Chamber and committees

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Because such disclosure might prejudice future negotiations with the providers of a new prison.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30102 today. 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/webapp/search_wa

Scotland's Action Programme to Reduce Youth Crime 2002 was published on 28 January. The 10-point action plan to tackle youth crime and disorder was launched on 27 June. Progress has been made on implementing the action points and I wrote to a number of Committee Convenors outlining this on 12 September. This work will be supported through the additional £15 million EYF funding we have announced for this year and in future by the resources identified in the Scottish Budget.The information requested is provided in the following table:

Ten Point Action Plan	Action
1. A pilot of Specialist Children's Hearings to fast-track persistent offenders under 16	Discussions are being held with interested Local Authorities to identify pilot areas, which will be announced very soon. Discussions have also been held with SCRA and councils to discuss the operational issues around fast-track hearings.
2. A Youth Courts feasibility project for persistent offenders aged 16 and 17, with flexibility to deal with 15-year-olds	The Feasibility Project Group has been set up and sub-groups are taking forward detailed work on pre-court processes; court procedures; programmes and legal aid. The Youth Court Feasibility Study will also consider issues of fast tracking which will help to inform further work on Action Point 10.
3. Reviewing the scope for using Restriction of Liberty Orders, Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Community Service Orders for persistent offenders	Improving the effectiveness of these disposals for this age group is under cross-departmental consideration.
4. A Safer Scotland police campaign on high visibility policing, covering Youth Disorder, to increase visibility and provide community re-assurance.	An announcement is due shortly.
5. Spread best practice, and establish firm standards, for community-based projects funded through the Action Programme, Better Neighbourhood Services Fund programmes and Making Communities Safer programmes.	The Executive is conducting an audit of current front-line services that will inform future funding decisions.
6. Consideration of a Scottish wide application of a system of cautions/ warnings, and a detailed exploration of restorative cautions approach, perhaps through piloting.	Consultation is under way on a scoping paper, which takes account of local developments in a number of police forces and £2 million funding announces in March 2002 for the national introduction or enhancement of programmes for those under 16.
7. Reconfiguring the secure accommodation available nationally to provide groups of girl-only accommodation, further consideration of additional places and improving the range and provision of programmes in secure units.	The Executive's intention to increase the number of places was announced on 17 September. We have invited proposals for the redevelopment of Scotland's secure estate from both current and potential providers, which are now under consideration.
8. A set of national standards to operate between local authorities, the criminal justice system and Children's Hearings, covering reporting, timescales and follow up.	The Youth Justice Steering Group will consider the Effectiveness sub-group's report and recommendations, which is due shortly, and we will consult at the end of the year.
9. Promote parental responsibility, through voluntary measures and in the longer term to consider the feasibility of introducing further statutory obligations on parents.	The Executive is supporting a range of measures to empower parents and build parental responsibility through Surestart, New Community Schools and other initiatives. The evaluation report of the Matrix project published on 3 October contains positive findings emerging from their work with parents. We will consider further how this model can be adapted or replicated in other areas, and a funding announcement is due shortly.
10. Measures to increase the speed of referral to the courts, will be considered, and introduction of specific targets discussed with the judiciary.	SCS have invited key partners onto a working group to take this work forward.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28844 on 13 September 2002. 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/webapp/search_wa.

Membership of the group is shown in the following table. The group was set up in January 2002 and will shortly consider recommendations made by the sub groups on (a) victims and (b) improving effectiveness. Ministers will receive a report at the end of this year.Youth Justice Steering Group Membership

Name	Position/Title	Organisation
Colin MacLean (Chair)	Head of Children and Young People's Group	Scottish Executive Education Department
Elizabeth Carmichael	Head of Community Justice Services Division	Scottish Executive Justice Department
Rachel Gwyon	Head of Young People/Looked After Children Division	Scottish Executive Education Department
Stuart Bond	Head of Social Work Inspectorate Team	Scottish Executive Education Department
Jackie Brock	Head of Youth Justice Branch	Scottish Executive Education Department
Mr Jim Keenan	Depute Chief Constable Central Scotland	ACPO (S)
Alan Miller	Principal Reporter	Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
Sheriff Maciver		Sheriffs' Association
To be confirmed	Liaison Officer	Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
Bill Whyte	Director	Criminal Justice Social Work Development Centre
Romy Langeland	Chief Executive	Aberlour Childcare Trust
Bernadette Monaghan	Director	Apex (Scotland)
Hugh Mackintosh	Director	Barnardo's Scotland
Joe Connolly	Acting Director	NCH Scotland
Susan Matheson	Chief Executive	SACRO
David McKenna	Chief Executive	Victim Support Scotland
Deirdre Watson	Director	Who Cares? Scotland
Tony McNulty	Rehabilitation and Care Directorate	Scottish Prison Service
Marion Pagani	Chair	Children's Panel Chairmen's Group
Maureen Macmillan	Chair	Children's Panel Advisory Group
Catriona Smith	Consultant in Public Health	Argyll and Clyde Health Board
David Coghill	Consultant Psychiatrist	Tayside Primary Care Trust
Gordon Jeyes	Director of Education	Stirling Council
Margaret Orr	Senior Education Officer - Special Educational Needs	Glasgow City Council
Ronnie O'Connor	Director of Social Work	Glasgow City Council
Martin Kettle	Area Services Manager	Glasgow City Council
Greg Gallagher	Principal Officer	Glasgow City Council
Bernadette Docherty	Director of Social Work	North Ayrshire Council
Mairi Brackenridge	Justice Services Manager	South Lanarkshire Council
Anil Gupta		COSLA
Bill Duffy	Principal	St Mary's Kenmure

We began to gather information from local authorities for the mapping exercise in December 2001. After consideration, we agreed that an extension of the timescale available to local authorities would enhance the quality of the information that could be reported.

The guidance issued to local authorities by the Justice Department in March, for the operation of bail information and supervision schemes, identified 16- and 17-years-old as a priority group for such schemes. The funding made available to all local authorities for the operation of these schemes, under the ringfenced 100% funding arrangements for criminal justice social work, is not, however, specifically earmarked for this age group.

Local authority returns to the mapping exercise are now available on the internet at: http://www.childrens-hearings.co.uk/youthjustice.aspThe mapping exercise of local authority youth justice activity led to the Progress Report on Youth Crime in Scotland, which was published on the Executive's website on 19 September 2002 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/tycs-00.asp.It is also available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 24541).

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) intends to develop a new computerised system for tracking individual prisoner progress or "distance travelled". This will include learning achievements that will be mapped against the national Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework.SPS have recently appointed a Prisoner Literacies Development Manager as one of the four national Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department Literacies Pathfinder Projects.Quality teaching and learning in this area is a high priority for the SPS and subject to review on a regular basis through monitoring meetings with the learning providers.