Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27839.

The Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 offers an additional, and important, form of protection for individuals at risk of abuse. We issued press releases at the passing of the bill and the coming into force of the act, so as to give widespread publicity to the new measure. However, our main aim has been to ensure that those giving advice to the public should be aware of the Act and be able to give balanced advice on the circumstances in which it may be of help. To that end we have liaised with bodies such as Scottish Women's Aid and Citizens' Advice Scotland to ensure that they are able to give accurate advice, and have asked local multi-agency partnerships on domestic abuse to disseminate information locally. The legal professions were also alerted to the new act.We have commissioned research into the use of the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001. We do not yet have figures for court actions initiated under the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001, nor where a power of arrest has been attached. However, the research is due to report later this year and we will provide the findings to the Parliament at this time.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27839.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27839.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) has provided information on the running and general maintenance costs for each court. This information is set out in the following table. It excludes capital expenditure and staff-related costs. Information on 2002-03 is not yet available.

Court	1999-2000			2000-01			2001-02
	Running Costs	Maint-enance	Total	Running Costs	Maint-enance	Total	RunningCosts	Maint-enance	Total
Lochmaddy	£50,100	£4,800	£54,900	£53,500	£6,300	£59,800	£48,300	£1,300	£49,600
Tain	£60,000	£36,800	£96,800	£59,300	£54,300	£113,600	£61,000	£8,700	£69,700
Dingwall	£66,900	£3,600	£70,500	£72,800	£2,500	£75,300	£63,400	£35,100	£98,500
Portree	£45,500	£16,000	£61,500	£44,800	£6,200	£51,000	£46,100	£1,000	£47,100
Peebles	£50,700	£1,500	£52,200	£53,100	£3,400	£56,500	£53,100	£1,800*	£54,900

*In addition, SCS spent £35,500 in respect of stabilisation work at Peebles.

The Executive has not been made aware of any such problems.

To be eligible for the central heating programme in the private sector all applicants or their partner must be aged 60 or over. Applications to date show that a very large number are in their 70s. All applicants would naturally like central heating as quickly as possible. The programme generally delivers central heating on a first come first served basis to avoid having to determine the relative needs of thousands of applicants, but exceptional cases will be considered on an individual basis.

There are no secure places designed specifically for young people with a physical disability or who are have a clinical diagnosis of a mental health disorder. As part of the Executive's implementation of the 10-point youth crime action plan, I am currently examining options for the re-configuration of the secure estate.I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26764, Table 3 of which gives the number of male and female residents on 31 March in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Places are currently not segregated with the exception of the six bed unit for girls only which has operated in Kerelaw since 2001.

Ministers have no powers to direct that private solicitors undertake legal aid work; this is a commercial decision by solicitors. I understand that a legal aid practitioner in Peebles, which undertook 15 cases in 2000-01, has decided not to undertake new civil legal aid cases. There are, however, two firms of solicitors who provide civil legal aid in Galashiels and a further two firms in Selkirk.The provision of legal advice and representation in rural areas is a priority area for pilot work as part of the Review of Legal Information and Advice Provision in Scotland.