Chamber and committees

The following table shows Modern Languages Qualification Entries (Presentations) from 2009 and 2010 in publicly-funded schools in Scotland for pupils in Secondary 4 and Secondary 5/6.

	2009	2010
Number of entries for: Access 3, Standard Grade, Intermediate 1 and 2	48,031	46,050
Entry rate for Access 3, Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 and 2 per 1,000 pupils in S4	822	804
Number of entries for Highers	6,233	6,262
Higher entry rate per 1,000 pupils in S5/6	91	87
Numbers of entries for Advanced Highers	762	824
Advanced Higher entry rate per 1,000 pupils in S6	27	27

 

This is primarily a matter of contractual law and civil enforcement between those who own and those who use such private car parks. There is also significant case law that applies in Scotland. For example, the High Court concluded in 1992 that wheel clamping on private land amounted to theft and that the demand for payment of a release fee amounted to extortion. We therefore have no plans for further regulation.

We have exchanged information with the UK Government about the way in which the law on parking operates but we have not proposed any changes to the way in which the law in this area operates in Scotland.

The requirements for the preparation of witness statements are set down in detailed operational guidance prepared by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland in consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). This requires that witness statements obtained by the police should be accurate, contain detail of all matters of significance to the case and as far as possible should reflect the words of the witness. This guidance is clear that all statements should be checked for accuracy by the originating officer before being submitted electronically to COPFS. Where a police officer is submitting a statement relating to their own involvement then this must be prepared and confirmed as being accurate by that officer.

Further information about this operational guidance is provided in the answer to question S3W-39285 on 24 February 2011. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Guidance is not issued directly by the Scottish Government, since these are operational matters for the police, other reporting agencies who prepare witness statements and prosecutors.

Detailed guidance for police officers entitled Disclosure in Criminal Proceedings “ Manual of Guidance has been prepared by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) in consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. This material is publicly available and can be found at:

http://www.acpos.police.uk/Documents/Policies/CJ_ACPOSDisclosure_in_CriminalProceedingsManual_of_GuidanceV2NPM.pdf

Chapter nine of the guidance deals specifically with witness statements. It is clear in stating the importance of obtaining statements from all witnesses and the requirement to accurately record, retain and review this information before revealing it to the Crown. A training package devised by ACPOS which emphasises the importance of accurate statement taking by police officers has now been delivered to all police officers in Scotland.

The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 will place current disclosure practices on a statutory footing. Section 164 of the Act will require the Lord Advocate to issue a code of practice in relation to that part of the act. This is currently under development and will be laid before the Parliament. The code will include guidance on the taking of statements. The police, prosecutors and other reporting agencies that engage in the investigation of crime and sudden deaths and submit reports to Procurators Fiscal, must have regard to the code of practice in undertaking their functions.

In addition section 54 of the 2010 Act permits the prosecutor to give a witness a copy of their statement, which will provide a further safeguard in ensuring accuracy.

Procurators Fiscal have a responsibility to consider the content of all information which is provided to them by the police and other reporting agencies in the course of a criminal case, including available witness statements. The Crown is also under an obligation to disclose proactively, witness statement information in their possession to the defence.

The approach to dealing with witness statements is outlined in Chapters 4, 13, 14 and 15 of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Disclosure Manual. This detailed guidance is publicly available and can be accessed at:

http://www.copfs.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Publications/Resource/Doc/7/0000624.pdf

Operational guidance also exists between the Crown and the Association of Chief Police Officers. Further information about this material is provided in the answer to question S3W-39285 on 24 February 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s web site, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx

The Scottish Government is aware of the challenges that are being faced in North Ayrshire, particularly issues around worklessness. This is why we have already provided £7.8 million to Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company (URC) since 2007. We will continue to support Irvine Bay URC in 2011-12 and will announce final funding allocations in due course.

The Scottish Government does not hold official figures on individual local authority budget allocations for regeneration activity. This is a matter for the local authorities concerned.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the regeneration of Scotland''s most deprived communities. Despite unprecedented levels of spending cuts from Westminster, we will continue to support a range of regeneration activity in 2011-12. This will include:

Support for Scotland''s Urban Regeneration Companies, with priority investment in Clyde Gateway URC to support the delivery of a successful Commonwealth Games;

We have set up the new £50 million JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) fund which will begin to invest in projects in key regeneration areas during 2011;

The regeneration resources associated with the former Fairer Scotland Fund, which have been retained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement;

Support for the contribution made by registered social landlords to the regeneration of communities through our investment in the Wider Role Fund;

Continued funding support for tackling vacant and derelict land through our vacant and derelict land fund, and

Continued investment in our learning networks to support those working to deliver regeneration to identify, share and apply practice and innovation.

We will seek to hold a debate on Scotland''s National Dementia Strategy before the dissolution of Parliament.