Chamber and committees

The total estimated fees for scope of works are £100,000 (ex VAT).

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The underspend in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 was primarily due to the timing of expenditure on committed capital projects, including investment in prisoner accommodation and improved staff facilities. In both years, the full underspend was carried forward into the following financial year as end-year flexibility funding and was therefore available for spending by SPS on the full range of its activities.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS anticipate that all projects in the SPS's capital building programme scheduled for completion in 2001-02 will be completed on schedule.

Currently there are no plans to introduce night and weekend courts in Scotland. However, the Scottish Executive will note with interest any lessons to be learned from the pilot projects in England.

With regard to the cost of establishing core paths I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O - 3689.We anticipate that the implementation of a right of responsible access will require the employment of additional access officers and rangers, but this will vary from local authority to local authority. Scottish Natural Heritage is currently working on estimates of the additional staff required to implement a right of responsible access. The work of these staff will not be limited to core paths.

Compulsory purchase powers are contained in general Acts of Parliament. They are available to government departments, most government agencies, local authorities, bodies with statutory obligations, bodies subject to a regulator and other bodies who have obtained compulsory purchase powers by way of a Provisional Order.There is no central register providing information on the number, type, cost or use of compulsory purchase orders. Research aimed at establishing how the compulsory purchase system operates in Scotland and identifying ways of improving its operations, has recently been published by the Scottish Executive. A copy of the research entitled, Review of Compulsory Purchase and Land Compensation is available on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

Scottish Natural Heritage and Local Authorities have powers under Section 49A of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 to enter into management agreements to preserve or enhance the natural beauty of the countryside or to promote the enjoyment of the countryside by the public. These powers already apply in respect of salmon spawning grounds. The provision relating to access agreements in Section 13 of the 1967 Act could also apply in enabling access to areas used by salmon for spawning. The need for access agreements will disappear with the introduction of a right of responsible access and, therefore, our intention is to repeal that Section in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The phrase "crofting communities" is a generic term, describing communities involved in crofting and located on or associated with crofting land. Like other communities, the areas and numbers of people included may be as wide as one decides e.g. one could talk about the crofting community of the Highlands and Islands, or of Skye, or Balmacara. The draft Land Reform Bill provides a means of defining a crofting community for the purposes of the Bill. It is not known how many communities in crofting areas could meet that definition or what the average size of such a community might be.

We propose to place a duty on local authorities to establish core paths following consultation. The cost of upkeep of core paths will depend on many factors including the extent of the network; the ratio of new to existing paths; the overall level of use; and the relative use by different categories of user. This uncertainty means that it is difficult to estimate at this stage, the likely annual cost of upkeep, but we have asked Scottish Natural Heritage to address this issue and to advise us in due course.

The draft Land Reform Bill makes no distinction between a bridleway and a footpath. However, under section 20 and 21 of the draft Bill, local authorities would have powers to delineate paths for particular purposes. For example, paths could be delineated for use by pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders or any combination of these users. These powers would also allow core paths to be delineated for different use.