§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the reasons for the decision not to prosecute in the case arising from the shooting of a short-eared owl on Dougarie estate, Isle of Arran.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonIt is not the policy of the Crown to give details of the reasons for decisions taken in individual cases. My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate is, however, aware of the circumstances of this case and is satisfied that the procurator fiscal's decision not to proceed to trial was a proper one in the circumstances as then known to him.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the total numbers of prison spaces in Scotland on(a) 1 June 1979, (b) 1 June 1983, (c) 1 June 1987 and (d) 1 April 1992 and on the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 24 March 1994]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Scottish Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Mr. John Gunnell, dated 24 March 1994:
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about prison places in Scotland.
During any year a number of cells are unavailable for use for a variety of reasons, including redecoration or damage repair work, refurbishment (including in some cases, to provide night sanitation) or for other policy reasons (eg being retained in the event of an emergency). Information on cells in use is not available for the earlier of the years you requested. However the design capacity of the estate was as follows:
1979 1983 1987 Design capacity (as at end of each calendar year) 5,279 5,318 5,691 At the beginning of April 1992, the design capacity was 5,692 with 5,103 spaces available for use. The latest position (as at Friday 18 March 1994) is that the design capacity is 5,736, with a total of 5,167 spaces available for use.
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