Chamber and committees

Following the success of the pilot schemes, I am pleased to announce that Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLOs) will be rolled out to other courts. Arrangements will now be made to tender for contracts to supply the electronic monitoring services.It is proposed also to make provision for the use of:Restriction of Liberty Orders as a direct alternative to custody;RLO as a condition of a Probation Order and of a Drug Treatment and Testing Order;electronic monitoring as a condition of release on licence (as recommended in the MacLean report).

Yes. Our National Health commits the Executive to improving the provision of repeat medication and we will be considering options for taking this forward.

Yes. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is piloting its Victim Liaison arrangements in Aberdeen and Hamilton. The VLO will operate in every region by next spring. The full roll out of the service will take account of what is learned from the pilots.In addition, consideration is being given to communication with vulnerable prosecution witnesses, i.e. witnesses who may not be victims, such as children.We recognise that citation to give evidence as a prosecution witness is a significant disruption for members of the public, and are examining arrangements for citation and reviewing targets. We attach importance to giving prosecution witness good, early information. This includes information about the availability of the volunteer Witness Service in sheriff courts as the service is rolled out nationally.We are working with the Justice Department and others to pilot its system, using the ISCJIS platform, to provide victims who elect to receive it with automated case progress information, from the point where the case is referred to the procurator fiscal to the outcome of court proceedings. We will contribute to the Justice Department consultation on procedures for victims.

I have set the Student Awards Agency for Scotland the following key performance targets for the financial year 2001-2002:Service:To acknowledge 85% of applications within 7 calendar days of receipt and the remainder within 12 calendar days of receipt.

To process 85% of applications within 21 days of receipt and the remaining 15% within 28 days.

To raise the customer satisfaction rating for processing times from 89% to 95% or higher within two years.

To issue replies to 85% of written correspondence queries within 14 days of receipt and the remaining 15% within 21 days of receipt.

To respond to queries sent by e-mail within 5 days of receipt.

To conduct annually a survey of customers' opinions on the levels of service provided by SAAS and to publish the results in the Agency's Annual Report.

Answer 85% of calls to the Agency's Enquiry Unit within 40 seconds and the remaining 15% within 3 minutes.

Ensure that the average time delay for incoming calls to Teams is no longer than 20 seconds.

Agency Management:

To reach an average unit cost of £32 to process each application (based on full relevant costs).The Chief Executive will be directly responsible to me for ensuring that these targets are achieved and full details of the actual results will be published in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts.

I have taken the opportunity to review the targets which I set for the Scottish Prison Service. The service's performance in previous years has shown a continuing improvement against a series of progressively more difficult targets. However, the targets do not fully reflect the range of SPS's work on behalf of the public. I have therefore extended their scope. The new targets are set out in the following table. They continue to ensure that there is full and proper focus on the maintenance of secure custody and good order. These are essential to ensure protection of the public, SPS staff and prisoners.I have enhanced and increased the targets which are set for the opportunities made available to prisoners. The target on prisoner programmes moves the focus away from simple numbers of programmes delivered and directs SPS's efforts towards a continuing improvement in quality. I have introduced a target for education which is a key element in the correctional agenda and SPS will be required to show progress on a year-to-year basis in this important area. I have also introduced a measure of the performance in combating drugs in prisons, thus reinforcing our commitment to addressing the issue of drug abuse in Scotland.The slightly increased cost per prisoner place reflects the additional investment, including sums to address the drug issue, which the Executive is making in Scottish prisons. I expect SPS to make efficiency savings in revenue costs over the coming year will allow some £12.5 million to be redirected to the capital building programme.These new targets will measure success and ensure effective and efficient management of the SPS. They are more demanding than those set in previous years and, in order to ensure that comparison with previous years is possible, the table gives figures for previous performance in the same format as the 2001-02 targets. The outturn figures for 2000-01 are provisional and subject to confirmation.Scottish Prison ServiceTargets 2001-02 and Performance against Targets 1998-2001

