Performing Arts

13 March 2008

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to support the performing arts in the regions of Scotland.

(Linda Fabiani): Funding for the performing arts in Scotland is disbursed by the Scottish Arts Council. Once I have set the overall budget, it is for the Scottish Arts Council to determine how it will be allocated to the various arts fields. The Scottish Government provides direct funding only to the national performing companies, which play their part in taking their art to the regions of Scotland. The Scottish Arts Council supports regional performing arts in a variety of ways, to ensure that high-quality arts can be produced, and enjoyed by audiences, throughout Scotland.

Richard Baker: Does the minister agree that it is vital not only to provide support for regional artistic events, such as the Aberdeen international youth festival, but to ensure that the right funding is invested in the regions of Scotland to ensure that people there can have similar access to artistic and cultural events as people in central Scotland? In Aberdeen, for example, there is a desire to see not only touring companies—including, we hope, more visits from Scottish Opera—but more local professional theatre.

Linda Fabiani: I apologise to the member, because I found it difficult to hear some of what he said. I think that it was about how the thriving arts scene in Aberdeen can be helped and supported. I am more than happy to write to him.

13 March 2008

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances are in use by each NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table gives details of the number of ambulances in use during 2007-08. The information is provided in terms of Scottish Ambulance Service division areas and is not available broken down into NHS board areas.

Note: Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances are to be provided for each NHS board area during the current spending review period.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it will provide during the current spending review period to fund new ambulances and up-to-date mobile equipment to use on them, broken down by NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has provided the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) with a revenue allocation of £183.4 million for 2008-09, an increase of 3.15% over the equivalent 2007-08 allocation. Decisions on funding levels for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have yet to be made.

The SAS is allocated capital resources based on their approved financial plans. They have been given a capital allocation of £15.180 million for 2008-09 and notified of indicative capital allocations of £13.200 million and £12.350 million for 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively. Funding for vehicles and equipment programmes over £5 million (such as defibrillators) are allocated in addition to basic allocations following approval of required business cases by the Capital Investment Group.

It is for the SAS to decide how best this money should be used to obtain the maximum benefits for patients all over Scotland, as well as ensuring value for money.

Richard Baker To ask the Scottish Executive how many 999 calls were responded to in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007, broken down by NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table gives details of the number of 999 calls responded to by the Scottish Ambulance Service for the years 2003-04 to 2007-08, broken down by NHS board area. Category C calls are not included as many do not receive an emergency ambulance response.

Notes:

Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service

*To 9 March 2008.

#For the purposes of comparison, figures are shown reflecting NHS board configurations at the beginning of the time period enquired about.

~South West Division was not fully operation under priority based dispatch until 1 April 2004.

12 March 2008

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive when the last conviction was for underage drinking in Grampian.

Fergus Ewing: The information held centrally in the Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database is an historical snapshot rather than real-time information, and so information on the last conviction recorded is based on the latest year of data held (2005-06). The last person under the age of 18 with charge proved in this data, where the main offence related to underage drinking in Grampian police force area, had a sentence date of 27 February 2006. Offences included are buying excisable liquor or consuming in a bar, or for contraventions of bye-laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in designated places.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been for underage drinking in Grampian in the last five years.

Fergus Ewing: The available information from the Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database (for which the latest year available is 2005-06) is given in the following table.

Persons with a Charge Proved for Underage Drinking^1,2 in Grampian Police Force Area, 2001-02 to 2005-06

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes persons aged under 18 with a charge proved for buying excisable liquor or consuming in a bar, or for contraventions of bye-laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in designated places.

11 March 2008

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-5301 by Maureen Watt on 8 November 2007, whether it has changed its advice on the interpretation and use of the 60% occupancy figure which was referred to in the Accounts Commission’s 1995 report, Room for Learning – Managing Surplus Capacity in School Buildings.

Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government has never endorsed use of this specific figure as a trigger for consideration of a school’s future and notes the statement by the Chair of the Accounts Commission in a letter dated 24 January 2007 to the then Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee that "at no time has the Accounts Commission or Audit Scotland said that occupancy levels alone should determine what councils do (in relation to a school’s future) or that an occupancy level of below 60% should automatically trigger a school’s closure." A copy of the letter is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 44922).

