Chamber and committees

A wide range of information is collected each time a 14- to 16-year-old is held in a penal establishment, as listed in the answer given to question S1W-30452 on 24 October 2002. 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. The only information which cannot meaningfully be supplied is a distinction between young offenders in adult prisons and those in Young Offender Institutions. This is because many young offenders will pass through an adult prison on their way to reception in a Young Offenders Institution or may be transferred to a Young Offenders Institution after reception in an adult prison. As Young Offenders Institutions and adult prisons are all penal establishments in the Scottish Prison Service, this distinction is not relevant to the consideration of the need for secure accommodation.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The aim of health care within SPS is to provide prisoner patients with access to the same quality and range of health services to which they would be eligible within the community, but subject to the constraints that custody imposes. Prisoners have the opportunity to be tested for hepatitis C which includes pre- and post-test counselling. Those known to be infected with hepatitis C are offered immunisation against hepatitis A. All prisoners on admission are offered hepatitis B immunisation.Specialist treatment for those prisoners known to be hepatitis C positive is provided by the NHS.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:We do not anticipate that the contract for the new prison will include transport of prisoners, as that will be subject to our separate contractual arrangements for prisoner escorts.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The annual value of financial penalties imposed was provided in answer to question S1W-27655. The value of each individual penalty is commercially confidential. The data on performance specification will be made available when the Medacs contract is published in due course following discussion with the company.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The cost of the contract in each year is commercially confidential. It is therefore not possible to provide the proportion to that figure of the amounts given in reply to question S1W-27655.

Our vision for rural Scotland, published in May 2000, stressed the importance of improving the lives of all those living in rural areas. This included our determination to ensure that our rural areas attract and retain young people to live and work there - to ensure that "getting on need not mean going away". To realise that vision, we have in place a range of measures across all Scottish Executive portfolios.We are increasing employment opportunities through support for rural economic development, improving the provision of child care and school education in rural areas, and increasing opportunities for further and higher education. We are tackling social exclusion, improving the provision of transport in rural areas and improving housing conditions through our community ownership programme. For example, the proposed transfer of Scottish Borders Council's housing to Scottish Borders Housing Association will generate around £82 million investment in the first 10 years to repair and modernise the housing stock. The knock-on effect of this substantial investment is expected to be more local jobs and training opportunities.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:The Scottish Court Service commissioned access consultants to undertake an audit of the court estate to determine the scale and extent of work required throughout the estate to ensure compliance with Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act. That process identified a number of areas where the consultants believed that modification of the court estate could be beneficial to courts users with a disability. These recommendations are currently being examined to determine their feasibility and cost of implementation. There are no plans to publish the audit results. Details of the resources for the Scottish Court Service were published in the Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-2006: What the Money Buys. Additional funds have been made available to enable the Scottish Court Service to accommodate pressures on its capital programme. This funding will, in part, be used to provide improved facilities for the disabled in the court estate. The cost of the programme of works required is being assessed. Funds have not been specifically allocated to individual court buildings as the programme of works will be developed and implemented on an estate wide basis.

The 1998 survey collected detailed information on each resident in secure accommodation and the care they received. This census has been repeated during October 2002, and the results will be made available in due course. In addition, the Executive collects and publishes basic information annually from secure care providers on the characteristics of children and their care. The last figures were published on 2 September covering the year 2000-01 at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00191-00.asp. This information was another source used to consider the supply and demand for secure care places.

The capital disregard from winnings in matrimonial cases was first set at £2,500 in 1987. I announced the Executive's intention to increase the exemption limit to £4,200 on 13 March. The increase has now been incorporated in the replacement set of civil legal aid regulations which I have just laid in the Parliament and which will come into force on 1 December.

These figures are not held centrally.