Chamber and committees

The consultation produced arange of views on how best to take forward proposals for a child witness service. We are currently considering these and will make an announcement indue course.

A total of 75 responses werereceived on the package of proposals to reform the way child witnesses aredealt with in the criminal justice system and children’s hearings courtproceedings. Of those, 53 specifically responded to the section relating to theestablishment of a child witness support service. All 53 supported the proposalin principle, but there was no consensus on how such a service should be setup.

Officials in the Scottish Executive Health Department have regular discussions with NHS Fife on a widerange of issues, including the “Right for Fife” process and the proposed future configuration ofacute hospital services.

Guidance will be issued to Procurators Fiscal before the provision is commenced.

The Executive is preparing an information campaign on positive parenting and alternatives to physical punishment which will be launched to coincide with the commencement of section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in the autumn. This will also inform parents about changes in the law.The campaign, whose budget has yet to be finalised, is being developed in partnership with voluntary sector and other relevant stakeholders and will be closely linked to the Executive's other major supportive programmes for parents and children.

Section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 will come into force this autumn, on a date yet to be finalised.

The legislation relating to those vehicles subject to exemptions from speed limits is the responsibility of the UK Government.

A timetable for the implementation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is set out in the Scottish ministers' report to Parliament on implementation of the act which was laid in the Parliament on 28 May. The act will be brought fully into force in January 2005 with publication schemes prepared and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner in line with the following timetable.

Date

By 28 February 2004     By 1 June 2004  By 31 May 2004   By 1 September 2004  By 31 August 2004 By 30 November 2004 1 January 2005

The Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Parliament, The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, Non Ministerial Office Holders in the Scottish Administration, Local Government and the Police (public authorities as listed in Parts 1, 2, 3 and 6 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002) to submit publication schemes for approval to the Scottish Information CommissionerThe publication schemes submitted by the public authorities above to be approved by the Scottish Information CommissionerPublic Authorities listed in Parts 4 (The National Health Service) and 5 (Educational Institutions) of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information (Scotland ) Act 2002 to submit publication schemes for approval by the Scottish Information Commissioner The publication schemes submitted by the above public authorities to be approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner All public authorities listed in Part 7 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2002 to submit publication schemes for approval by the Scottish Information CommissionerThe publication schemes submitted by the above public authorities to be approved by the Scottish Information CommissionerThe right of access to information held by all public authorities listed in Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to be brought into force

 

Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes rights of responsible access for everyone to land and inland water in Scotland. The act also places a duty on local authorities and National Park authorities to draw up plans for systems of core paths sufficient for giving the public reasonable access throughout their areas. It is expected that most people will choose to exercise their access rights mainly in the countryside around where they live. However, core paths will link up where appropriate with upland paths to improve access to mountain areas.We intend to issue guidance to authorities on the drawing up of core paths plans. As required by the act, a draft of this guidance will be laid before Parliament, probably early next year.

Seventy-two responses were received to the consultation paper the Scottish Executive issued in September 2001 seeking views on the regulation of the private security industry. The consultation exercise indicated widespread support for regulation although there were a range of views as to how this should be achieved. Two key issues were identified:the need to minimise bureaucracy, particularly from those companies which operate both north and south of the border, and to need to ensure that licence conditions and fees were set at a similar level to those in England and Wales so as not to disadvantage legitimate Scottish industry.Since the consultation exercise, further work has been undertaken which indicates that local regulation of door supervisors would be significantly more expensive and less reliable that central licensing and that our original cost assumptions were too low. Taking account of this additional work and the outcome of the consultation exercise we have concluded that we should work with the Home Office to extend the remit of Security Industry Authority (SIA) to include Scotland.A standard system of regulation across the whole of Great Britain would have a number of significant attractions:Economies of scaleConsistency across Great Britain in terms of numbers of licences, licence conditions, training standards and costs - and ensuring duplication and bureaucracy are kept to a minimum.Individuals would require only one licence - no matter where they worked.There should be better and more consistent enforcement.This will require amendments to the Private Security Act 2001 to extend the SIA's remit to include Scotland and to make consequential amendments to reflect the separate Scottish legal system and areas of the industry, such as precognition agents which are unique here. Home Office ministers have indicated that they would welcome extending the SIA's remit to Scotland as soon as the legislative timetable permits. The SIA comes into being on 1 April 2003 and will begin issuing licences later in the year, taking each sector of the industry in turn. There should be no difficulty in bringing Scotland on board at the end of this process. Extending the remit of the SIA to include Scotland, as now proposed, can only be undertaken through legislation promoted by the UK Government. Although serious consideration was given to establishing a separate Scottish SIA, the overriding requirement is to deliver an affordable, consistent licensing regime which points clearly to a Great Britain wide approach. This will ensure best value over the long-term and will ensure that Scottish industry can thrive and compete effectively.A more detailed assessment is available on the Scottish Executive website or on request from the Executive.