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The CrownOffice and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is the sole public prosecution authorityin Scotland. It is for the Procurator Fiscalto decide, in the public interest, on the appropriate summary court where prosecution in court is merited. As ismade clear in the COPFS Prosecution Code, the general rule is that cases shouldbe taken in the lowest competent court unless there is some good reason for prosecutingin a higher court.

A copy of the code is available on the COPFS websiteat:

www.copfs.gov.uk/publications/2001/05/prosecutioncode.

The Safer Communitiesbudget includes funding for community safety, for tackling antisocial behaviour,and for tackling drug misuse.

Up to and includingthe current year, the bulk of funding for community safety and for tackling antisocialbehaviour has been transferred in year to fund local authorities’ activities inthese fields. From 2008-09, this element of the budget has been incorporated intothe overall local government finance settlement.

The total packagefor funding for local government for 2008-11 will be £34.7 billion, representingan increase of 12.6% across the period.

Local GovernmentFunding for 2008-11

	Funding Granted
2008-09	£11,137.3 million	4.6% increase on 2007-08
2009-10	£11,600.4 million	4.2% increase on 2008-09
2010-11	£11,992.6 million	3.4% increase on 2009-10

 

The Safer Communitiesbudget in future years includes £2.8 million per year, to support nationally determinedprojects on community safety and antisocial behaviour.

The element of theSafer Communities budget which relates to tackling drug misuse consists of £29.5million/£32 million/£32.8 million for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. This representsa 14% increase against the comparable baseline. As at present, it is intended thatthe majority of resources within this budget will be released to health boards tofund drug treatment and rehabilitation services, with a small amount being retainedto fund centrally determined projects.

The draft budget containsprovision for the continued operation of the existing drug courts in Fife and Glasgow. The position of these is due to be reviewedin spring 2009 against the progress made with the summary justice reforms. Meantimethere are no plans for further drug courts and no budget provision has thereforebeen made, which would allow for extended coverage.

During the last threemonths almost all JPs throughout Scotland, including thosein Grampian Highland and Islands, have undertaken a three day course of residentialtraining organised by the Judicial Studies Committee.

Since 10 December 2007, planning and reporting on the training of JPs in Grampian Highlands and Islands has been the responsibility of the Justices’ Training Committee for thatsheriffdom. This committee is made up of justices of the peace, a sheriff and alegal assessor. The committee is currently considering the training needs of differentparts of the sheriffdom, and is discussing with the Scottish Government the possibilityof holding a further residential event for JPs before June 2008, when courts inGrampian, Highlands and Islands come under the management of the Scottish Court Service.

I refer the memberto the question S3W-6924 on 5 December 2007. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the searchfacility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-6924 on 5 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Under the concordatagreed between Scottish ministers and COSLA, funding for community safety and antisocialbehaviour will be absorbed into the main local government settlement from 1 April2008.

The Scottish Governmentwill be providing local government with record levels of funding over the periodcovered by the spending review 2008-11. The vast majority of the funding, includingfunding for community safety and antisocial behaviour will be provided by meansof a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority, in conjunctionwith their Community Planning Partners, to allocate funding on the basis of theirlocal needs and priorities – having first fulfilled their statutory obligationsand the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities, including the ScottishGovernment’s key strategic objectives and manifesto commitments.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-6924 on 5 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

JP courts will beestablished in Grampian Highland and Islands when the existingdistrict courts come under the management of the Scottish Court Service. We expect this to happen in June 2008.

Business will be transferredfrom sheriff courts to JP and district courts during the first half of 2008, inline with the Crown Office’s revised marking guidance and the new power that thedistrict and JP courts will have to disqualify people from driving in cases otherthan “totting-up” cases. As in other areas of Scotland, there will be on-going communication between the Justices’ Training Committeeof Grampian Highland and Islands, the Crown Office and the Judicial StudiesCommittee to ensure that justices of the peace and legal advisers are properly equippedto deal with any new types of cases that are transferred to the JP or district courts.

We have no plansto increase the number of community wardens. For future years, funding forcommunity safety and antisocial behaviour will be included within the overalllocal government finance settlement. It will be the responsibility of eachlocal authority, in conjunction with their Community Planning Partners, toallocate funding on the basis of their local needs and priorities – taking intoaccount their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national andlocal priorities, including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectivesand manifesto commitments.

We will belooking at the role of community wardens and considering their potential futureuse as part of the current review of antisocial behaviour.