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Reports prepared by the relevant local authorities include information on family circumstances. This forms part of the material that informs decisions about all types of release. It is taken into account when setting licence conditions attached to release licences, including electronic monitoring.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9918 on 4 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond.

His response is as follows:

The Scottish Prison Service welcomes the report by the Commissioner for Children and Young people in Scotland. The prison service is currently in the process of recruiting a member of staff specifically to consider the SPS support for offender relationships. As part of this role the post holder will look at developing the SPS standards of service around the children and families of offenders. The SPS continues to review the service they provide and will continue to look at options for service improvement in respect of families and children with reference to the recommendations contained in the report.

The SPS is already, in conjunction with the Scottish charity Families Outside, developing travel plans for each prison. This work will help inform the issue of visiting times.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond.

His response is as follows:

The Scottish Prison Service will consider the implications of the recommendations from the report as part of future reviews of the prison rules.

The prison service is currently in the process of recruiting a member of staff specifically to consider SPS support for offender relationships. As part of this role the post holder will look at developing SPS standards of service around the children and families of offenders.

Ensuring prisoners can receive visits from those with whom they wish to communicate is an important opportunity for maintaining family and child contact. SPS are keen to support and encourage appropriate links and recognise the importance of such bonds in contributing to reducing reoffending.

Scotland''s share of the money raised by the UK Government from the aggregates tax is indirectly reflected in our overall spending review settlement. Environmental spending is a devolved matter and the Scottish Government''s plans for environmental spending are set out in our budget. A couple of the larger projects that have been funded in recent years are a Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) aggregates programme, aimed at increasing the country''s production and use of secondary and recycled aggregates, and a Sustainable Design in Architecture project raising awareness of the need for a more considered design approach to our built environment based on principles of sustainable development.

Staff in post information for doctors employed in individual hospitals is not available centrally. However, figures on doctors employed in NHS Lanarkshire are available. These can be found in the table HCHS medical and dental staff by gender, contract type, grade, specialty, NHS board and Region in the medical and dental section of the Workforce Statistics website at www.isdscotland.org/workforce. This table shows whole time equivalent and head count figures for doctors employed in NHSScotland by grade and by NHS board and region. Whole-time equivalent adjusts head count to take account of part-time working. Latest available data is at 30 September 2007.

This information is not held centrally.

The operational deployment of resources is a matter for chief constables, and no information is held centrally on the number of officers deployed in specific local authority areas.

St Philip''s secure accommodation unit is situated in North Lanarkshire and it contains 24 secure beds. It is a national resource. The number of vacancies varies daily and we do not gather this information centrally.

In preparing a Social Enquiry Report for the court, the existing National Objectives and Standards for Criminal Justice Social Work require the report writer to consider the suitability of the full range of community disposals in making recommendations to the court, having regard to an individual domestic circumstances and commitments. Where the court subsequently decides to impose a Community Service Order the Standards require scheme managers to give particular attention to ensuring the availability of suitable placements for offenders with particular domestic or child care responsibilities.