Chamber and committees

Schools, as places of work, are subject to the provisions of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997. These regulations place general duties on employers regarding the provision and maintenance of fire safety measures. The regulations are enforced by local fire authorities who have powers to inspect schools and take appropriate enforcement action where necessary.

I discussed the preliminary report of the Expert Group on Financial and Other Support with the Health and Community Care Committee today. Copies of the preliminary report have been placed in Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 25060) today and it is also available on the Scottish Executive website.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:To date, there have been no changes of service under Clause 7 of the Minute of Agreement. Details of the contract are published on the SPS website at: www.sps.gov.uk.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:Clause 7 of the Minute of Agreement contains provision for SPS to request a change to the service provided. Details are given in the contract which is published on the SPS website at: www.sps.gov.uk.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:To date, SPS has made no request for a change of service under Clause 7 of the Minute of Agreement. Details of the contract are published on the SPS website at: www.sps.gov.uk.

The available information is given in the following table:Convictions Quashed on Appeal by Main Offence of Original Conviction, 1997-2001

Main Offence Group1	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Crimes
Non-sexual crimes of violence	7	2	7	16	6
Crimes of indecency	5	1	5	3	1
Crimes of dishonesty	14	6	15	7	1
Criminal damage	3	2	2	2	0
Other crimes	12	5	14	6	5
Offences
Miscellaneous offences	25	10	16	6	3
Motor vehicle offences	6	6	9	11	8
All crimes and offences	72	32	68	51	24

Note:1. For statistical purposes offences are classified as either "crimes" or "offences". "Crimes" generally encompass the more serious criminal acts, though "offences" may also relate to serious breaches of the criminal law.

The Scottish Ambulance Service will train volunteers to first aid, lifesaving or Heartstart qualification standards. The service is working towards enabling these first responders to be accredited to the Institute of Health Care Development "first person on scene" level.

No permanent posts in the Scottish Ambulance Service have been replaced by voluntary community responders. Indeed, the service's modernisation programme will result in the biggest recruitment drive in its history, recruiting over 200 new staff in addition to employing voluntary community responders.

The Executive has allocated over £108 million to the Scottish Ambulance Service this year. This represents a 7.4% increase on last year and reflects the Executive's support for the service's modernisation agenda, including the implementation of priority-based dispatch. Part of this allocation will be used to support the training of community first responders. These responders form an integral element of the service's faster response to emergency calls, in particular in remote and rural communities.Police and fire services personnel are trained in first aid so that they may provide assistance in medical emergencies they may come across when carrying out their duties. This will account for a small part of the training budget expended centrally and locally in support of these services.

Community First Responder schemes are part of the Scottish Ambulance Service's implementation of priority-based dispatch. All of the service's divisions are developing these schemes and all are currently engaged in the process of identifying and recruiting suitable candidates. At present, there is one responder scheme in operation - at RAF Leuchars, where the initial pilot scheme proved to be highly successful.