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses in Grampian received a start-up grant from Scottish Enterprise in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05, (d) 2005-06 and (e) 2006-07.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to write to you in this regard.

Health

5 March 2008

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address health inequalities in Grampian.

Shona Robison: Better Health, Better Care confirms that it is a key Government priority to tackle health inequalities.

We are delivering the Keep Well programme, which anticipates preventable ill-health by strengthening and enhancing primary care services in the most deprived areas of Scotland, including parts of Aberdeen.

Well North, an extension of the Keep Well approach adapted to remote and rural areas, is being applied through six projects across the North of Scotland, including Dufftown.

The Ministerial Task Force is looking at the wider factors underlying health inequalities and will action these when it reports in May.

Occupational Therapy

5 March 2008

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many occupational therapists were registered in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus in each year from 2002 to 2007.

Shona Robison: Using data supplied by the Health Professions Council (HPC), our best estimate (rounded to the nearest 10) for the number of occupational therapists who are registered and who are known to be working in Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Angus in 2007 are as follows:

Aberdeen City - 130 occupational therapists

Aberdeenshire - 60 occupational therapists

Angus - 30 occupational therapists.

The HPC were unable to provide historical data for the years 2002 to 2006.

The above figures should be seen as estimates as the HPC have not recorded the workplace for all registered occupational therapists in Scotland. Therefore, the above figures could possibly be under-estimated.

Also, the above estimates are based on the postcode district (i.e. the first part of the postcode) of the registered occupational therapist’s workplace. As the same postcode district could be spread across more than one local authority area, occupational therapists have been assigned to the local authority that accounted for the highest number of individual postcodes within each postcode district.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage all individuals registered with a GP to undergo annual mental health check-ups.

Shona Robison: Alongside the clear care incentive the GP contract already provides financial encouragement for Practitioners to undertake mental health assessments for those who have a particular physical long term condition and have symptoms of, or are at risk, of developing, mental ill health.

Additional resources provided through the Scottish Enhanced Services Programme also helps support enhanced services to carers, with routine screening and monitoring of appropriate health and social care needs, including mental health.

Those not seen by their GP in the previous three years and those over 75 not seen in the preceding year can request a check up which if appropriate can explore mental health issues.

The new NHS dementia HEAT target effective from April this year has been specifically designed to promote and support early identification of dementia.

Concessionary Travel

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners held free bus passes in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003, (iii) 2004, (iv) 2005, (v) 2006 and (vi) 2007.

Answered by Stewart Stevenson (Thursday, February 21, 2008): Transport Scotland do not hold any information prior to April 2006 and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any figures prior to that date. Information obtained from local authorities, who administered local concessionary travel schemes is as follows. The following table represents those people who qualified and received a card to access free bus travel.

NHS Hospitals

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people admitted to NHS hospitals died from complications related to strokes in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 18, 2008): Information on deaths from complications related to stroke is not available because it is not possible to establish, from centrally held data, the causal relationship between the original stroke and any subsequent, potential complication.

The numbers of deaths which occurred in NHS hospitals where stroke was recorded as the underlying cause of death were as follows:

Source: ISD analysis of General Register Office Scotland mortality data.

Health

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise awareness in Grampian of the symptoms and causes of strokes.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 18, 2008): The Stroke Managed Clinical Network (MCN) in NHS Grampian works with public health teams, service users and their carers to provide information on stroke at public events. It also promotes awareness of the risk factors which lead to strokes, and continues to work closely with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) to promote the Face, Arm, Speech Test (FAST) campaign, which has been developed to identify very quickly whether someone has had a stroke.

Apprenticeships

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for increasing the number of apprenticeships available for young people who leave school early in the north east.

Answered by Maureen Watt (Thursday, February 21, 2008): The Scottish Government has committed to the provision of at least 50,000 appropriate training opportunities over the next three years. This will include an increase in the total number of modern apprenticeships.

From April this year, the allocation of funding for the modern apprenticeships programme by geographical area will be an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. It will be for Skills Development Scotland, who will assume responsibility for all our national training programmes, to determine all the delivery arrangements from next financial year.

