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The number of absconds and escapes for the period requested can be obtained from the Scottish Prison Service annual reports published at:

.

The number of prisoners still at large (18) is detailed in the following table.

Establishment	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Barlinnie					1
Open Estate		1	3	3	10
Total	0	1	3	3	11

 

The following is the original answer (published on 6 June 2007); see below

The number of absconds and escapes for the period requested can be obtained from the Scottish Prison Service annual reports published at:

.

Number of Prisoners Still at Large

Establishment	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Aberdeen					1
Barlinnie					1
Open estate		1	3	3	10
Total	0	1	3	3	12

 

NHS Ayrshire and Arran is responsiblefor service change proposals and for maintaining high quality healthcare servicesfor all residents of its area, within available resources. I have made clear thatwe will reverse the previous decision on accident and emergency services at Ayr Hospital, andI outlined in my statement to the Parliament on 6 June 2007 the steps needed togive effect to this commitment.

As I said, our aim is to ensurethat these steps are taken as quickly as possible, consistent with proper considerationand good decision making, and that other elements of service development proposedby the board also move ahead as quickly as possible. I am not aware of any currentproposals by the board to establish a community casualty facility within the threetowns area.

Our aim is to ensure that Scotland isan unattractive place for any organised crime gangs to do business. We haveworked with the UK Government on a number of measures including a joint ScottishExecutive and Home Office Action Plan on Human Trafficking. Law enforcementorganisations across the UK work together using an intelligence led approach toidentify emerging issues which are likely to impact on Scotland inthe future, including the accession of new member states to the European Union.Where intelligence indicates that a threat from organised crime exists the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in support of the Scottish policeservice takes action to deal with it.

The co-operation of primary employers,whether in the public or private sector, is essential to supporting the role ofa retained firefighter. The government has no plans to prescribe how this is done,rather it will continue to fall to each Fire and Rescue Service to enter into dialoguewith primary employers to encourage local agreements.

It is already the case that,consistent with agreements made at the National Joint Council for Local AuthorityFire Brigades where responsibility for this matter lies, retained firefighters areprotected with respect to any loss of earnings incurred as a result of respondingto an emergency.

Jim Smith, a retainedfirefighter and a large employer with experience of releasing staff for fire-fightingduties, has recently been appointed as an Assistant Inspector with Her Majesty’sFire Inspectorate. Mr Smith’s role will revolve around drawing upon his experienceto raise awareness amongst employers about the benefits of employing staff who arealso retained firefighters.

The Scottish Executive’sguidance pack on Vulnerable Children and Young People, which was published inJuly 2003, contains specific recommendations on young runaways. Localauthorities are expected to have developed local protocols which give effect tothe guidance in ways which best suit their own circumstances.

In response to therecommendations of this report, the Executive has:

provided substantialadditional support to ChildLine and ParentLine;

funded, on a pilot projectbasis, the Running Other Choices (ROC) project run by Aberlour Child CareTrust, and

provided a guidance pack toChild Protection Committees on Vulnerable Children and Young People (July2003), with the expectation that local authority areas will develop their ownprotocols to support the guidance, as suits their local circumstances.

Some of the recommendationsin this report were overtaken by the implementation of the three-year ChildProtection Reform Programme (2003 to 2006-07) which provided a strengthenednational framework, and mechanisms, for local agencies to work together toidentify the needs of all children in their area and make appropriate provisionto meet these.

The Scottish Executive recentlycarried out a public consultation exercise on whether or not snaring should be bannedin Scotland. Analysis of the responses is currently underway andI expect to make an announcement to Parliament after summer recess.

The non-confidential responsescan be viewed on the Executive website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent/Q/Page/4.

Between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007, fourScottish children were seen at Stoke Mandeville. As there have been no newreferrals of Scottish children to Stoke Mandeville since 1994, each of the fourchildren concerned received a short-stay review of their rehabilitation care,rather than a full initial assessment, resulting in nine admissions in totalfrom Scotland to the unit.

We are committed to workingwith education professionals to stretch every child to achieve their fullpotential and will be considering at an early stage our particular commitmentto raising the achievement of the poorest performing 20% of school pupils, withincreased intervention and support.

The police budget for2007-08 is over £1 billion. Chief constablesare responsible for planning the use of the resources available to them to deliver the full range of policingactivities including dealing with the detection and deterrence of migrantcriminals from other member states.