Chamber and committees

The proposals will require a solicitor in a defended action in the sheriff court to report to the Scottish Legal Aid Board when a particular procedural stage passes (for example, options hearing and closing the record); whenever a significant development occurs (such as when an opponent makes a tender), and in any event, where a case runs for a long time, to submit a report every 12 months.At the different stages, solicitors may be entitled to a payment to account, if appropriate, for fees for work done to the date of the relevant report. Any such payments would, of course, be deducted from the final account submitted at the conclusion of the case or where the civil legal aid certificate was terminated.

The new system will reward the efficient processing of business from the client's and taxpayer's point of view by paying for measurable blocks of work completed, rather than time spent or letters written. The current system does not do that effectively. In addition, the introduction of a binding quality assurance system will ensure that clients get the high quality service they are entitled to expect. The Executive will monitor the new system very closely and propose to carry out a thorough review after two years; this will provide an opportunity to assess the impact on clients, solicitors, and the wider justice system.

The available information on crimes of rape and assault with intent to rape which were recorded by the police, and on persons with a charge proved in court where rape and assault with intent to rape was the main offence, is given in the following tables. Data on persons with a charge proved is not available by local authority area.The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.Crimes of Rape Recorded by the Police by Police Force Area, Scotland, 1997-2001

Police Force Area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Scotland	570	613	591	562	589
Central	12	19	5	14	33
Dumfries and Galloway	14	25	40	19	16
Fife	25	35	32	54	42
Grampian	54	76	82	60	55
Lothian and Borders	144	151	111	119	130
Northern	24	26	36	15	21
Strathclyde	217	215	218	219	240
Tayside	80	66	67	62	52

Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Rape (Main Offence) by Police Force Area, 1997-2001

Police Force area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Scotland	29	37	27	27	36
Central	-	3	2	1	-
Dumfries and Galloway	2	-	1	2	1
Fife	1	10	2	-	5
Grampian	1	3	5	1	1
Lothian and Borders	6	6	8	10	6
Northern	1	3	1	2	3
Strathclyde	12	11	8	10	15
Tayside	6	1	-	1	5

Crimes of Assault with Intent to Rape Recorded by the Police by Police Force Area, Scotland, 1997-2001

Police Force Area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Scotland	169	189	167	143	164
Central	3	6	6	6	9
Dumfries and Galloway	2	6	2	2	2
Fife	13	9	14	8	17
Grampian	14	27	18	21	10
Lothian and Borders	41	36	27	31	34
Northern	7	15	7	10	5
Strathclyde	71	76	80	53	73
Tayside	18	14	13	12	14

Persons with a Charge Proved, in Scottish Courts for Assault with Intent to Rape (Main Offence), by Police Force Area, 1997-2001

Police Force Area	1997	1998	1999	2000	20011
Scotland	22	25	18	14	19
Central	2	-	-	-	1
Dumfries and Galloway	-	1	1	-	-
Fife	4	2	2	2	2
Grampian	-	1	1	-	-
Lothian and Borders	3	1	4	2	3
Northern	1	2	-	1	-
Strathclyde	8	12	5	7	9
Tayside	4	6	5	2	3

1. Includes one case where force is unknown.Crimes of Rape Recorded by the Police by Local Authority Area, Scotland, 1997-2001

Local Authority Area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Scotland	570	613	591	562	589
Aberdeen City	27	29	53	27	32
Aberdeenshire	21	40	21	23	18
Angus	21	24	23	10	12
Argyll and Bute	9	8	7	8	10
Clackmannanshire	1	4	0	5	6
Dumfries and Galloway	14	25	40	19	16
Dundee City	50	17	35	32	35
East Ayrshire	18	6	14	8	17
East Dunbartonshire	11	10	7	3	1
East Lothian	9	6	7	11	11
East Renfrewshire	4	9	4	6	5
Edinburgh, City of	95	114	60	76	78
Eilean Siar	0	0	1	0	4
Falkirk	4	7	3	4	14
Fife	25	35	32	54	42
Glasgow City	83	83	79	99	123
Highland	21	25	33	13	15
Inverclyde	6	16	12	15	7
Midlothian	5	10	12	18	11
Moray	6	7	8	10	5
North Ayrshire	17	12	19	13	14
North Lanarkshire	18	20	18	16	16
Orkney Island	2	0	0	0	1
Perth and Kinross	9	25	9	20	5
Renfrewshire	13	12	22	16	15
Scottish Borders	21	9	17	5	14
Shetland Islands	1	1	2	2	1
South Ayrshire	16	17	13	8	5
South Lanarkshire	10	14	15	18	18
Stirling	7	8	2	5	13
West Dunbartonshire	12	8	8	9	9
West Lothian	14	12	15	9	16

