§ Mr. KynochTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will announce his response to the comments received on the consultation paper, "Abstraction Controls: A System for Scotland".
§ Mr. LangThere were 53 responses to the consultation paper, from a wide variety of bodies. Over half supported the introduction of enhanced controls, but a significant minority preferred the status quo. As with other consultation exercises, the comments are available to the public at the Scottish Office.
In the light of these comments, I have concluded that selective abstraction controls should be introduced in Scotland as envisaged in the consultation paper. Our proposals need however to be seen in the context of current EC developments on groundwater protection. Discussions with the Commission on groundwater protection measures are under way and the Council resolution agreed on 4 October urged the Commission to bring forward by mid-1995 proposals for the implementation of the action programme on groundwater agreed at The Hague in 1991. In the course of these discussions, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and I will of course seek to ensure that the principles of subsidiarity are fully respected.
In these circumstances I have decided not to seek new powers over abstraction at this time. My intention none the less remains to introduce selective abstraction controls
Persons Called to Peterhead Sheriff Court by Main Crime and Offence Category, 1976–1992 Main Crime and Offence Category1 Year2 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Total 1976 14 5 116 15 18 275 534 977 1977 22 7 152 23 17 338 531 1,090 1978 20 13 149 20 29 384 590 1,205 1979 17 5 193 24 16 281 674 1,210 1980 31 7 174 27 29 302 555 1,125 1981 43 2 161 15 17 185 574 997 1982 39 6 144 17 26 130 483 845 1983 32 6 124 21 30 102 491 806 1984 26 4 138 7 46 105 382 708 1985 35 6 212 11 41 139 443 887 1986 20 10 124 18 22 171 330 695 1987 21 14 159 12 37 120 336 699 1988 28 15 230 19 29 146 318 785 1989 18 13 151 29 42 183 413 849 1990 15 7 183 27 42 190 460 924 1991 20 8 164 27 44 187 408 858 1992 15 5 146 10 39 132 386 733 Notes:
1 The classification of crimes and offences used by The Scottish Office Home and Health Department for criminal statistics contains about 320 codes. These are grouped in the table as follows:
- Group 1—Non-sexual crimes of violence
- Group 2—Crimes of indecency
- Group 3—Crimes of dishonesty
- Group 4—Fire-raising, vandalism etc
- Group 5—Other crimes
- Group 6—Miscellaneous offences
- Group 7—Motor vehicle offences
2 The year recorded is the year in which the person's case is disposed of.