Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues,including the implications for devolved matters in Scotland ofits legislative programme. This contact reflects the approach, set out inDevolution Guidance Note 1 in accordance with the principles set out in the memorandumof understanding, that the administrations normally consult each other from anearly stage on the development of relevant legislative proposals.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues,including the implications for devolved matters in Scotland ofits legislative programme. This contact reflects the approach, set out inDevolution Guidance Note 1 in accordance with the principles set out in theMemorandum of Understanding, that the administrations normally consult eachother from an early stage on the development of relevant legislative proposals.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues,including the implications for devolved matters in Scotland ofits legislative programme. This contact reflects the approach, set out inDevolution Guidance Note 1 in accordance with the principles set out in the memorandumof understanding, that the administrations normally consult each other from anearly stage on the development of relevant legislative proposals.

The Scottish Criminal RecordOffice (SCRO) is a common police service established through section 36 of thePolice (Scotland) Act 1967, under which the facilities and servicessupplied by the organisation are provided and maintained by the Scottish ministersfor promoting the efficiency or effectiveness of thepolice in Scotland. The maintenance of a fingerprint collection andfingerprint identifications are functions of SCRO as part of the ScottishFingerprint Service. The Head of JusticeDepartment in the Scottish Executive is the accountable officer for SCRO’sbudget. The Lord Advocate is not responsible for the operation of SCRO. Policydecisions in respect of methods of fingerprint identification are a matter forthe Scottish Fingerprint Service and chief constables, but it is a matter forthe Crown to decide whether to lead such evidence in criminal proceedings.

Sections 18 to 20 of theCriminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 set down the procedures required for thetaking of prints and samples in criminal investigations. Section 280(5) of the1995 act also provides for Scottish ministers to authorise fingerprint officersfor the purposes of section 280(4) of the 1995 act.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-4463 on 12 December 2003. 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.

The future structure,organisation and oversight of all common police services in Scotland,including the Scottish Criminal Records Office which is currently responsiblefor the Scottish Fingerprint Service, is being considered as part of an on-goingreview.

The budget for each yearwas:

1999-2000	£5,224,999
2000-01	£5,600,000

 

At 31 March 1999	96
At 31 March 2000	116
At 31 March 2001	144
At 31 March 2002	165
At 31 March 2003	193.5

 

Information about thequalifications and skills of each member of staff is not readily available in theform requested.

The Scottish Executive is inregular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including theimplications for devolved matters in Scotland of its legislative programme. This contact reflectsthe approach, set out in Devolution Guidance Note 1 in accordance with theprinciples set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, that the administrationsnormally consult each other from an early stage on the development of relevantlegislative proposals.

Thefigures requested are not held centrally.

Percentage of ScottishExecutive expenditure allocated to higher and further education in cash termssince 1999.

Total Scottish Executiveexpenditure and the amounts made available to the Scottish Higher EducationFunding Council and the Scottish Further Education Council are contained in the Scottish Executive’s core accounts which can be found on the Scottish Executive’swebsite at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications.The amount of funding allocated to higher education institutes and FurtherEducation Institutes by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and the Scottish Further Education Council can be found in their annual reports. Theseare available on their websites at the following links:

http://www.shefc.ac.ukhttp://www.sfefc.ac.uk

Expenditure allocated tohigher and further education as a percentage of education as a whole

Education is also fundedthrough local authorities and the vast majority of resources provided to local authoritiesfor education are paid through revenue support grant, which is largelyunhypothecated. Details of how much each authority has spent on educationservices can be found in the CIPFA Rating Review publications. The mostrecent year published for expenditure is 2001-02 (Bib. number 26652); the prioryears are also available. A copy of the local government finance circulars andCIPFA publications can be obtained from the Parliament’s Reference Centre byquoting the relevant Bib. number.

Three signatures of authorisedfingerprint experts are required for fingerprint identification – the expertwho identifies the mark, followed by two separate fingerprint experts forverification. In certain cases a mark may have less than 16 points and in theseidentification by the quality assurance manager is also required.

All signatories arequalified fingerprint experts authorised by Scottish ministers under section280(5) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 as expert witnesses.

We are aware of one casewhere identification has been rejected internally at SCRO and four cases wherethe identifications have been challenged by an external agent.