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SCOTLAND
Children's Clubs (Police Advice)
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what record is kept of police officers offering advice or assistance in their personal capacity to the organisers of children's clubs; and if he will make a statement. [195]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: There is no central requirement for clubs or police officers to keep such records.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to make alterations to the system under which decisions relating to both the aggregate level and distribution between councils of grant-aided expenditure, Government-supported
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expenditure and aggregate external finance are taken with particular reference to the delegation of such decisions to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities; and if he will make a statement. [206]
Mr. Kynoch: My right hon. Friend is statutorily obliged to consult the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about both the aggregate level of the local government finance settlement and its distribution among councils, but there is absolutely no question of decisions on those matters having been delegated to the convention as the hon. Member appears to suggest.
Cullen Inquiry
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officers of Central Scotland police intimated a willingness to give evidence to the Cullen inquiry and subsequently declined to do so; and if he will make a statement. [90]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland appointed Lord Cullen on 21 March 1996 to be a tribunal for the purposes of this inquiry in virtue of section 1 of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921.
Under the provisions of the Act, Lord Cullen had the power to call witnesses and require them to appear at the inquiry. There was, therefore, no question of anyone intimating a willingness to give evidence to the inquiry and subsequently declining to do so.
Police (Freemasons)
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what records are kept which show to which masonic lodges police officers belong; and if he will make a statement. [237]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: No such records are kept by the Scottish Office.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the policy of the Central Scotland police in respect of officers being members of the masonic order. [89]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: I have no information about any such policy, which would be a matter for the chief constable.
Casualty Animals
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received relating to the reluctance of contractors to pick up bulls as casualty animals; and if he will make a statement. [464]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: None.
Thomas Hamilton
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions Thomas Hamilton was found in possession of firearms, other than those included on his firearms certificate; and if he will make a statement. [95]
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Lord Cullen's report of the public inquiry into the shootings at Dunblane primary school mentions no such occasions. In particular, I refer the hon. Member to chapter 6 of the report, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Ex-prisoners (Employment)
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what percentage of ex-prisoners in Scotland have entered (a) paid employment, (b) full-time training and (c) full-time education within six months of being released from prison in each year since 1990; [1472]
- (2) what percentage of ex-offenders in Scotland who received non-custodial sentences have entered (a) paid employment, (b) full-time training and (c) full-time education within six months of completing their sentence in each year since 1990; [1473]
(3) what is the total number and percentage of ex-offenders in Scotland who have entered employment within six months of completion of their sentence in each year since 1990. [1474]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria are used by his Department in assessing requests for additional section 94 consents made by local authorities. [1379]
Mr. Kynoch: Additional section 94 consent is dependent on the availability of uncommitted resources for local authority capital spending. If resources are available, decisions are taken by Ministers in light of the submissions from local authorities and the relative needs and priorities of the councils seeking assistance.
Re-offenders
Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number and percentage of re-offenders in Scotland in each year since 1990; and if he will provide a breakdown of these figures by category of crime. [1475]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Information is not available in the form requested. The Scottish Office publication "Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 1994" contains some information on those persons convicted on more than one occasion in the period 1989-1994.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Public Relations
Mr. Allason: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will contract out to the private sector media and public relations work currently undertaken by the Government Information Service. [850]
Mr. Freeman: Decisions on how media and PR campaigns are carried out are for Departments to make.
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TRANSPORT
West Coast Main Line
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has made of (a) the restructuring costs and (b) other costs relating to the letting of the west coast main line rail franchise. [1371]
Mr. Watts: The costs incurred by the franchising director to date on letting the InterCity West Coast franchise are £2.2 million. Any restructuring of the business will be the responsibility of the franchisee.
Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates have been made of (a) the total costs of consultants, (b) the costs of lawyers' fees, (c) the costs of accountants' fees, (d) the costs of management consultants' fees and (e) the costs of publicity, in the letting of the west coast main line rail franchise. [1370]
Mr. Watts: The costs of consultants' fees incurred by the franchising director on letting the InterCity West Coast franchise are:
Lawyers: £0.33 million
Accountants: £1.23 million
Management consultants: £0.28 million
Total consultants costs: £2.20 million
Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs have been incurred to date on the bidding process in preparation for letting the west coast main line rail franchise, broken down by category. [1369]
Mr. Watts: The costs incurred to date by the franchising director on letting the InterCity West Coast franchise are:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Legal | 0.33 |
| Financial adviser | 0.23 |
| Accountant | 1.23 |
| Management consultants | 0.28 |
| Engineering | 0.13 |
| Total | 2.20 |
Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the value of liabilities to be written off as part of the letting of the west coast mainline rail franchise. [1372]
Mr. Watts: The franchising director has written off no liabilities as part of franchising InterCity West Coast.
Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the expenditure on operation of the west coast mainline (a) in each year since 1993-94, (b) in the year up to the issuing of the first pre-qualification document by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and (c) in the time since preparation for letting the franchise began. [1373]
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Mr. Watts: In 1993-94, the InterCity West Coast business was part of the InterCity division of BR and it is not possible to identify the operating costs of InterCity West Coast separately.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 99.05 |
| 1995-96 | 84.69 |
| 1996-97(32) | 92.53 |
| Total | 276.27 |
(32) Annual total.
In 1994-95, BR received £67 million of the support for InterCity West Coast by 14 December 1994 when the first pre-qualification document was issued.
From 1 April 1994 to date, Opraf has paid BR £233 million in respect of InterCity West Coast.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of services projected in the passenger service requirement for InterCity West Coast between Watford junction and Milton Keynes. [1468]
Mr. Watts:
There is no requirement for services to call at Watford or Milton Keynes in the InterCity West Coast draft passenger service requirement. The draft passenger service requirement for North London Railways includes a specification safeguarding regular services between London, Watford, Milton Keynes and stations on the route to Birmingham. In drawing up the draft passenger service requirement for InterCity West Coast, the franchising director has taken the view that the operator should have the commercial flexibility to determine the number of InterCity services calling at these stations. The consultation period on the draft passenger service requirement for InterCity West Coast ends on 20 November.
Mr. Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the cost of consultants' fees relating to the preparation for letting the west coast main line franchise (a) for each year since 1993 and (b) to date. [1368]
Mr. Watts:
The costs of consultants' fees incurred by the franchising director on letting the InterCity West Coast franchise are:
1993-94 £0.00 million
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Mr. Watts:
The draft passenger service requirement for InterCity West Coast specifies that the operator must provide an hourly service in each direction Mondays to Saturdays. On Sundays there must be an hourly service between Crewe and London Euston, and 14 trains between London Euston and Crewe. The consultation period on the draft passenger service requirement ends on 20 November.
1994-95 £0.26 million
1995-96 £0.30 million
1996-97 £1.64 million
Total £2.20 million
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the projected number of services listed in the passenger service requirement for the InterCity west coast main line for services between London Euston and Crewe. [1519]
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