The number of prisoners unlawfully at large		1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01 (projected)	2001-02
Category A prisoners	Target	0	0	0	0
	Outturn	0	0	0	0
Category B prisoners	Target	1.7 per 1,000 cat Bs = 6	1.4 per 1,000 cat Bs = 5	1.1 per 1,000 cat Bs = 4	0.9 per 1,000 cat Bs = 3
	Outturn	2	2	2
Category C prisoners	Target	5.2 per 1,000 cat Cs = 10	4.5 per 1,000 cat Cs = 8	3.4 per 1,000 cat Cs = 6	2.9 per 1,000 cat Cs = 5
	Outturn	0	3	0
The number of serious assaults on staff	Target	3 per 1,000 = 14	2.8 per 1,000 = 15	2.7 per 1,000 = 141	2.7 per 1,000 = 13
	Outturn	17	13	14
The number of serious assaults on prisoners	Target	<108	<129	<15 per 1,000 = 91	<10 per 1,000 = 56
	Outturn	129	91	60
x programmes will be delivered of which y% will be fully accredited	Target		850	850
	Outturn	7972 (0%)	890 (19%)	800 (27%)	700 (50%)
Education. Number of prisoner learning hours	Target	-	-
	Outturn	-3	-³	225,000	250,000
% of available prisoner places with access to night sanitation	Target	71	76	76
	Outturn	71	75	76	78
Of those tested under random MDT procedures x% will be clear of in-prison drug-use	Target				85
	Outturn	82	85	85
Average annual cost per prisoner place	Target	27,904	28,761	29,500	32,6004
	Outturn	26,912	28,375	28,500
Number of injuries reportable to the Health and Safety Executive	Target			124	100
	Outturn	131	112	104

Notes:

1. At current staff levels target becomes 13.

2. Total for cognitive skills and sex offending programmes.

3. Figures not available - previously based on teaching hours.4. £12.5 million revenue savings will be directed into capital investment.

I estimate that more than 180,000 households will benefit from the scheme.

An issue has been identified by the Scottish Legal Aid Board regarding its powers under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 to aggregate expenditure on certain kinds of legal aid case. This is a very technical matter but between 1991 and 1999, the board deducted too much money from the awards of people who had been supported by civil legal aid. This money will now be refunded. The board will be placing adverts in the press for those people who may have been affected by this issue to contact their own solicitor. They will issue guidance to the legal profession on how to handle claims. The Law Society will also be writing to the profession giving guidance.

I can today announce that Sheriff Principal Bowen has agreed to chair a working group for piloting of a drug court in Glasgow. The working group will include representatives from the lead agencies with an interest in the establishment of a Glasgow drug court. The Sheriff Principal has agreed that the group will submit proposals to me by Easter on a model of a drug court. The intention is that the court should become operational in Glasgow Sheriff Court by the autumn of 2001.

The information requested is given in the table.

Pupils Of Publicly Funded Schools With A Record Of Needs: 1999-2000
Source: September 1999 School Census
Local Authority	Number of pupils with a Record of Needs	As a % of total number of pupils
SCOTLAND	15,257	2.0
Aberdeen City	652	2.4
Aberdeenshire	680	1.9
Angus	270	1.6
Argyll & Bute	180	1.3
Clackmannanshire	153	2.1
Dumfries & Galloway	444	2.0
Dundee City	555	2.7
East Ayrshire	417	2.2
East Dunbartonshire	170	0.9
East Lothian	109	0.8
East Renfrewshire	212	1.3
Edinburgh, City of	1,017	2.0
Eilean Siar	116	2.7
Falkirk	606	2.9
Fife	594	1.1
Glasgow City	2,371	3.0
Highland	830	2.5
Inverclyde	419	3.1
Midlothian	173	1.3
Moray	323	2.4
North Ayrshire	452	2.1
North Lanarkshire	925	1.8
Orkney Islands	43	1.4
Perth & Kinross	316	1.7
Renfrewshire	876	3.2
Scottish Borders	265	1.7
Shetland Islands	82	2.1
South Ayrshire	385	2.3
South Lanarkshire	1,013	2.1
Stirling	207	1.6
West Dunbartonshire	135	0.9
West Lothian	267	1.1

These materials are designed to achieve better outcomes for children through more systematic planning and measurement of their needs. Their use can strengthen working partnerships between key people in a child's life as they cover the critical aspects of education, health and personal and social development. They should also help to clarify the allocation of professional responsibilities.

All local authorities in Scotland have agreed to use the materials. An audit of progress on implementation is underway and a report is expected by April this year.We are currently considering how best to measure the impact of the materials in terms of improvements to professional practice and to the lives of looked-after children.