Crime

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase spending on tackling organised crime in the north east.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Thursday, February 21, 2008): We have established the serious organised crime taskforce to provide political support and momentum across Scotland to enforcement efforts to tackle the global problem of serious organised crime. However, operational decisions about tackling specific crimes, including the allocation of resources, are for chief constables and other law enforcement agencies. Scottish ministers will continue to support the police with record levels of funding and through the delivery of an additional 1,000 officers to strengthen operational policing in our communities.

Rail Services

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to tackle commuter congestion on peak time trains in the north east and across Scotland.

Answered by Stewart Stevenson (Thursday, February 21, 2008): In addition to improving journey times, through infrastructure enhancements and timetable changes, we are investing in new services and we are enhancing rolling stock to provide increased capacity for passengers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9161 on 21 February 2008. A rolling stock programme identifying and responding to rolling stock needs to deliver Transport Scotland's priorities for rail is being developed.

Road Safety

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to provide extra carriages for peak time train travel across Scotland.

Answered by Stewart Stevenson (Thursday, February 21, 2008): A rolling stock programme identifying and responding to rolling stock needs to deliver Transport Scotland's priorities for rail is being developed.

Health

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died from heart disease in NHS Grampian hospitals in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 11, 2008): The information requested is shown in the following table. Figures for 2007 will not be available until August 2008.

Deaths from Heart Disease¹ in NHS Grampian Hospitals, Deaths Registered 2002-06

Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

Notes:

1. ICD10 codes I05-I52 excluding I10-I15.

2. ICD10 codes I05-I09.

3. ICD10 codes I20-I25.

4. ICD10 codes I26-I28.

5. ICD10 codes I30-I52.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died from lung cancer in NHS Grampian hospitals in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 11, 2008): The number of people who died from lung cancer in NHS Grampian hospitals registered during the period 2002-06 are in the following table. Data for 2007 is not yet available.

Source: General Register for Scotland.

Cancer

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the NHS Grampian area were screened for bowel cancer in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 04, 2008): Information regarding the national bowel screening programme is available at:

Implementation of the national bowel screening programme commenced in May 2007 and will be rolled out across all NHS boards by 2009-10. Data is not yet available for the national programme.

Up until April 2007, NHS Grampian was one of the pilot sites for bowel screening and was one of the first to join the programme in May 2007.

Information regarding how many patients were invited for screening is available for NHS Grampian, table

1. The uptake of screening in the Grampian area for the pilot was approximately 55%.

Table 1: Numbers of People Invited for Bowel Cancer Screening in Grampian 2002-06

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the NHS Grampian area died from bowel cancer in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Tuesday, February 05, 2008): Data on the number of deaths from bowel (colorectal) cancers are available by NHS board and year (1980-2006) on the Information Services Division website at:

The latest year for which mortality data are available is 2006.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in the NHS Grampian area diagnosed with bowel cancer from 2002 to 2007 were under the age of 50.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 04, 2008): Information on the percentage of people in the NHS Grampian area diagnosed with bowel cancer from 2002 to 2007 under the age of 50 is shown in the following table:

Table 1: The Percentage and Number of Cases of People Under the Age of 50 Diagnosed with Bowel (Colorectal) Cancer

The latest year for which cancer registration data are complete is 2004.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the NHS Grampian area were diagnosed with bowel cancer in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Monday, February 04, 2008): Data on the number of people diagnosed with bowel (colorectal) cancer are available by NHS board and year (1980-2004) on the Information Services Division website at:

The latest year for which cancer registration data are complete is 2004.

Education

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority were suspended or expelled for bringing a class A, B or C drug into a school building in (i) 2002-03, (ii) 2003-04, (iii) 2004-05, (iv) 2005-06 and (v) 2006-07.

Answered by Maureen Watt (Friday, February 01, 2008): This information is not held centrally.

Information on the number and type of incidents which led to school exclusion in each year requested is available from:

2002-03: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/02/18912/33196.

2003-04: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/02/20735/53114.

2005-06: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/01/30100624/0.

2006-07: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00623.

