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At the request of the First Minister,I wrote to the Lord Advocate, the Lord Justice Clerk and the Lord Clerk Registerprior to the debate to inform them that it was taking place. All responded priorto the debate and were unanimous in their view that the stone should remain at EdinburghCastle. I have received no further correspondence from the Commissioners of theRegalia on this matter following the parliamentary debate on 13 December 2006.

Decisions regarding theStone of Destiny rest solely with Her Majesty The Queen as advised by Her Commissionersfor the Safekeeping of the Regalia, whose duties are set out under the Royal warrantissued on 12 November 1996 immediately prior to the Stone’s departure from WestminsterAbbey and return to Scotland. Historic Scotland officials have advised the Commissionerson technical matters relating to the care of the stone (and the Honours of Scotland)but they have no locus in any decision-making regarding the location of the stone.This is solely a matter for the commissioners.

As part of the recentbudgetary round, the SPCB was made aware that since 2004-05 there had been anincrease in complaints and enquiries received by the Scottish Public ServicesOmbudsman. The latest Annual Report highlights the increase in the number ofcomplaints between 2004-05 and 2005-06 at 24% and a 99% increase in enquiriesreceived.

To address the impact ofthis, the SPCB approved a 7.6% budget increase (over the 2006-07 approvedbudget allocation) for 2007-08. This will provide funding for seven additionalmembers of staff taking the staffing complement up to 45 which should assistthe Scottish Public Services Ombudsman with her workload.

Under the Scottish PublicServices Ombudsman Act 2002, the ombudsman in the exercise of her functions isnot subject to the direction or control of any member of the Parliament, anymember of the Scottish Executive or the SPCB.The Scottish Public ServicesOmbudsman has a complaints procedure in place for anyone who disagrees with adecision reached or for anyone who is dissatisfied with the service provided bythe office. Details are available on the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’swebsite using the following link http://www.spso.org.uk/complain/article.php?ssi=36.

I refer the member to the answersto questions S2W-29664 and S2W-29665 on 17 November 2006. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, thesearch facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answerto questions S2W-29664 and S2W-29665 on 17 November 2006. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, thesearch facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answerto questions S2W-29664 and S2W-29665 on 17 November 2006. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, thesearch facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Executive is inregular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues includingdefence and defence procurement. The Ministryof Defence procurement processes must comply with Public ProcurementRegulations, which are applicable under United Kingdom and European Union law. Iunderstand, however, that two companies based in Scotland are among thecompanies being considered for the supply of kilts for the Royal Regiment ofScotland.

TheStaff Governance Standard commits NHSScotland employers to providing a staff witha safe and secure environment.

To help employers, the HealthDepartment has invested over £700,000 in the last few years on measures aimed atreducing violent and abusive behaviour towards NHSScotland staff. This includeszero tolerance awareness poster campaigns for hospitals in 2003 and 2005 with furtherposters planned for 2007. Last December we issued awareness posters specificallydesigned for GP practices. Around £500,000 has been provided to NHS boards for localprojects to reduce the risk of violence to staff. Examples of what this providedare:

installing door entry systems

provision of alarms and panicbuttons

increased security

mobile phone contact, such asguardian angel for staff working in the community.

It is proposed to gather informationon what NHS boards are doing locally and to share good practice with otherboards.

NHS employers have also installedCCTV cameras and some have a hot line to the local police or have a police presenceat accident and emergency wards. The Emergency Workers Act provides legal protectionto nurses and doctors and anyone helping them in an emergency. This applies to anyoneworking in the in the hospital setting. In addition, NHS employers also have a sanctionto withdraw treatment in specific instances.

Statistics related to violenceis collected and can be seen at Current publishedon the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

The Scottish Squirrel ActionPlan was prepared by a Working Group comprising Forestry Commission Scotland,Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Executive. Successful implementationof the plan will call for a similar level of co-operation and partnership workingbetween these bodies who have the lead responsibility as well as others with aninterest. I do not think that the appointment of a single individual to direct implementationof the plan would enhance the partnership approach that is required.