Chamber and committees

In granting bail, the courts are required by law to impose on the accused a set of standard conditions. They may also impose any such further conditions as they consider necessary to secure that the standard conditions are observed and that the accused makes himself available for attending an identification parade or for any print, impression or sample to be taken.The nature of the further conditions which may be imposed is a matter for the discretion of the courts. By law the prosecutor has a right to be heard when the courts are considering the question of bail. The Lord Advocate has in the past issued guidance to procurators fiscal as to the attitude they should adopt to bail conditions which the courts may be considering imposing. That guidance was reviewed at the time the Bail, Judicial Appointments etc (Scotland) Act 2000 was enacted. It was found to be appropriate and no further guidance has since been issued.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:I have been asked by the minister to respond. The estimated new build cost of £2 million is based on current construction industry yardstick costs and on actual building costs obtained from recent Scottish Court Service projects, some of which have included the provision of new courtroom accommodation as part of the refurbishment programme. The estimate does not include the cost of land purchase.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The information is given in the table:Number of Remand Prisoners in Penal Establishments, by Establishment (Provisional Figures)

Establishment	31 January 2002		31 March 2002		30 June 2002
	Number	Per cent	Number	Per cent	Number	Per cent
Barlinnie	406	38.2	440	39.9	497	38.9
Aberdeen	68	6.4	41	3.7	89	7.0
Cornton Vale	54	5.1	60	5.4	64	5.0
Dumfries	18	1.7	26	2.4	30	2.3
Edinburgh	206	19.4	220	20.0	248	19.4
Greenock	94	8.8	90	8.2	112	8.8
Inverness	39	3.7	36	3.3	47	3.7
Perth	102	9.6	95	8.6	92	7.2
Polmont	1	0.1	14	1.3	23	1.8
Kilmarnock	75	7.1	80	7.3	77	6.0
Total	1,063	100	1,102	100	1,279	100

The Scottish Executive and local authorities worked together to develop the guidance to ensure there was fair and consistent implementation across Scotland. Monitoring arrangements have been established to ensure this is achieved.

Post offices are a reserved issue. However, as part of a broad strategy aimed at providing support for communities in deprived urban areas Scottish ministers are currently considering ways in which post offices located in these areas might be assisted. If financial assistance is offered we will consider whether it could be used to fund improvements to deter violent and other crime. I hope to be able to advise you further on this in due course.

The conclusions reached by the Central Heating Working Group were set out in the enclosure to a letter of 23 February 2001, from the then Minister for Social Justice to the Convenor of the Social Justice Committee. It was copied to all MSPs and copies were placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre. It records that priority for free central heating will be given to (a) those aged over 75; (b) the elderly living alone, and (c) the disabled and the long-term ill. These cases are prioritised against other applications received at the same time.

The answer to question S1W-21782 gave information on the total number of applications received as at 31 December. Between 1 January and 2 August 2002, Eaga received a further 113 applications for the central heating programme from households in the Scottish Borders area. One hundred and five of these were subsequently found to be eligible for a grant.

The 23 applicants concerned contacted Eaga by telephone and the information they gave led Eaga to believe that they were eligible for the central heating programme. However, applicants must sign a declaration attesting that they meet all the conditions for free central heating. Fifteen of the applicants did not return signed declarations and it must therefore be assumed that, on reflection, they found themselves to be ineligible. Three of the eight remaining applicants have had free central heating installed and the other five will soon do so.

The administration of the sheriff courts is the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service whose accounts are published and laid before the Scottish Parliament annually. The service's Annual Report and Accounts for 2000-01 is available from the Parliament's Reference Centre. The report for 2001-02 is currently being prepared.The Scottish Court Service is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Executive Justice Department and its funding and expenditure forms part of the Justice budget.

Yes.