Chamber and committees

In determining the level of business conducted in any sheriff court consideration is given to the wide range of criminal and civil business which may be conducted in the court. This covers procedural hearings as well as those required for determining the case. Regard is also had to the level of administrative work carried out by the court in respect of matters which may not require an appearance before the sheriff in court.

The consultation paper on the delivery of court services in the Peebles area is currently being finalised and should be issued by the end of September. It will be circulated to a wide range of bodies and individuals who have expressed an interest in this topic, including the judiciary, local magistrates, court users such as local solicitors as well as statutory authorities such as Borders Council, Lothian and Borders Police and the Procurator Fiscal Service. Copies of the consultation paper will also be sent to local members of the Scottish and UK Parliament. In addition copies will be made available at the Sheriff Clerk's office in Peebles and Selkirk for the public.The duration of the consultation period will be a minimum of 12 weeks from date of issue. The paper will contain statistical information on the wide range of business transacted at the court in addition to information on court sitting times.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:A number of rural courts have custody suites within the court building. Eleven rural sheriff courts do not have custody holding facilities within the court building. Nine of these (Duns, Fort William, Jedburgh, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Oban, Portree, Stonehaven and Wick) are adjacent to the local police station from which prisoners in custody can be taken into the court without using the public courthouse. In the case of Peebles and Rothesay prisoners are held in the police station which is located a short distance from the court.The Scottish Court Service is currently reviewing the custody accommodation across the court estate in consultation with the police to determine what, if any, improvements to that accommodation is required. No decisions have yet been taken on whether it will be necessary to provide such accommodation in locations other than Peebles.

The Cryptosporidium Directions required Scottish Water to carry out a risk assessment on all its supplies and introduced sampling appropriate to the assessed risk. The Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) audits the requirements of the directions annually. Following the recent events in Glasgow and Edinburgh I have asked the DWQR to carry out a review of the detailed workings of the directions. The outcome of this review will be available in about two months. In the meantime, my initial assessment is that the investment priorities for 2002-06 given in the Quality and Standards paper published in August 2001 were broadly correct.

Yes. The Scottish Court Service will be consulting with Lothian and Borders Police on the options for future provision of court services in Peebles.

Provision of a police station at Peebles is a matter for Lothian and Borders Police. I am not aware of any proposals for upgrading or refurbishing the police station at Peebles nor of any plans for building a combined police station and courthouse at Peebles. No combined police station and courthouse have been built elsewhere in Scotland in recent years.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The readily available information is shown in the following table.

Date	Staff in Post	%Age
1 April 1999	250	102
1 August 1999	247	100
1 December 1999	246	99
1 April 2000	246	99
1 August 2000	248	100
1 December 2000	245	99
1 April 2001	239	97
1 August 2001	244	99
1 December 2001	254	99
1 April 2002	278	107
1 August 2002	269	103

In granting bail, the courts are required by law to impose on the accused a set of standard conditions. They may also impose any such further conditions as they consider necessary to secure that the standard conditions are observed and that the accused makes himself available for attending an identification parade or for any print, impression or sample to be taken.The nature of the further conditions which may be imposed is a matter for the discretion of the courts. By law the prosecutor has a right to be heard when the courts are considering the question of bail. The Lord Advocate has in the past issued guidance to procurators fiscal as to the attitude they should adopt to bail conditions which the courts may be considering imposing. That guidance was reviewed at the time the Bail, Judicial Appointments etc (Scotland) Act 2000 was enacted. It was found to be appropriate and no further guidance has since been issued.

Rule 21 of the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Rules 1996 sets out what information, and to whom, the Reporter should communicate following the decision of a Children's Hearing. However, that is only one aspect of the network of communication involved in these situations. Where a child is referred to a diversionary project, the project itself will usually have clear expectations, agreed with referring agencies, about what information it should receive.

I am aware that there is a need for increased dialysis clinics, and provision of increased support services in the Borders.I am pleased to learn that the capacity to treat such patients in the Borders will increase from early October, and that a full Review of Renal Service in the Borders is about to take place. The review will report to Borders NHS Board in time to feed into the 2004-05 financial plan. An initial meeting is to take place in early October.