Chamber and committees

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:On 15 October 2001 the Scottish Prison Service announced that a contract to build a new houseblock at HM Young Offenders Institution, Polmont, at a cost of around £17 million had been awarded to Skanska Construction UK Ltd.

There are no plans to hold an independent inquiry into the prosecution of Mr Aspinall. I am awaiting a report from the Procurator Fiscal at Linlithgow into the circumstances of this case, and will consider whether any further action requires to be taken. This may include referring the matter to the High Court of Justiciary in terms of section 123 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

The information requested is not available centrally.

The Scottish Executive is fully aware of the challenges facing the Borders economy, and works closely with local agencies to help create sustainable employment opportunities. In recognition of this, Scottish Enterprise Borders have been awarded an additional £6.096 million for the period 1999-2002 to further support economic development in the area. The Executive has also worked closely with local agencies on planning for recovery from the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, and has provided significant funding for the actions identified in their Foot-and-Mouth Disease Recovery Plan.

In recognition of the challenges facing the Borders economy, the Scottish Executive has worked closely with local agencies and provided significant funding for the actions identified in their Foot-and-Mouth Recovery Plan. The figures cited in the question are taken directly from the Borders Foot-and-Mouth Recovery Plan, which was presented to the Executive in May of this year. The Executive continues to monitor the impact of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak nationally. The Scottish Executive's Impact Assessment Group has undertaken three surveys of non-agricultural businesses - in April, June and October. The first two surveys have already been published and the third survey results will be published on 19 December.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:This information is not available.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The following steps have been taken to reduce the closure of workshops and other prisoner programmes:As part of the new SPS Staff Attendance System (SAS) brought in on 3 September 2001, a marked increase of staff is now allocated for escort duty.Also, as part of SAS, a new system was devised to draw staff from the Halls in the first instance rather than work parties.National recruitment is now underway and Polmont was given six staff in the first intake of recruits. They will be fully operational by the end of this month. Further recruits will be allocated to Polmont next year as necessary.

A ministerial group, which I chair, has been set up to tackle the specific issue of women's offending. It is looking at a range of measures to encourage the appropriate use of alternatives to custody for female offenders. The group is due to complete its work in December and will report shortly thereafter.

A broad range of community disposals are available across Scotland for both female and male offenders. These include probation, community service orders and supervised attendance orders for female and male fine defaulters who might otherwise be facing a custodial sentence. Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and Restriction of Liberty Orders are also currently available in a number of courts. We have provided funding for diversion from prosecution schemes to allow all procurators fiscal access to local schemes and made female accused one of the four target groups. We are now moving forward with plans for the national roll-out of Restriction of Liberty Orders by May next year, and I have announced the extension of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders to a further seven sheriff courts. We are also considering funding structured work for deferred sentences and further developments in the use of supervised attendance orders.The Ministerial Group on Women Offenders, which I chair, is looking at a range of measures to encourage the use of alternatives to custody specifically for women offenders.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17989 on 14 September 2001, which sets out full details of the virement proposals, and I would particularly highlight the fourth paragraph which clarifies the position with the Inclusion Programme.