§ Mr. Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what accounting developments are being made in his Department to give line managers better information about the cost and condition of the capital assets they are managing.
§ Mr. YoungerAs part of its programme of financial management improvements my Department has introduced a financial information and control system for the Scottish Office other than the prison service which provides line managers with detailed analyses of costs, including the costs of using capital assets.
For the prison service a separate but similar management accounting system is in being, and in addition a physical condition survey of the prisons estate is nearing completion: this will provide comprehensive data on the condition of all buildings and associated services.