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The report on the refurbishment of Peebles Sheriff Court was prepared for the Scottish Court Service by Keppie Design, Architects, in partnership with Currie & Brown, Quantity Surveyors, White Young Green Consulting Engineers and Melville Dundas, Contractor.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:Full structural surveys, which are expensive, are not normally commissioned unless indications from visual inspections, settlement or other problems indicate that they are necessary. A visual survey was carried out in August 1994 to ascertain the extent of the problem of rain penetration through the numerous cracks in the mass concrete walls. This survey also included investigation of external wall foundations at four locations. We do not believe a full structural survey now is necessary or would be good value for taxpayers money, as we already know that the cells are too small for integral sanitation; there is no access to night sanitation; there is no electrical power in cells or in cell fire detection system; the windows are below SPS security standards and non-compliant with the current building regulations in terms of daylight factor and natural ventilation, and site services for electricity, gas, water and drainage are at full capacity, indeed at times overloaded, or in need of replacement. The term "state of exhaustion" is a brief summary of the factors which make the current accommodation not in our view fit for purpose.

We have no plans to do so.

The following criteria and priorities were set out in the grant application pack:

• promoting inclusive policies in mainstream and special schools
• approaches to improving links, and sharing skills/expertise between special and mainstream schools
• empowering parents to enable them to participate fully in their children's education
• improving children's participation in decisions which affect them
• promoting integrated and co-ordinated approaches to service delivery (e.g. key worker role)
• offering new approaches to advice and resolution of disagreements between professionals and families

We are writing to those unsuccessful applicants who have requested feedback on their bids. This includes Independent Special Education Advice and a letter outlining the reasons for refusing funding was issued to them on Thursday 30 May.

The following table shows the latest centrally available data for headcount and whole-time equivalent of speech therapists by NHS board in Scotland:Speech Therapists in Scotland by NHS Board at 30 September

	Headcount				WTE
	1998	1999	2000	2001P	1998	1999	2000	2001P
Scotland	824	844	887	882	686.4	708.1	744.4	739.6
Argyll and Clyde	62	62	62	66	52.4	52.9	53.7	56.2
Ayrshire and Arran	41	46	49	54	36.2	40.2	41.7	45.8
Borders	18	18	19	20	15.5	16.0	16.7	17.2
Dumfries and Galloway	25	28	26	29	22.3	25.5	22.2	23.8
Fife	63	46	67	50	49.4	37.9	51.6	40.1
Forth Valley	42	46	53	54	34.1	36.5	43.5	43.3
Grampian	94	101	101	96	70.9	78.3	78.9	74.4
Greater Glasgow	139	147	155	156	122.6	128.1	136.3	137.6
Highland	31	29	28	33	27.2	24.6	24.2	28.4
Lanarkshire	104	107	100	102	94.5	95.4	89.7	90.3
Lothian	133	138	148	143	100.4	109.2	117.9	112.9
Orkney	4	4	4	3	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.4
Shetland	4	3	3	3	3.7	2.5	2.7	2.7
Tayside	58	64	66	66	48.7	53.4	56.6	57.3
Western Isles	6	5	6	7	5.8	5.0	6.0	7.0

^PProvisionalNote:1. These data are released under National Manpower Statistics from Payroll.2. Whole-time equivalent (WTE) is calculated by dividing the number of contracted hours by the conditioned hours for the group of staff.

The information requested is not held centrally. Data on waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant is collected at speciality level only. The median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in Neurology, following referral by a General Medical Practitioner, in the year ending 31 December 2001, by NHS board of residence, is given in the table.NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Out-patient Appointment with a Consultant in Neurology, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board of Residence. Year Ending 31 December 2001^P

NHS Board	Median Wait
Argyll and Clyde	80 days
Ayrshire and Arran	97 days
Borders	78 days
Dumfries and Galloway	101 days
Fife	66 days
Forth Valley	70 days
Grampian	88 days
Greater Glasgow	95 days
Highland	59 days
Lanark	106 days
Lothian	28 days
Orkney	120 days
Shetland	97 days
Tayside	66 days
Western Isles	56 days
Scotland	69 days

^pProvisional.Source: ISD Scotland.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Responsibility for business support services in Scotland rests largely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) networks. Access to business advisers for small businesses in Scotland, including sub-postmasters, is already available. It is accessible in the Scottish Enterprise area through the Small Business Gateway and in the HIE area by contacting the Local Enterprise Company (LEC) direct. Dedicated training for subpostmasters on business planning and diversification has been offered in a number of Scottish Enterprise LEC areas, and more is planned in the HIE area.

Police officers inform the procurator fiscal, in the report which they submit, of any dates on which they will not be available. Procurators Fiscal take that information into account in accepting suggested trial diets. Lothian and Borders Police are, with the co-operation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Court Service piloting arrangements for police rostering, leave and availability to be checked immediately before trials are fixed. Early indications are that significant reductions in adjournments are being achieved as a result. Grampian Police are also, with the co-operation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Court Service, piloting a similar process but one based on direct computer access in court. Such measures are designed to ensure that, so far as possible, trial dates are fixed when police officers will be available.

The training received and written guidance held by procurators fiscal identifies particular classes of case as generally requiring priority. These include, for example, cases involving children, cases in which the accused is in custody and cases in which a time bar is approaching. The allocation of priorities as between the several cases which a given member of staff or a given office requires to deal with at a particular time is a matter for professional judgement in light of training and experience and depends on consideration of all of the circumstances of each case.