762	86,306	89,828
Dumbarton	2,203,018	2,034,329	1,850,429
Dumfries	1,235,021	1,422,327	1,420,747
Dundee	2,848,260	2,287,148	2,390,778
Dunfermline	1,319,450	1,345,076	1,264,533
Dunoon	297,501	267,975	270,312
Duns	171,480	98,302	173,637
Edinburgh	7,887,435	7,283,206	6,737,577
Elgin	671,380	674,417	677,116
Falkirk	1,738,672	1,709,560	1,797,937
Forfar	313,137	312,704	472,249
Fort William	260,020	187,244	257,997
Glasgow	18,540,810	17,607,737	18,445,845
Greenock	1,297,201	1,259,882	1,305,851
Haddington	622,644	613,387	518,616
Hamilton	4,900,478	4,376,623	3,958,057
Inverness	1,191,661	1,168,992	1,035,870
Jedburgh	360,965	416,043	553,047
Kilmarnock	2,678,138	2,716,637	2,815,326
Kirkcaldy	1,724,572	1,836,180	1,694,106
Kirkcudbright	263,086	197,932	196,925
Kirkwall	151,818	132,462	104,139
Lanark	829,636	807,000	724,477
Lerwick	117,083	110,476	145,819
Linlithgow	1,456,504	1,502,401	1,470,624
Lochmaddy	36,023	44,909	31,608
Oban	327,519	243,202	253,548
Paisley	2,547,333	2,796,923	2,712,169
Peebles	71,425	81,340	89,633
Perth	1,506,593	1,602,329	1,441,338
Peterhead	632,991	643,814	568,835
Portree	59,808	49,575	63,164
Rothesay	66,463	56,627	44,389
Selkirk	270,422	257,125	267,412
Stirling	1,052,923	953,492	871,080
Stonehaven	449,071	353,259	341,686
Stornoway	204,112	129,791	104,074
Stranraer	597,099	482,112	506,185
Tain	274,026	293,538	282,829
Wick	236,353	186,934	159,990

Question reference: S1W-11011

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 22 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive why a Ministerial Statement was not made to announce the new safety improvement scheme for the fishing industry.

The intention to establish a new Scottish Seafishing Safety Scheme was first announced by John Home Robertson during the Fisheries Debate on 8 December last year. Following the discussions with the industry which were promised at that time, I announced the detailed arrangements for the scheme in my written answer to Rhoda Grant of 6 November (question S1W-10937). I am pleased that there has been a generally warm welcome from the industry for this important Scottish Executive initiative.

Question reference: S1W-10333

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether public authorities within its general responsibilities can apply for exemption from the Competition Act 1998 and whether it has any plans to make representations to Her Majesty's Government for such exemptions to apply to the water industry.

Applications to the UK Government to be exempted from the provisions of the Competition Act 1998 may be made by any public authorities for which the Scottish Executive is responsible. No such application has been made in the case of the water authorities.

The Executive does not believe that an exemption for the water authorities is necessary, as, within the right framework of legislation, competition will work to the benefit of the authorities' customers by delivering innovation, greater efficiency and improved services. Its policy therefore is to ensure that the authorities are able to compete effectively, while providing through the planned Water Services Bill a framework that safeguards public health, the environment and social objectives.

Question reference: S1W-09558

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in delivering aid to the pig sector.

Question reference: S1W-10493

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7968 by Mr John Home Robertson on 3 July 2000, when assistance will become available for the fish processing industry under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance; what plans it has for additional measures to assist the fish processing sector; whether these include any specific plans for assistance in response to the current level of white fish landings, and when any such additional assistance will be available.

As announced recently we are making an additional £11 million in FIFG funding available for fisheries over the next three financial years. Aid for developments in the processing sector designed to help secure its long-term future will be one of the key funding priorities. Decisions on which projects to support will take account of all relevant industry factors, including the prospects for fish supplies.

Arrangements for implementing the FIFG programme for the Highlands and Islands, which has been approved by the European Commission, are well under way and the aim remains to open schemes of assistance up to the industry before the end of the year. The plan for the rest of Scotland has yet to be approved by the Commission, but we expect that will follow soon.

Question reference: S1W-10479

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently employed in the fish processing industry, broken down by parliamentary region, and how many were employed in each region in each of the past three years.

The most recent information available on current employment in the fish processing industry is provided in the following table. The information comes from the Scottish Production Database where the most current data is for 1997. For reasons of disclosure the information is for Scotland as a whole and is not broken down into regions.

Employment in the fish processing industry in Scotland.
Year	Total Employment
1995	7600
1996	8900
1997	8900

Definition: Total Employment

This represents the average number of full-time and part-time employees on the payroll and the number of working proprietors employed during the year.

Question reference: S1W-10480

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the economic value was of the fish processing industry in each of the last five years.

The most current information on the economic value of the fish processing industry is provided in the table attached. The information comes from the Scottish Production Database where the most current data is for 1997.

Year	Gross Value Added at Factor Cost (£ million)
1993	98.8
1994	139.2
1995	121.2
1996	150.0
1997	154.5

Source: Scottish Production Database (SPD)

Definition: Gross Value Added at Factor Cost

Gross Value Added is Gross Output less the cost of purchases and industrial & non-industrial services received, adjusted for net duties and levies, and changes in stocks.

Question reference: S1W-10482

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how much government funding was made available to the fish processing industry in each of the last three years and what the nature was of any such funding.

The following assistance was paid, by way of grant, to the fish processing industry in Scotland from the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance and the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department. This assistance was in respect of capital projects for the renovation or construction of new buildings and the purchase of plant and equipment.

Financial Year	£ million
1997-98	1.4
1998-99	2.6
1999-2000	3.5