Responsibility for interpreting the legislative framework within which local authorities are required to operate rests with the individual authority and subsequently, where a ratepayer disagrees with that interpretation, the Courts.The Non Domestic Rating (Rural Areas and Rateable Values Limits) (Scotland) Order 1997 designates rural areas for the purposes of the rural (village shop) rate relief scheme. The method used is based on the General Register Office for Scotland post code method of urban/rural classification.

No request for a loan has been received from Scottish Borders Council, and no loan has been agreed.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The available information is in the following tables:Position at Friday 1 February 2002

	Available capacity	Total	% of available capacity
South and West
Barlinnie	825	1,064	129.0%
Cornton Vale	230	232	100.9%
Dumfries	162	111	68.5%
Greenock	254	313	123.2%
Kilmarnock	548	541	98.7%
Low Moss	375	237	63.2%
Polmont	422	389	92.2%
Shotts	516	513	99.4%
Area Total	3,332	3,400	102.0%
North and East
Aberdeen	155	193	124.5%
Castle Huntly	151	132	87.4%
Edinburgh	578	658	113.8%
Glenochil	489	487	99.6%
Glenochil YOI	58	56	96.6%
Inverness	108	129	119.4%
Noranside	121	100	82.6%
Perth	582	527	90.5%
Peterhead	296	293	99.0%
Area Total	2,538	2,575	101.5%
All Scotland Total	5,876	5,976	101.7%

Position at Friday 29 March 2002

	Available capacity	Total	% of available capacity
South and West
Barlinnie	818	1,115	136.3%
Cornton Vale	230	237	103.0%
Dumfries	122	139	113.9%
Greenock	254	317	124.8%
Kilmarnock	548	526	96.0%
Low Moss	345	264	76.5%
Polmont	422	434	102.8%
Shotts	516	518	100.4%
Area Total	3,255	3,550	109.1%
North and East
Aberdeen	155	172	111.0%
Castle Huntly	151	127	84.1%
Edinburgh	578	724	125.3%
Glenochil	496	483	97.4%
Glenochil YOI	58	56	96.6%
Inverness	108	135	125.0%
Noranside	121	100	82.6%
Perth	582	567	97.4%
Peterhead	296	287	97.0%
Area Total	2,545	2,651	104.2%
All Scotland Total	5,806	6,201	106.8%

Position at Friday 28 June 2002

	Available capacity	Total	% of available capacity
South and West
Barlinnie	860	1,200	139.5%
Cornton Vale	230	266	115.7%
Dumfries	178	178	100.0%
Greenock	254	353	139.0%
Kilmarnock	548	537	98.0%
Low Moss	318	295	92.8%
Polmont	422	471	111.6%
Shotts	508	498,518	98.0%
Area Total	3,318	3,798	114.5%
North and East
Aberdeen	155	210	135.5%
Castle Huntly	156	145	92.9%
Edinburgh	578	793	137.2%
Glenochil	496	497	100.2%
Glenochil YOI	76	73	96.1%
Inverness	108	138	127.8%
Noranside	121	112	92.6%
Perth	582	543	93.3%
Peterhead	296	286	96.6%
Area Total	2,568	2,797	108.9%
All Scotland Total	5,886	6,595	112.0%"

The information requested is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26947.

The reopening of a railway passenger station at Reston is a local transport issue. As such we would expect the relevant local authority to take such a project forward.Local authorities may apply for funding of feasibility studies for public transport improvements from the Public Transport Fund (PTF). Studies or projects supported by the PTF would have to satisfy eligibility criteria and compete with other bids. Applications for the current round must be submitted by 12 August.

The wording and distribution of the Have Your Say consultation leaflet is a matter for City of Edinburgh Council.

I have been advised by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service that the individual fees paid to the consultants who provided the feasibility report on Peebles Sheriff Court are subject to commercial confidentiality. However, I can advise that the total fees paid to date to the consultants are £17,480.

There has been no formal response to the Sheriff Principal's report beyond the statement made by the Deputy Minister for Justice at the conclusion of the Member's Debate on court provision which took place on 12 January 2000. Ministers accepted the recommendations of the Sheriff Principal in their entirety and there were no further matters to report to the Parliament at that time.

Consignia, post offices and postal services are reserved matters. The Executive can only assist post offices to achieve devolved purposes.The Scottish National Rural Partnership's Report Services in Rural Scotland identified innovative approaches to service provision in rural areas and offered recommendations on how providers, including Consignia, might work with rural communities to identify and achieve their realistic service needs. In response to a recommendation, the Executive is facilitating meetings exploring the possibility of a joint pilot project involving Consignia and other service providers to test the "Community Mall" concept, which, it is envisaged, would improve the economic viability of core services.As part of a broad strategy aimed at providing support for communities in deprived urban areas, ministers are currently considering ways in which post offices located in these areas might be assisted. I will provide further details of this initiative shortly.The pilot of "Your Guide", a project which may have an impact on post offices including those in rural and deprived urban areas, was undertaken in Leicestershire and Rutland. Its purpose is to provide on a one stop shop basis, access to customers for a range of official transactions, information and advice. This is largely delivered through kiosk based applications supplemented by leaflets, telephone helplines and face to face contact. An interim report has been published and this is being evaluated by Scottish Executive officials. A final report is expected in the near future. The Scottish Executive is continuing to work closely with the Department of Trade and Industry and Consignia in relation to the possibility of a national roll out of the project.