Crimes of Assault with Intent to Rape Recorded by the Police by Local Authority Area, Scotland, 1997-2001

Local Authority Area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Scotland	169	189	167	143	164
Aberdeen City	11	11	9	9	7
Aberdeenshire	2	11	8	6	2
Angus	5	6	2	4	2
Argyll and Bute	1	1	1	1	0
Clackmannanshire	0	1	0	1	2
Dumfries and Galloway	2	6	2	2	2
Dundee City	6	5	9	7	9
East Ayrshire	4	5	5	2	7
East Dunbartonshire	3	1	1	0	0
East Lothian	2	0	1	1	5
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	1	1
Edinburgh, City of	28	25	18	22	20
Eilean Siar	3	2	0	0	1
Falkirk	2	2	4	3	5
Fife	13	9	14	8	17
Glasgow City	26	32	34	18	25
Highland	4	10	6	8	4
Inverclyde	1	4	4	1	5
Midlothian	1	3	4	2	2
Moray	1	5	1	6	1
North Ayrshire	3	4	4	3	1
North Lanarkshire	14	5	12	7	11
Orkney Island	0	0	0	0	0
Perth and Kinross	7	3	2	1	3
Renfrewshire	4	10	9	4	2
Scottish Borders	2	1	0	2	2
Shetland Islands	0	3	1	2	0
South Ayrshire	4	7	2	6	5
South Lanarkshire	6	6	3	7	12
Stirling	1	3	2	2	2
West Dunbartonshire	5	1	5	3	4
West Lothian	8	7	4	4	5

There are no supervised residential accommodation places specifically designated for the use of sex offenders. Across Scotland there are approximately 100 hostel places funded under the 100% funding arrangements for criminal justice social work for the use of accused on bail or offenders either serving community sentences or on release from custody.

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Library services are a matter for individual local authorities. The COSLA Public Library Standards have been in place since 1995 and these include recommendations on extending library opening hours, provision for the needs of disabled users and access to services by the residents of care homes and sheltered housing. Local authorities are responsible for setting library opening hours, within their budgets. Local authorities must comply with current legislation on access, ensuring that buildings are physically accessible to users. The People's Network Project, which has included a massive investment in libraries to connect them to the internet, specifically £50 million for the development of content, £2.7 million for staff ICT training and £11.5 million for computer hardware, software and internet connection, will also extend access to e-Learning, cultural content and information.The People's Network will make specialist equipment and software available in certain libraries across the country. Two local pilots (North Lanarkshire Sheltered Housing Project and North Ayrshire Jump Leads Project) are also offering computer access to those unable to visit the library. The Scottish Library and Information Council also aims to develop a best practice framework for libraries to offer those with disabilities access to the internet.

A report of the review of good practice in housing management, conducted by a team of researchers from Glasgow and Heriot-Watt Universities, was published in 2001. Copies were placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (the relevant Bib. numbers are 14447, 14448 and 14449) and on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/search. The report (in three parts) reviews developments in housing management practices since the Scottish Office published A Baseline Study of Housing Management in Scotland in 1995. It is a comprehensive piece of research which includes a survey of good practice in the management of anti-social behaviour. Research is currently under way into the cost and effectiveness of mediation when compared to other legal remedies and a report will be published shortly on an audit of practice in all local authorities conducted by the Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator.

Statistics are available for certain proceedings under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. These do not specify whether interdict was applied for but, as shown below, give the numbers of applications for non-harassment orders and the numbers of orders granted.Number of Non-Harassment Orders: Totals for Scotland

	1999	2000	2001	2002
Applied for	277	108	72	72
Granted	76	18	21	36

The numbers of applications lodged, broken down for all the sheriff courts in Scotland, are not available.

No statistics are kept for the number of applications for interdict with a power of arrest attached made under the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001.

No statistics are kept for the number of applications for interdict made under the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001.