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The adjournment of a trial on the date of the trial usually involves the payment of expenses to witnesses who have been inconvenienced. The adjournment of a trial at any time means that staff time in preparing for the trial (including administrative staff time in citing witnesses, arranging for productions to be in court and paper handling) has been wasted. The extent of that wasted expense depends on how long before the trial date it is known that there is to be an adjournment.

We are addressing the timeliness of reporting with the police and other reporting agencies.

This information is not held centrally. However, we are addressing the timeliness of reporting with the police and other reporting agencies.

The reduction in business in the district court is a consequence of the reduction in the overall number of cases reported to the procurator fiscal, the availability of fiscal fines and other alternatives to prosecution and the shift in the balance of business towards more serious crime.

This information is not held centrally. However, we are addressing the timeliness of reporting with the police and other reporting agencies.

We have no plans to do so. The Enterprise Networks already target entrepreneurship in disadvantaged areas through a range of measures - including the holding of Personal Enterprise Shows in such areas. We have also introduced recently a specific Scottish Enterprise Network annual target for the number of business start-up assists from residents in disadvantaged areas.

We have not attempted to quantify the costs in this manner, as appropriate data is not centrally available. However, we are aware of the disruption and inconvenience caused by adjournments to criminal trials and are keen to see them reduced. We did in fact commission research into the causes of adjournments in sheriff court summary criminal cases in 1999 and the research report was published on 19 July 2001. A summary of the main findings of the research can be found on the Scottish Executive website and the full report on the Scottish Executive Central Research Unit website.The reviews being carried out by Lord Bonomy and Sheriff Principal McInnes, of the High Court and summary justice respectively, are focusing on how the criminal justice process might be made more efficient and effective. Both reviews will be making recommendations to reduce the frequency of unnecessary adjournments.

This information is not available.

Section 24 (1) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill requires each local authority to establish at least one local access forum in its area. Section 24 (2) sets down the functions of these forums as being "to advise the local authority and any other person or body consulting the forum on matters having to do with the exercise of access rights or the drawing up and adoption of a plan for a system of core paths". It is also intended that forums may assist in the resolution of disputes about the exercise of access rights, the drawing up and adoption of core path plans or the use of core paths.

We have no plans to introduce such arrangements. The majority of funding for special educational needs provision is provided to local authorities through grant-aided expenditure and is so allocated to allow authorities to deliver effective provision, which takes account of local needs and circumstances and economies of scale. Within the funding available to them local authorities can implement integrated packages of education and care, including joint funding arrangements agreed with other agencies, for individual children with special educational needs.