Chamber and committees

The Executive has no involvement in this project.

Quality contracts are part of the "toolkit" of options provided in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 to allow local authorities to enhance the provision of bus services. Under a quality contract, a local transport authority can determine what bus services are provided in the area covered by the contract, the standards to which they are provided (including frequencies and fares) and additional facilities or services to be provided, for example bus shelters.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2O-280 on 26 June 2003 which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/sch/search.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Consultant-led maternity units dealing with low- to medium-risk pregnancies and labour are described, within A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland, as providing level IIb intrapartum care. There are three consultant-led units providing IIb care and all have access to on-site paediatric facilities. All four tertiary referral centres in Scotland have access to neonatal surgery.

The information requested is not held centrally.

None. Bus operators plan routes to key public services according to their commercial judgement. The statutory obligation to secure the provision of any additional services to meet public transport requirements for socially necessary services rests with local transport authorities.

The Scottish Executive believes there is a need to tackle the issue of neighbourhood noise. In that light, the Executive intends to issue a formal consultation before the 2003 summer recess on its proposed Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, which will include proposals to curb neighbourhood noise.

I am pleased to announce that I am today publishing a white paper setting out wide-ranging proposals for the reform of the High Court of Justiciary. This follows up the review of practices and procedure in the High Court which we asked Lord Bonomy to carry out, and on which he reported to the Executive in December 2002. It represents the next step in our strategy for the systematic modernisation of justice in Scotland.Lord Bonomy made a number of very practical suggestions for a more efficient High Court which better serves the interests of justice. He identified the culture of delays and adjournments as particularly unhelpful to victims, witnesses and jurors, and sought to ensure greater certainty about how and when cases would proceed, and greater sensitivity in how they were handled. We have consulted extensively on Lord Bonomy's proposals, and the white paper published today draws heavily on them. It will pave the way for a bill to be introduced in the autumn for reform of the High Court. This will be complemented by wider changes to the organisation and support of the High Court to deliver more effective handling of the most serious crime. Over the next few days we will circulate copies of the white paper to a wide range of stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including all those who commented on Lord Bonomy's report.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-621 on 17 June 2003. 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.