Justice

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people were found to have carried a knife in Grampian in the last five years.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (Monday, February 04, 2008): This information is not held centrally. The police recorded crime statistics collected centrally are based on an aggregate return, and do not distinguish the circumstances of the crime, such as the age of the offender.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people were found to have carried an offensive weapon in Grampian in the last five years.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (Monday, February 04, 2008): This information is not held centrally. The police recorded crime statistics collected centrally are based on an aggregate return, and do not distinguish the circumstances of the crime, such as the age of the offender.

Drug Misuse

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminals involved in drug dealing were caught, convicted and sentenced during (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007, broken down by police authority.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (Tuesday, February 05, 2008): The available information is given in the tables for the years for which data is available. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. A single crime or offence recorded by the police may have more than one perpetrator, or alternatively, an individual may be convicted of several cases of the same crime. There is the possibility that the crime or offence recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings, while a crime or offence may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings not concluded until a later year. Crimes and offences alleged to have been committed by children under 16 years old are also generally dealt with through the children’s hearings system rather than through the courts.

Offences Recorded by Police for Supply or Possession with Intent to Supply Drugs by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2006-07

Persons Proceeded Against for Supply or Possession with Intent to Supply Drugs¹ by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2005-06

Note: 1. Where main offence.

Persons with a Charge Proved for Supply, Possession with Intent to Supply Drugs¹ by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2005-06

Note: 1. Where main offence.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) heroin, (b) cocaine and (c) cannabis has been seized in each year since 2002, expressed in pounds (i) weight and (ii) sterling, also broken down by community justice authority area.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (Tuesday, February 05, 2008): The information requested on quantities seized of various illegal drugs from 1995-96 to 2005-06, is given in tables 5, 7, 15 and 17 of "Drug Seizures by Scottish Police Forces, 2004-005 and 2005-2006" published by the Scottish Government in January 2007, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 42386).

Please note that the information on quantities of drugs seized is presented in kg and not in pounds, and that figures can only be broken down geographically to police force area level.

Data on the value of seizures is not held centrally.

Justice

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many knives were confiscated by each police force in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05, (d) 2005-06 and (e) 2006-07.

Answered by Fergus Ewing (Monday, February 04, 2008): This information is not held centrally. The number of knives seized by police forces through initiatives carried out as part of the Safer Scotland Anti Violence Campaign 2006-07 are shown in the table below.

Number of Knives Seized, by Police Force, 2006-07

Figures from the 2006-07 Safer Scotland anti-violence campaign.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were suspended or expelled for bringing knives into school buildings in (i) 2002-03, (ii) 2003-04, (iii) 2004-05, (iv) 2005-06 and (v) 2006-07, broken down by local authority.

Answered by Maureen Watt (Wednesday, February 06, 2008): This information is not held centrally.

Information on the number and type of incidents which led to school exclusion in each year requested is available from:

2002-03: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/02/18912/33196.

2004-05: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/30144545/0.

2006-07: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00623.

Mental Health

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it intends to allocate for delivering mental health services in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus during the period of the spending review.

Answered by Shona Robison (Monday, February 04, 2008): The Scottish Government will be providing the NHS and local government in Scotland with record levels of funding over the period covered by the spending review 2008-11.

For the NHS in Scotland, all NHS boards receive an annual allocation of funds, which will be announced shortly. It is for each NHS board to decide how best to utilise these funds to meet the health care needs of its resident population, including mental health services, taking account of national and local priorities.

The record funding included within the draft Scottish Government Budget will ensure continuity of approach and investment on mental health and other priorities by all NHS boards, local authorities and other partners and will support the delivery of the now four HEAT targets for NHS Scotland including the focus on early detection and support for those with dementia and for their families.

For local government, the vast majority of the funding, including the funding for mental health services, will be provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and manifesto commitments.

Domestic Abuse

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of domestic violence were reported to Grampian Police in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Tuesday, January 29, 2008): The available information is given in the following table.

