In 2007-08 additional funding of £5 million was made available to colleges and community learning and development partnerships which has provided over 5,000 new ESOL places. Further additional funding of £9 million over the three-year period from 2008-11 is expected to create a further 7,000 places. Providers have therefore extended classes to the aforementioned groups of residents.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/Publications.

A copy is also available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43799).

The Scottish Government is committed to radically improving the uptake of self-directed support. I recently convened a roundtable on self-directed support to inform government strategy in this area which will consider practical tools to achieve this aim.

Recommendation 29 suggested that the police and COPFS should commit to a process of full disclosure in all solemn cases in connection with the implementation of High Court Reform in 2005.

Recommendation 30 suggested that COPFS should consider a pilot for routine disclosure of a summary of the Crown case in summary cases.

I am pleased to confirm that both recommendations have been implemented in full, Recommendation 29 was implemented in November 2004 when the then Lord Advocate Lord Boyd issued a Crown Practice Statement in relation to the disclosure of evidence by the Crown in High Court Cases.

The Crown Practice Statement took full effect from 1 January 2005 and continues to apply to all High Court cases indicted on or after 1 April 2005 and was extended to all solemn cases from 1 September 2005.

In relation to Recommendation 30, a successful pilot was conducted in Dumfries and Galloway in 2007 and the new process was rolled out nationally in September 2007 to support the Summary Justice Reform programme. All summary complaints now include a summary of evidence against the accused.

In addition, in one case the SCCRC did not hold the information requested and, in another, the information requested was obtained from another source.

When the court considers a case, the details of that case (including the names of any solicitors or other legal representatives involved) will be contained in any published opinion and will be a matter of public record.

Section 194J of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 makes it an offence for any member or employee of the SCCRC to disclose information obtained by the SCCRC in the exercise of any of its functions. The possibility of information provided by applicants, witnesses and/or victims subsequently being disclosed, other than in court, could undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system, including the work of the SCCRC. Witnesses and/or people under investigation should not be inhibited or deterred from co-operating in investigations by the possibility that information provided may be disclosed or that their identity is revealed to the public, outwith the protection of the court. Accordingly, such information is not normally made available.

This may be because the accused was deprived of the opportunity to present his defence; or because his legal representative acted contrary to his instructions as to the defence he wished to be put forward; or because of other conduct which, because his defence had not been put, had the effect of denying him a fair trial.

In considering applications for review based on defective representation, the SCCRC applies the above approach.