To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in relation to the justice charter for Scotland, he has any plans to introduce legislation concerning the tendering of video-recorded interviews of children as admissible evidence in court cases involving sexual abuse or physical abuse of children; and if he will make a statement.

A proposal to enable the evidence of children to be taken on commission and for the commission proceedings to be video recorded was contained in the Scottish Law Commission's report on the evidence of children and other potentially vulnerable witnesses and is at present under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement concerning the educational, training and recreational facilities made available to those children detained in relation to section 205 or section 206 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.

Children detained under section 205 or 206 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 in residential child care establishments receive the same standard of educational, training and recreational facilities as the other children in them. Such establishments have educational and recreational facilities within their premises, but they also have access to external facilities to help them meet the needs of individual children, subject to any additional safeguards which are necessary for their own safety, or the safety of others.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland at what stage of detention of a child, detained under the terms of section 205 or section 206 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, he or she is eligible for home visits; and if he will make a statement.

Children who are detained without limit of time under section 205 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, following a conviction for murder, are not allowed home visits while detained in the child care system. There are regular opportunities for family and friends to visit the child in the appropriate residential establishments.As regards home visits for children sentenced to be detained under section 206 of the 1975 Act, each case is considered on its merits, having particular regard to the nature of offence and length of sentence. In most cases, home visits become a regular part of the child's programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state (a) the number of children detained in relation to section 205 or section 206 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 in each of the past 15 years, (b) the average length of detention/imprisonment undertaken by such offenders, (c) how many have been released under licence and (d) in how many cases licences were revoked; and if he will make a statement.

Details of the number of children sentenced and recalled under section 206 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 during each of the 15 years to 31 December 1990 are given in the table. Records of the number of children released each year and the average period of detention are not maintained.Corresponding records for children convicted of murder and sentenced under section 205 of the 1975 Act are not separately maintained.