Incidents of Domestic Abuse Recorded by the Police in Grampian, 2001-02 to 2006-07

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Grampian and (c) Angus were convicted on charges related to domestic violence in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003, (iii) 2004, (iv) 2005, (v) 2006 and (vi) 2007.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Tuesday, January 29, 2008): In 2005-06 in Aberdeen, Grampian and Angus areas there were 18, 39 and 73 persons respectively, with a charge proved in Scottish courts where a domestic abuse aggravator has been recorded. Figures in Aberdeen and Angus are presented on an approximate local authority basis, while Grampian figures are presented on a police force basis. 2005-06 is the first year where it has been considered that the use and recording of domestic abuse aggravator codes from the Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database has been of sufficient coverage to be used.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many children and young people were admitted to hospital in Grampian as a result of domestic violence in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Friday, January 25, 2008): The requested information is not centrally available.

There is no specific diagnosis for domestic violence as coded by International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th Revision).

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many underage teenagers were arrested in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Grampian for committing acts of alcohol-related violence from 2003 to 2007.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Tuesday, January 29, 2008): Information on the number of arrests made by the police is not held centrally, only the number of crimes recorded. Furthermore, no information on whether or not particular crimes or incidents are "alcohol-related" is held centrally.

Licensing

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) shop owners with an off-licence and (b) licensed drinking establishments in each local authority area were prosecuted from 2003 to 2007 for selling alcohol to underage teenagers.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Tuesday, January 29, 2008): The information requested is given in the table below. The data held centrally cannot be broken down by shop owners and licensed drinking establishments. The latest year for which data is available is 2005-06

Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selling Alcohol to Person Aged Under 18^1,2, by Approximate Local Authority Area³, 2003-04 to 2005-06

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Includes the offences of sale of drink to person under 18 and wholesaler selling liquor to person under 18.

3. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authority areas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) shop owners with an off-licence and (b) licensed drinking establishments in Grampian were prosecuted from 2003 to 2007 for selling alcohol to underage teenagers.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Tuesday, January 29, 2008): In Grampian police force area for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 (the latest year for which data is available), four, nil, and three persons respectively were proceeded against in Scottish courts for selling alcohol to persons aged under 18 (includes the offences of sale of drink to person under 18 and wholesaler selling liquor to person under 18). A breakdown of these figures by shop owners and licensed drinking establishments is not available from the data held centrally.

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences issued to pubs and clubs were revoked by Aberdeen City Licensing Board in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Thursday, January 24, 2008): Licensing boards have no powers to revoke a licence under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, they do, however, have powers to suspend a licence. The following table gives the number of suspensions of public house and entertainment licences by Aberdeen City Licensing Boards during 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

No exact figure can be given for nightclubs as they are usually licensed through entertainment licences and this category also includes other premises where the sale of alcohol is ancillary to their main activity. Registered clubs restricted to members and their guests are presently licensed through the sheriff court.

Licensing

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences were granted by Aberdeen City Licensing Board to pubs and clubs in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Thursday, January 24, 2008): The information is not available in the format requested, however, the number of applications for an On Sales licence received by Aberdeen City Licensing Board during 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 is given in the following table.

On Sales licence covers hotels, restricted hotels (where a bar counter is not permitted), public houses, restaurants, entertainment venues and cafes. Night clubs are licensed as entertainment venues.

Crime

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Grampian were victims of (i) manslaughter or (ii) murder caused by alcohol-related violence from 2003 to 2007.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Wednesday, January 30, 2008): The crime of Manslaughter exists under English law and in other jurisdictions but is not a crime known to the law of Scotland. The nearest similar crime under Scots Law is that of Culpable Homicide. Figures for culpable homicide have therefore been used in this answer.

The information requested is contained in the following tables:

Number of Victims of Homicide^1, by Drink/Drug Status of Accused at the Time of the Crime

Note: 1. Recorded as homicide as at 19 November 2007.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people convicted of alcohol-related offences in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Grampian from 2003 to 2007 received an antisocial behaviour order or were sentenced to (i) a prison sentence of six months or less, (ii) a prison sentence of more than six months, (iii) another custodial sentence or (iv) community service.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill (Tuesday, January 29, 2008): The available information is given in the table below. Civil antisocial behaviour orders cannot be broken down to the level of detail asked for.

Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Alcohol-Related Offences^1,2, in Grampian Police Force Area or Aberdeen Approximate Local Authority Area³, 2003-04 to 2005-06