§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment techniques he has employed to evaluate the benefits and operational efficiency of the Scottish Court Service as an executive agency; what are the specific responsibilities and duties of this agency; 115W whom he appointed as the chief executive of this agency; and if he will make a statement. [28631]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe Scottish Court Service was established as an executive agency on 3 April 1995. The key performance targets for the agency were set out by my right hon. Friend in his reply to the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) on 31 March 1995,Official Report, columns 804–5. The responsibilities and duties of the agency are set out in the framework document, which is available in the Library. The chief executive of the agency is Michael Ewart, who was appointed following open competition for the post.