Chamber and committees

Sentencing data in the form requested are not collected.There were no cases of persons sentenced to detention without limit of time under section 205(2) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 in the years 1999 to 2002 where the Scottish ministers formally directed that those concerned should be detained in a penal establishment. In the same period, the Scottish ministers formally directed that one person sentenced to detention in 1999 and three persons sentenced to detention in 2001, under section 208 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, should be detained in a penal establishment.

We will be considering the means of enforcing the proposed ban in the context of the on-going consultation on Putting Our Communities First: a Strategy for Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. We will put forward our formal proposals in the autumn.

We are consulting on our proposal to make it an offence to sell spray paint to young people aged under 16 in Putting Our Communities: a Strategy for Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. The punishment for selling spray paint to under 16s is still to be decided.The punishment for children who use spray paint illegally will not be affected by the proposed new offence, which relates to the sale of spray paint. Acts of vandalism can be dealt with under common law or the statutory offence in section 52 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995.

All young people in secure accommodation have access to a full-time broad and balanced education curriculum as well as support through a wide range of behavioural programmes. All services are inspected by integrated teams of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, Social Work Services Inspectorate, Care Commission and Health.

In the year to 31 March 2003, where Livescan equipment was used, the Scottish Fingerprint Service confirmed identity, or did not, in under 2 hours in 98.05% of cases.

The most recent available information, which relates to 2001, is given in Table 5 of the statistical bulletin recorded crimes and offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2001. Copies of the bulletin are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib Number 24105).

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1376 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Appointments to the special constabulary are made by chief constables by virtue of the Police (Special Constables) (Scotland) Regulations 1966. The document Policing Priorities for Scotland 2003-2006 published earlier this year by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) notes that ACPOS "has made it a priority to increase by 500 officers the establishment of the Special Constabulary throughout Scotland". As the partnership agreement states, "we will support chief constables to meet their target of an increase of 500 in the number of special constables". Work to meet the target is now underway.

We are working with the police and others to introduce a national programme of restorative police warnings. We plan to publish guidance to the police in the autumn. This guidance will set out how restorative principles should be applied and will provide examples of good practice.Evidence suggests that a restorative approach can make warnings more effective and may reduce re-offending. The restorative element of the warning will vary depending upon the offender, the offence and the impact on the victims. Typically, such an approach involves the young offender and other parties (e.g. his or her parents, the victim and victim supporter, police, community representatives etc) collectively resolving how to deal with the aftermath of the offence. In particular, it aims to involve the victim (either directly or with his or her views conveyed) and offender in discussing the implications of the crime and possible forms of reparation.

The Scottish Executive is strongly committed to supporting families in transition and values the role of the voluntary sector in providing marriage and relationship support. Funding in this area has doubled since 2000 and in 2003-04, the family organisations will receive grants totalling £1.188 million. Three-quarters of this funding goes to family mediation organisations. An on-going external consultancy review is considering the funding arrangements and corporate governance of Family Mediation Scotland and affiliated local mediation services. The review is due to conclude in the autumn. A recent consultation on merging voluntary sector funding for services for children and young people sought views on whether grants for marriage and relationship support should be included in an integrated fund. The consultation responses are currently being analysed. The continued development of the role of the voluntary organisations in supporting families in transition will be informed by the family mediation review, the consultation responses on merging funding streams, and the regular discussions which take place between the family organisations and the Scottish Executive.