Chamber and committees

The available information is given in the table. Figures for 2000 are not yet available.Number of proceedings in Scottish sheriff courts resulting in a custodial sentence

	Calendar year
Sheriff court	1997	1998	1999
All courts	13,276	13,274	13,389
Aberdeen	924	862	843
Airdrie	309	310	383
Alloa	96	119	114
Arbroath	142	189	141
Ayr	406	460	516
Banff	38	31	32
Campbeltown	22	33	30
Cupar	100	74	52
Dingwall	57	67	53
Dornoch	6	15	8
Dumbarton	398	369	374
Dumfries	215	207	210
Dundee	665	745	728
Dunfermline	303	257	232
Dunoon	71	48	34
Duns	14	20	10
Edinburgh	1,408	1,393	1,436
Elgin	141	89	117
Falkirk	317	392	357
Forfar	82	65	59
Fort William	68	53	52
Glasgow	2,450	2,406	2,689
Greenock	574	645	630
Haddington	95	110	73
Hamilton	586	504	486
Inverness	243	236	217
Jedburgh	76	68	66
Kilmarnock	714	945	1,006
Kirkcaldy	570	553	528
Kirkcudbright	44	33	38
Kirkwall	19	15	26
Lanark	116	92	103
Lerwick	34	28	45
Linlithgow	242	197	235
Lochmaddy	5	10	9
Oban	45	44	45
Paisley	696	689	633
Peebles	11	19	32
Perth	280	230	202
Peterhead	132	138	96
Portree	6	4	2
Rothesay	17	18	4
Selkirk	42	51	43
Stirling	202	136	145
Stonehaven	36	35	30
Stornoway	51	38	37
Stranraer	138	150	145
Tain	32	35	18
Wick	38	47	25

The time bar in question is not one which relates to the courts. It is, rather, the one set out in section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which prevents the commencement of summary proceedings once six months have passed from the date of the contravention. The figures represent cases which were not reported to Procurators Fiscal until it was already too late to meet that time limit. The figures are:

1997-98	1,420
1998-99	1,278
1999-00	1,533
2000-01	2,009

The recent year-on-year increase is disturbing and the Crown Office has recently reminded reporting agencies again of the need to report cases within time bar.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The information is given in the table:

1997	0
1998	3
1999	10
2000	5

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:There were seven temporary contracts in 2001 of which four are Church of Scotland and three Roman Catholic.The appointments are shown in the table:

Prison	Church of Scotland	Roman Catholic
Barlinnie	1	1
Dumfries	1
Perth	2	2

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The information is given in the table:

Prison	Church of Scotland	Roman Catholic	Scottish Episcopal
Barlinnie	1	1	1
Castle Huntly	1
Cornton Vale		1
Dumries		1
Glenochil		1
Greenock	1	1
Inverness	1
Low Moss	1	1
Noranside	1	1
Peterhead			1
Polmont	1
Shotts	1	1

Cases brought under section 11 of the Building (Scotland) Act 1959 are not separately identifiable on the Scottish Executive classification of crimes and offences. Between 1997 and 1999 there were eight prosecutions in Scottish courts where the main offence was under the Building (Scotland) Act 1959. Data for the year 2000 are not yet available.

I would refer the member to the announcement I made during the urban regeneration debate on 10 May (Scottish Parliament's Official Report, 10 May 2001, col. 633). Guidance on the use of the resources allocated to partnerships will be issued very shortly.

Responsibility for the enforcement of building regulations lies with the local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

There are no plans to do so. In common with many other diseases and conditions, respiratory diseases in Scotland are tackled through a range of measures, from prevention through primary and acute to tertiary care. However, we monitor the prevalence and impact of diseases and conditions continuously to help us consider whether further developments in strategies are likely to be needed.

The revised guidelines will be distributed to schools before the summer break.