Chamber and committees

I was impressed by the dedication of the Governor and her new team who are having to deal with large prisoner numbers and help tackle a serious drug problem in the area.I was pleased to learn that the staffing complement at Aberdeen has been increased by five officers to take account of escort demands and the need to balance the sick variable which has been traditionally very low in Aberdeen and fell short of that required to meet current demands. Further measures have been taken to recruit staff and four officers will commence duty in November. Any shortfall in staff is being countered by the ability to offer special payments to existing prison staff. This provides a flexible and effective method of dealing with the unpredictable demands associated with court appearances and hospital guards.I was encouraged by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) plans to improve the health centre as part of a carefully constructed development plan for the whole work on which the SPS have under way. Plans for a new visit facility are under active consideration. Additionally, formulation of a development plan for the prison has commenced and will ensure that any future building work takes account of the projected prisoner population.

Effort control has been on the table since December last year, when the European Commission published its draft regulation for a cod and hake recovery plan. We have received written comments from the industry, and we have discussed possible effort limitation with them in various official and ministerial meetings since then.

The First Minister has a team of Special advisers whose purpose is to provide advice to ministers on the full range of topics covered by the Scottish Executive. None of the advisers is dedicated solely to European and External Relations policy.

There are 23 posts in the External Relations Division. Details of the work of the division can be found in the Scottish Executive Business Directory, which is available to MSPs.

There are nine posts in the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO). Details of the work of the SEEUO can be found in the Scottish Executive Business Directory, which is available to MSPs.

The UK position in relation to the siting of EU Agencies is reserved and a matter for the UK Government. The brochure summarising the case for Glasgow was produced jointly by the Executive, the Department for Transport and the Scotland Office and was circulated to the EU Institutions and member states in May 2002, and to Scottish MEPs in June 2002.

Questions S1W-23950 and S1W-24928 asked about efforts and representations that had been made on the issue of European Union agencies' location. The brochure summarising Glasgow's case on the location of the European Maritime Agency was distributed to the other member states and the European Commission after these questions were answered.

The Scottish Executive is in touch with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the location of EU agencies.

The UK position in relation to the siting of EU Agencies is reserved and a matter for the UK Government. The Executive is in regular contact with the Department for Transport about the Glasgow bid. However, decisions about promotion are ultimately a matter for the UK Government.

Drugs courts are currently being piloted in Glasgow and Fife and are the subject of an independent evaluation. The findings of the evaluation will be available early in 2004 and will inform our consideration of the future of the drugs court. There are therefore no immediate plans to extend the number of drugs courts.