Question S4W-01510: 
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is available for parents to access childcare in order to attend civil court proceedings.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (02/08/2011):
I refer the member to the question S4W-1509 answered on 2 August 2011 (below).



Question S4W-01509: 
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance for childcare is available for children involved in contact and residency disputes.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (02/08/2011):
In Scotland, local authorities take the lead, in conjunction with their local partners, in planning and supporting childcare in their local areas. Local Childcare Information Services offer free advice regarding the availability of local childcare and further information on these local services can be found on the following website www.scottishchildcare.gov.uk.

To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes were for men in Strathclyde arrested on domestic abuse related charges in each of the last five years.


Answered by Kenny MacAskill (24/06/2011):Information relating to arrests is not held centrally. The number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police is collected from police forces, however as the data held is incident based, it is not possible to match this data up with court proceedings, which is person based. Additionally, not all incidents of domestic abuse will result in an arrest being made.

The following table shows the police action taken against identified perpetrators of crimes of offences of domestic abuse cleared up by Strathclyde Police, where the identified perpetrator was male.


Note: 1. Other action includes for example referrals to support groups.

Question S4W-00767: 
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes were for women in Strathclyde arrested on domestic abuse related charges in each of the last five years.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (24/06/2011):
Information relating to arrests is not held centrally. The number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police is collected from police forces, however as the data held is incident based, it is not possible to match this data up with court proceedings, which is person based. Additionally, not all incidents of domestic abuse will result in an arrest being made.

The following table shows the police action taken against identified perpetrators of crimes of offences of domestic abuse cleared up by Strathclyde Police, where the identified perpetrator was female. (Note: 1. Other action includes for example referrals to support groups.)

Question S4W-00766: 
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many arrests for domestic abuse related charges in Strathclyde in each of the last five years both partners were arrested and what the outcomes were.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (24/06/2011):
Information relating to arrests is not held centrally. The number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police is collected from police forces, however, the data collection is incident based and it is not possible to determine how many incidents involved both partners as perpetrators or whether one or both partners were arrested. Not all incidents of domestic abuse will result in an arrest being made.

Question S4W-00771: Gil Paterson, Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 14/06/2011
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of child contact and residency disputes children’s views were (a) sought and (b) implemented in each of the last five years.

Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (24/06/2011):
This information is not available. However, the Scottish Government published research in December 2010 on contact cases in the Sheriff Court. This research can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/08145916/0.

In particular, chapter 7 of this research discusses putting children at the centre of the court actions.



Question S4W-00770: Gil Paterson, Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 14/06/2011
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of contact and residency disputes where child abuse was alleged in each of the last five years contact or residency was awarded to the alleged abuser and what the gender of each party was.

Answered by Angela Constance (24/06/2011):
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-769 on 24 June 2011 (below).



Question S4W-00769: Gil Paterson, Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party, Date Lodged: 14/06/2011
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many cases of contact and residency disputes where domestic abuse was alleged in each of the last five years contact or residency was awarded to the alleged abuser and what the gender of each party was.

Answered by Roseanna Cunningham (24/06/2011):
This data is not available in the form requested.

No data on contact or residence cases is available for before April 2008, as the pre-April 2008 data does not include contact or residence as case types.

Information on contact and residence cases in the Court of Session in 2008-09 and 2009-10 is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/9 and http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/10

(Note: The 2008-09 Court of Session data does not give contact/residence separately - these are combined under Parental Responsibilities and Rights.)

Information on contact and residence cases in the Sheriff Courts in 2008/09 and 2009/10 is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/22 and http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/17153314/23.

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it envisages any changes to the law on limitation.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (05/02/2009): Section 3 of the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill makes specific provision in relation to the law on limitation as it affects civil actions for conditions such as pleural plaques. We are also looking at the merits of changes to the law on limitation more generally; a detailed report on prescription and limitation for personal injury actions is amongst several Scottish Law Commission reports which we are considering.

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consider a registration scheme for builders that would help identify bogus builders.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (11/12/2008): The identification of traders acting illegally is a matter for local authorities under consumer protection powers reserved to the UK Government. However, as part of its work to support local authorities in their implementation of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, the Scottish Government is exploring options for facilitating a trusted trader framework across Scotland. The aim of such a framework would be to ensure that homeowners needing to carry out work to their home had access to basic information on reliable traders, mainly through their local authority trading standards department.

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to evaluate how children who are alleged to be abused are treated by the court system.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (25/10/2007): These children come withinthe scope of the Vulnerable Witnesses(Scotland) Act 2004 whichcovers the use of special measures in court. The first two phases of the implementation of the actare currently being evaluated and a final report will be made early in 2008.

S3W-02515: To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration is being given to increase statutory sentences for those convicted of serious and violent crime.


Answered by Kenny MacAskill (13/08/2007): The Scottish Governmentkeep the sentencing limits for those statutory offences which are devolved underregular review. A substantial proportion of serious and violent crime in Scotland is prosecuted under the common law: this includes murder, culpablehomicide, rape and serious assault. There are no limits on the penalties that maybe imposed for common law crimes, other than the sentencing powers in the courtin which the offender is prosecuted.

S3W-02516: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the punishment part of life sentences.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (13/08/2007): There is no statutory limit onthe length of a punishment part of a life sentence. The period imposed is a matterfor the sentencing judge and is the period which he or she considers appropriateto satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. The punishment part isappealable both by the defence and by the Crown.