§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what systems he has in place to ensure that policies being developed by his Department are subject to a crime impact(a) assessment and (b) audit and are not likely to lead to enhanced criminal opportunities. [72670]
§ Mr. McLeish[holding answer 24 February 1999]: The normal management of the Scottish Office's wide-ranging responsibilities ensures a corporate approach to crime reduction. This is demonstrated in the report "A Safer Scotland: Tackling Crime and its Causes", published on 9 February 1999, which brings together the Scottish Office's policies on health, education, employment, housing criminal justice and other matters which have an impact on community safety and crime reduction. Internal Scottish office Groups on Crime Prevention and other relevant policies ensure that the opportunities for criminal acts are minimised.
From 1 July this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.