Chamber and committees

The revised Terms and Conditions of grant for social inclusion partnership (SIP) funding require registers of interest to be available to the public. Applicable from 1 April 2002, they strengthen and augment the previous guidance by including a new requirement on local authorities as grant recipients to ensure that all members of partnerships and their sub-groups declare any relevant interests that they have and that these interests are recorded in a register. The local authority, as grant recipient will keep a central register of these interests, which must be made available for inspection by Communities Scotland, all those involved in the SIP process, and members of the public on request.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The Home Office Immigration Service is responsible for refugees and asylum seekers and such matters are reserved. The answer to S1W-24469 therefore provided the information available to the SPS who, in the past, held persons awaiting deportation as a service on behalf of the Home Office. These individuals are now held in the Immigration Facility at Dungavel unless, in exceptional circumstances, Dungavel is considered unsuitable for the needs of a person awaiting deportation. Such circumstances might exist where, for example, the person is thought to pose a security risk that cannot be managed in Dungavel. In these circumstances, the person may be held by the SPS on behalf of the Immigration Service. As at 2 April no persons awaiting deportation were held in any Scottish prison and as at 16 April one person is being held at HM Prison Greenock on behalf of, and at the request of, the Immigration Service. It is possible that a refugee or an asylum seeker could, coincidentally, be held on remand in respect of a criminal charge or convicted of a criminal offence. In these circumstances, the person would be held in a Scottish prison. However, the SPS would not necessarily be aware of whether such individuals are refugees or asylum seekers as they would be held in prison custody as either remand or convicted prisoners and not because they are refugees or asylum seekers.

One thousand, three hundred and fifty-two central heating systems have been installed in houses owned by Glasgow Council, whose tenants have now voted in favour of stock transfer. 28 systems have been installed in stock owned by Argyll and Bute Council and 28 in Shetland. Both of these councils are actively considering whole housing stock transfer. The other three councils considering stock transfer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders and Western Isles, have central heating in all their houses and so are not taking part in the central heating programme.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24437 on 22 April 2002.

Since May 1999, the Executive has not contracted out any functions following a formal market testing process. However, the Executive routinely purchases a wide range of services under contract, some of which are to supplement in-house resources.

The Scottish Executive has been informed that the facility at Dungavel House will become an immigration removal centre in November. This has no other implications for the Executive or local authorities.

I have no information on this.

Laws on snaring do not differentiate between land which supports capercaillie populations and other land types. The use of approved snares to control pest species of wild animal, such as foxes and rabbits, is legally permitted, subject to certain conditions relating to their use.

Article 5 of the Wild Birds Directive prohibits the deliberate killing, or capture by any method, of all species of naturally occurring wild birds. The provisions of the directive are given effect in the UK by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to intentionally set devices to trap or snare capercaillie. The use of approved snares for legitimate pest control purposes is not prohibited by the act.

The use of snares to target pest species, such as foxes and rabbits, is a matter for individual landowners or their agents. Snares set must be of an approved type and must, by law, be checked at least once a day.I understand that guidance on fox control in capercaillie habitats has been produced by the Capercaillie Biodiversity Action Plan Steering Group. The guidance, which has been widely circulated to landowners and forest managers, recommends that snares are not set within woods known to hold capercaillie. The guidance also recognises that the fox is a major predator of several species of bird and that capercaillie breed more successfully where foxes and other predators are fewer.