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The Scottish Crime Recording Standard (SCRS) was introduced throughout all Scottish police forces on 1 April 2004. The main aim of the SCRS is to provide a more victim orientated approach that ensures greater consistency and uniformity in crime recording standards throughout Scotland. Further to this, the list of crime codes used to record crimes is consistent across all police forces in Scotland, and allows Scotland-level statistics to be created. This ultimately ensures a greater degree of comparability between forces than there was previously.

The Scottish Crime Registrars Group (SCRG), created to oversee change in all forces, has helped achieve a standardised approach to recording. The group consists of the eight police force crime registrars, as well as representatives from British Transport Police, the Ministry of Defence Police and the Justice Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. The group meets every two months to review, maintain and improve the SCRS and its use and implementation.

The Scottish Government continually strives to improve the way in which crimes and offences are recorded in Scotland, and will work with all police forces across Scotland, the SCRG and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to ensure that the rules in place ensure as much consistency and uniformity as possible.

During the last five years, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) has undertaken a thematic inspection to review how the SCRS has developed within the police service in Scotland since 2005, and more recently, has conducted crime audits in each police force. The SCRG has responded to any recommendations published in these reports which relate to the recording of crimes and offences. In the last five years, the list of crime codes will have been updated to reflect new legislation which has been introduced within that time period. A recent example of this would have been changes to codes which relate to crimes of indecency, following the introduction of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 on 1 December 2010.

A person who has a Community Health Index (CHI) number, or who is the holder of a valid entitlement card, is eligible to buy a Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC). The people most likely to benefit from buying a PPC include those with long-term medical conditions who may need regular prescribed medicines, and who are not exempt from prescription charges.

Four hundred and thirty-seven thousand, eight hundred and seventy-three PPCs were sold in 2009-10, broken down as 375,627 four-month certificates and 62,246 12-month certificates. However, patients can buy up to three four-month PPCs each year and as a result we do not hold data which shows how many individuals bought those certificates.

Since 2007-08, the year prior to the introduction of our policy of phasing out prescription charges, the cost of a four-month certificate has been reduced from £35.85 to £10, and the cost of a 12-month certificate has been reduced from £98.70 to £28. The number of PPCs bought has increased over that period by 160%, benefitting all that buy them, particularly those with long-term conditions, for whom the cost of prescriptions may act as a barrier to maintaining good health.

This barrier will be removed in Scotland when prescription charges are abolished on 1 April 2011, subject to parliamentary approval.

Responsibility for the operations of the Forth Road Bridge is a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA).

Scottish Government employees, including members of the Senior Civil Service (which includes the Scottish Prison Service and Transport Scotland representatives on the Infrastructure Investment Group) are required to work a minimum (over a five day week) of 42 hours, including daily meal breaks of one hour. All staff can apply to work a flexible working pattern subject to business needs.

In addition, in accordance with their contract of employment, all Senior Civil Servants are required to work such additional hours as may from time to time be reasonable and necessary for the efficient performance of their duties.

Information on the contracted hours for employees of the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Futures Trust are the responsibility of these bodies, and are not held centrally.

The Scottish Government ICT network is connected to the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) and complies with the requirements for GSI accreditation. Risk assessment of the GSI is carried out by CESG, the national technical authority for information assurance. The Scottish Government has also carried out risk assessments of ICT systems against a range of threats.

The Scottish Government has adopted the Cabinet Office Security Policy Framework (SPF), which provides technical standards, policy and guidance for security and information assurance, and is implementing its requirements, including risk assessment. The SPF also applies to Scottish Government agencies.

Information relating to use of the Government Car Service and ministerial rail travel covering 2007 to 2010 has been pro-actively published and can be found on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944.

We are in the process of gathering and collating further ministerial travel information. This will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

In common with his fellow directors across the Scottish Government, the director has ensured that programme expenditure is monitored, controlled and assessed on a regular basis; and that business continuity and contacts with stakeholders are also part of the normal business process.

The Scottish Government is committed to pro-actively publishing all ministerial engagements three months in arrears. The information the member has requested will be published on the Scottish Government website in line with this commitment.

You can access this information at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/MinisterialEngagements

There has been contact between Scottish Government officials and Libyan Government officials on a number of matters, including the supervision of Mr Al-Megrahi''s licence under section 3 of the Prisons and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, and the anniversary of his release on compassionate grounds.

East Renfrewshire Council has sent copies of Mr Al-Megrahi''s monthly medical reports to Scottish Government officials, covering October, November and December 2010. These reports are prepared by Libyan medical personnel.