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The first meeting of the Criminal Justice Social Work Accreditation Panel is to be held on 22 and 23 April. The development of criteria for the accreditation of youth justice programmes will be discussed at this meeting.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34950 on 24 March 2003. 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 Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:Since the phase-in of prisoners in 1999, the number of Available Prisoner Places, as defined in the contract between SPS and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited, has remained at 500.The number of Additional Prisoner Places, as defined in the contract, was 48 from July 2000 until January 2003. Since 1 February 2003, the number of such places has been 96.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:Information about prisoners unlawfully at large by security category is not available. The SPS annual reports give details of numbers of prisoners escaping/absconding from custody.

This is a matter for Strathclyde Police. The force has emphasised that the various factors referred to in the earlier answer are inter-related, that the increase in detection rates is a further factor, and that a review is under way involving procurators fiscal with a view to reducing delays as far as possible. I understand that the reference to reporting policies relates to the prioritisation of the different sorts of cases dealt with by the police and procurators fiscal as well as other related factors such as the procedures for reporting where there are cases with a significant number of charges.

This is a matter for Strathclyde Police. The force has emphasised that the various factors referred to in the earlier answer are inter-related, that the increase in detection rates is a further factor, and that a review is under way involving procurators fiscal with a view to reducing delays as far as possible. I understand that the reference to resources relates mainly to the way in which case checking currently takes place and whether, by adopting different arrangements within the force, the current procedures can be improved.

This is a matter for Strathclyde Police. The force has emphasised that the various factors referred to in the earlier answer are inter-related, that the increase in detection rates is a further factor, and that a review is under way involving procurators fiscal with a view to reducing delays as far as possible. I understand that the reference to technology relates to a number of on-going developments including electronic communications systems and an upgraded digital dictation system which is currently being rolled out.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34950 on 24 March 2003. 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.

The action was taken because it was becoming apparent that the target introduced in 2000-01 was no longer a reliable indicator of performance. Moreover, targets had been introduced by the Health and Safety Commission in their publication Revitalising Health and Safety launched by the Deputy Prime Minister in June 2000, and it was decided to align the SPS's method of accident reporting in future years against these targets.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Depending on sentence length and assessed needs, young adults are offered a range of employment supports including job interviews, CV preparation, literacies assistance, and building self-esteem. Links are also made with Apex Scotland, Job Centre Plus and individual employers to maximise chances of securing and retaining full, part-time and voluntary employment.