Seòmar agus comataidhean

The information provided by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service for each of the courts is set out in the following table:Sheriff Court Civil

	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	April-June2002
Ordinary Actions
Lochmaddy	37	43	30	6
Tain	119	150	148	36
Dingwall	243	229	214	51
Portree	89	86	70	19
Peebles	115	118	111	34
Summary Cause
Lochmaddy	10	14	11	2
Tain	175	188	126	8
Dingwall	109	99	119	22
Portree	45	39	43	3
Peebles	58	109	84	18
Small Claims
Lochmadday	47	23	26	1
Tain	283	148	120	17
Dingwall	258	171	163	30
Portree	100	59	45	14
Peebles	109	93	86	23
Total
Lochmaddy	94	80	67	9
Tain	577	486	394	61
Dingwall	610	499	496	103
Portree	234	184	158	36
Peebles	282	320	281	75

The Principal Reporter will refer to a children's hearing any child considered to be in need of compulsory measures of care. The decision is not influenced by availability of resources available to local authorities to implement disposals from a hearing. Children's hearings make decisions based on the best interests of the child.

The consultation exercise by the Scottish Court Service on the alternative proposals for the delivery of court business in Peebles will provide an opportunity for any additional costs or savings to be identified. At present, while it is recognised that there may be a small increase in some costs due to the increased travel, for example for witness expenses, it is not anticipated that there will be significant additional costs to the public purse given the low level of business currently undertaken at Peebles.Should any additional costs be identified these would have to be weighed against the potential savings to the Scottish Court Service and the substantial cost required to upgrade the court.

I have been advised by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service that no new sheriff courthouses have been built since May 1999, but a number have been extensively refurbished.

The cost of providing night-time sanitation is not separately identifiable from the other necessary improvements in living conditions in the prison service. The independently verified costs of improving the estate were set out in the Executive's consultation paper of the future of the Scottish Prison Service estate, which show that the public sector whole life costs would be about double those of the private sector for the same quality of output.

In the period 1 January to 1 July 2002 there were a total of 5,301 applications for the central heating programme, as administered by Eaga. Four thousand, six hundred and fifty-nine of those applicants, or 88% of the total, are eligible for the programme. In the same period Eaga completed 3,651 central heating installations, of which 400 related to applications submitted after 1 January 2002. The remaining 3,251 installations related to applications submitted in 2001. Eaga do not collect figures on a local authority basis.

The terms of the question do not reflect the procedures under the central heating programme, as administered by Eaga. An application does not qualify until after a surveyor has visited the home to verify that the terms and conditions of the programme are met.When eligibility is confirmed, Eaga pass the applicant's details to a heating company. Details are generally passed on in the order in which applicants are confirmed as eligible. The period between determining eligibility and giving the applicant's name to a heating company will vary between parts of Scotland and over the duration of the programme. There are no figures by local authority area. When the heating company is authorised to proceed, the central heating is normally installed within three months.

The Scottish Executive has no plans to extend the scope of the existing rural (village shop) rate relief scheme to post offices in deprived urban areas. Post offices in deprived urban areas may be eligible for rate relief under the small business rate relief scheme announced by Andy Kerr on 11 December 2001.The level of discretionary rate relief granted by local authorities under the rural (village shop) scheme is entirely a matter for each local authority. Information on the level of discretionary rate relief granted specifically to post offices by each local authority is not held centrally.

Responsibility for interpreting the legislative framework within which local authorities are required to operate rests with the individual authority and subsequently, where a ratepayer disagrees with that interpretation, the Courts.The Non Domestic Rating (Rural Areas and Rateable Values Limits) (Scotland) Order 1997 designates rural areas for the purposes of the rural (village shop) rate relief scheme. The method used is based on the General Register Office for Scotland post code method of urban/rural classification.

No request for a loan has been received from Scottish Borders Council, and no loan has been agreed.