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A consultation exercise on the proposals for mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation was undertaken by the Scottish Office from 4 June to 30 October 1998. Apart from local authorities, police and fire brigades consultees included landlords' organisations, higher education institutions and student bodies, health boards, tourism interests and voluntary organisations providing housing and support for a wide variety of client groups. The results of this exercise were announced by the Secretary of State for Scotland on 24 March 1999.A working group representing key interests was subsequently established to consider the detail of implementation and to draw up guidance on the scheme. Limited consultation was conducted on the draft order, and further comments were also sought before the guidance was finalised.

The available information, which relates to all offences categorised as litter offences under the Scottish Executive Justice Department's classification of crimes and offences, is given in the following table. The data for 2002 are expected to be published in the autumn of 2003.Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts Where the Main Offence was a Litter Offence, by Local Authority, 2000 and 2001

Local Authority	2000	2001
Angus	2	5
Argyll and Bute	1	-
City of Edinburgh	-	1
Dumfries and Galloway	1	-
Dundee City	3	3
East Ayrshire	-	2
East Dunbartonshire	1	-
Falkirk	-	1
Glasgow City	1	4
Highland	-	2
Inverclyde	1	1
North Ayrshire	-	1
North Lanarkshire	2	3
South Ayrshire	-	2
South Lanarkshire	1	2
West Dunbartonshire	1	-
Total	14	27

No further local authorities have adopted formal litter plans since my response to question S1W-30208. The decision on whether to adopt a litter plan is one for the individual local authority.

The Scottish Executive considers that the provisions of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Order 2000 are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

It is for the local authorities to monitor the success of the specific schemes they propose for Quality of Life funding. However, the Scottish Executive has provided £150,000 to Keep Scotland Beautiful to develop, with all local authorities in Scotland, performance indicators for the standard of cleanliness of streets and pavements.

The law relating to the detention of persons suffering from personality disorders was recently reviewed as part of the work of the Millan and McLean Committees. Their recommendations informed the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, which received Royal Assent in March and April respectively this year and will come into force in due course. Given this, we see no benefit in a further review at this time. The operation of the new legislation will clearly be very closely monitored.

The Scottish Executive and the Home Office jointly reviewed the Sex Offenders Act in 2000 and published the results in July 2001. That review concluded that there was no viable way of extending the act to offenders convicted before the legislation came into force, beyond the limited retrospection with respect to those serving relevant sentences on 1 September 1997.There are measures, however, to protect the public from sex offenders who have completed their sentences prior to 1997 but who continue to display risky behaviour. Chief constables can, for example, apply for a Sex Offender Order, which triggers notification and can place prohibitions on the individual.A number of changes to strengthen the existing sex offenders' regime are contained in the Sexual Offences Bill currently before the UK Parliament. No further changes to the retrospective element of the legislation are planned.

The Executive has had sight of the three independent reports commissioned by Scottish Borders Council in respect of the "Miss X" case. The latest of these is the report written by Ms Anne Black, which was received by the Executive on 29 May 2003. I have asked the Chief Social Work Inspector to examine the documents and report back to me.

The task of monitoring any individual who poses a threat to local communities is taken extremely seriously by the police and by other agencies which have a responsibility. The measures available to the police include, for example, applying to the sheriff court for a Sex Offender Order which would seek to place restrictions on the actions of the individual in question. While it would be a matter for the relevant Chief Constable to determine the measures to be taken in each individual case, Lothian and Borders Police has already given assurances that it will undertake a full assessment in respect of Mr Cronin, should he return to the East Lothian area.

The Litter (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Order 2003, which will increase fixed penalty fines for littering from £25 to £50, was laid before Parliament on 5 June and will come into force on 1 July 2003.