Chamber and committees

The Victim Liaison Office is a major strand of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Action Plan on the Scottish Strategy for Victims. I have already given a commitment that there would be a Victim Liaison Office within each region of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service by summer 2002. Offices have been established in Aberdeen, Hamilton, Peterhead, Glasgow and Kilmarnock. Further offices will be opened in Edinburgh and Dundee by August 2002.The principal aims of the service are to provide information to eligible victims, witnesses and bereaved next of kin about the criminal justice process in general and the progress of the case that affects them and to facilitate referrals to other agencies for specialist support and counselling as required.The Victim Liaison Office provides its services to the following categories:

• Victims in serious cases where the nature of the charge is indicative of proceedings before a jury;

• Next of kin in deaths cases which are reported for consideration of criminal proceedings, and in deaths cases where a Fatal Accident Inquiry is to be held;

• Next of kin in cases where the Procurator Fiscal will invite the next of kin to discuss the circumstances of the death;

• Victims in cases of domestic abuse;

• Victims in racially aggravated cases and cases where it is known that the victim perceived the offence to be racially motivated;

• Cases involving children who have been cited as prosecution witnesses;

• Victims in cases involving sexual offences, and

Any other victim, witness or next of kin where the Victim Liaison Office considers that because of particular vulnerability the provision of services would be beneficial.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Action Plan on the Scottish Strategy for Victims contains a commitment to have a Victim Liaison Office operational in each region of the service by summer 2002. Offices have already been established in Aberdeen, Hamilton, Peterhead, Glasgow and Kilmarnock. The first phase of the Victim Liaison Office roll out will be complete by August 2002 when additional offices will be operational in Edinburgh and Dundee.Decisions about the further expansion of the Victim Liaison Office will be made in light of the evaluation of the pilot sites at Aberdeen and Hamilton and the implementation of the Management Review of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

A Victim Liaison Office will be operational in each region of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service by summer 2002. At present there is no target date to establish a Victim Liaison Office in Dumbarton. However, further expansion of the Victim Liaison Office will be considered in light of the evaluation of the operation of the pilot offices in Aberdeen and Hamilton and the implementation of the Management Review of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Nicol Stephen and Peter Peacock have recently met all the authorities who have submitted bids for support for school Public/Private Partnership projects to assist in informing decisions on the bids. They indicated to the authorities that further consideration would be necessary before decisions could be taken on individual bids. We expect to decide the way forward this month.

The total number of children aged three to four in 10 half day sessions of pre-school education a week was 5,683 in 1999-2000 and 12,782 in January 2001. The data collected does not take account of the employment status of the parents.

Information on the number of childminders registered in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 was collected by each local authority and was not held centrally. From 1 April 2002, the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care has had responsibility for registering childminders. Information on the number of childminders currently registered is a matter for the Care Commission.

The Scottish Executive is providing £16.75 million of Childcare Strategy funding in the current year to local authorities to deliver affordable, accessible, good quality childcare, including childminding provision, to meet the local childcare needs of working parents.

The Scottish Executive is providing £16.75 million of Childcare Strategy funding, in the current year, to local authorities to deliver affordable, accessible, good quality childcare, including full-time nursery places, to meet the local childcare needs of working parents.

There are no immediate plans to increase the training grants to Alcohol Focus Scotland. The Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems has only recently been published and the Executive will give consideration to training grants for Alcohol Focus Scotland as the plan rolls out and priorities are clarified.

The Executive has recently published an analysis of the public consultation on the recommendations in the report of the Scottish Charity Law Review Commission (the McFadden report). Whilst the majority of respondents agreed with the general thrust of the report's recommendations, it is clear that a number of the proposals need some refining if they are to be translated into durable practice. Officials are now approaching the organisations which have agreed to participate in the Charity Law Advisory Forum which I announced on 23 October 2001. The published analysis will provide important context for the forum's work. We will be expecting the forum to provide advice on the practical aspects of implementing the recommendations in the McFadden report to enable ministers to decide how best to proceed. That advice will be key, not only to the analysis of issues and proposals for legislation but also to the eventual successful implementation of reforms. In addition to the responses received to the public consultation on McFadden, the forum will have available to it the outcome of our Social Economy Review and any relevant recommendations arising from the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit's report on charities and not-for-profit organisations.The following organisations have agreed to be represented on the forum: Association of Charity ShopsAssociation of Chief Officers of Voluntary Organisations in ScotlandAssociation of Chief Police Officers in ScotlandBritish Heart FoundationCapability ScotlandCharity CommissionChurch of ScotlandCOSLACouncils for Voluntary Service Scotland Inland Revenue (Charities)Institute of Charity Fundraising ManagersLaw Society of ScotlandRoman Catholic ChurchRoyal Botanic Gardens EdinburghRoyal Society for the Protection of BirdsScottish Charities OfficeScottish Charity Finance Director's GroupScottish Council of Independent SchoolsScottish Credit Union PartnershipScottish Federation of Housing AssociationsVolunteer Development Scotland.