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The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance is already funded by the Scottish Government Health Directorates to support and promote independent advocacy. A range of publications and guidance documents are available on their website at to assist advocacy organisations to operate in a clear and responsible way and to ensure the provision of high quality advocacy.

Some of the functions of the Advocacy Safeguards Agency were absorbed within the NHS organisations involved in the development of standards, monitoring and support for the NHS. For instance advocacy is a key aspect of the NHS Patient Focus and Public Involvement programme of work and its provision is monitored as part of this.

The review of the Principles and Standards for Independent Advocacy organisations and groups (2002) was taken forward by the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance when the Advocacy Safeguards Agency was dissolved. The Principles and Standards for Independent Advocacy published in 2008 are available at:

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01680 on 15 August 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

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The cost of construction was included in the overall contract price in 2009, and there has been no change to this figure.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) does not retain a database of the number of fingerprint experts precognosced by COPFS staff.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has issued guidance on the precognition of expert witnesses, including fingerprint and forensic experts.

The guidance provides that where an expert witness has been instructed by the Crown and the witness is to be asked to express an opinion, including an expert witness in relation to fingerprint evidence, that witness should always be contacted for the purposes of precognition interview. The nature and extent of the precognition interview will depend on the significance of the evidence in the case. The interview will normally be conducted in person, although there may be particular circumstances where interview by telephone will be appropriate.

I have not been advised of any new recommendation to relocate any of the services provided by the Scottish Police Services Authority from their existing locations across Scotland, other than those announced to parliament on 2 December 2010.

Planning permission does not in itself allow developers to construct on other people’s property. The powers, responsibilities, obligations and other requirements to construct on local authority land, or other parties’ land, are set out in various pieces of legislation dependent on the type of utility infrastructure involved.

The Telecommunications Act 1984, as amended by the Communications Act 2003 (link below), includes, in Schedule 2, the Electronic Communications Code which makes such provision for relevant developers, such as the mobile phone operators, involved in electronic communications. The code includes powers to take rights over private land either with the agreement of the landowner, or by applying to the sheriff court to set aside the need for an agreement. The code makes special provision for works by telecoms operators in relation to roads.

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In the case of delegated appeals, an appointed reporter issues the decision on behalf of Scottish Ministers. In the case of called-in applications, the Planning Minister issues the decision. There are no other handling differences.

Information on the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police in which a firearm was alleged to have been used or where a firearm was stolen is published, on a financial year basis, by the Scottish Government in the Recorded Crimes and Offences involving Firearms, Scotland statistical bulletin series. The most recent year for which data is currently available is 2009-10. The number of recorded crimes and offences in which a firearm was discharged, in 2008-09 and in 2009-10, can be obtained from Tables 5 and 5A in the following link to the most recent publication.

The corresponding information for 2010-11 will be available from the statistical bulletin Recorded Crimes and Offences involving Firearms, Scotland, 2010-11 which will be published on 25 October 2011.