Chamber and committees

The annual repayable grant will be made available only if the Glasgow Housing Association can demonstrate that this will be required to overcome any potential cash flow difficulties in the early years following the Glasgow housing transfer. Details of the terms of the grant scheme have still to be finalised.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited is contractually liable for any damage at HM Prison Kilmarnock arising from the provision of any of the services under the contract (which includes certain responsibilities during the transportation of prisoners to and from the prison).

I am aware that constructive discussions are taking place at local level to resolve the difficulties at Carbeth which prompted the committee's report. All of us who are keen to see a fair and amicable settlement to this issue will hope for a positive outcome to the current discussions. I would not, however, wish to intervene in private negotiations, nor would it be appropriate to do so. I expect within the next few weeks to announce conclusions on the committee's report and the subsequent consultation. It is already clear however that there would be substantial drawbacks to any attempt to legislate in this area. Some of these were recognised by the committee itself. Such legislation would be contrary to fundamental principles of Scots law, in particular that leased land under a short lease reverts to the landlord at expiry of the lease and that property built on leased land belongs to the landlord. Moreover, legislation could not be retrospective or applicable to hutters only, and its promotion might precipitate changes to the ownership and management of comparable estates in Scotland which would be profoundly damaging to the interests of hutters.

We intend to make an announcement before the summer recess on the allocation of resources carried forward from 2001-02.

"Basic services" would include the full range of a council's responsibilities, including, for example, for education, social work, environmental health, local roads, etc.

Contractual matters are the responsibility of and are monitored carefully by Scottish Prison Service, who continue to regard the performance of the establishment as satisfactory, notwithstanding occasional incidents with which all prisons have to deal with.

Policy C5 of the submitted finalised Scottish Borders Structure Plan deals with the protection of playing fields and sports pitches. However, as the finalised plan is still under consideration by the Scottish ministers, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage. An announcement on the plan will be made soon.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24589.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24589.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24589.