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SCOTLAND

Welfare to Work

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many young people to be covered by the welfare-to-work programme are estimated to require remedial literacy and numeracy assistance. [7929]

Mr. Wilson [holding answer 21 July 1997]: This information is not available. Under the new deal initiative, all young people aged between 18 and 24 and unemployed for six months or more will be given guidance interviews and sufficient provision of remedial assistance will be made available to those identified as having literacy and numeracy needs.

Holyroodhouse Palace

Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons are (a) permanently employed and (b) employed on a seasonal and a

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temporary basis at Holyroodhouse palace; what is (i) the annual wages bill, (ii) the range of salaries and (iii) the average salary; and if he will make a statement. [9148]

Mr. Chisholm [holding answer 23 July 1997]: There are 22 permanent staff employed by the royal household and funded by Historic Scotland at the palace of Holyroodhouse and six paid for out of the Queen's Civil List.

For these staff:

(i) the total wages bill (including national insurance and pension costs) for the year 1996-97 was £513,130;


(ii) the current range of full-time salaries--excluding national insurance and pension costs--is £8,624 to £33,686;


(iii) the current average full-time salary--excluding national insurance and pension costs--is £13,009.

In addition, Royal Collection Enterprises Ltd.--a trading subsidiary of the Royal Collection Trust--employs 13 permanent staff in connection with the opening of the palace to the public and up to 13 temporary posts are created during the busy summer months.

Historic Scotland employ a number of industrial staff who work on various properties in the Edinburgh area, including the palace of Holyroodhouse. Approximate assessments of the costs associated with their palace duties show that:

(i) the relevant proportion of the total wages bill--including national insurance and pension costs--for the year 1996-97 was £333,643;


(ii) the current range of full-time salaries--excluding national insurance and pension costs--is: £8,500 to £16,182;


(iii) the current average full-time salary--excluding national insurance and pension costs--is £11,075.

Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many days in each of the past 10 years there have been persons in residence in Holyroodhouse palace; if he will say who was resident; and if he will make a statement. [9150]

Mr. Chisholm [holding answer 23 July 1997]: The palace of Holyroodhouse has been occupied by members of the royal family and by the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for the following number of days in each year since 1988:

Year	Number of days occupied
1988	38
1989	28
1990	28
1991	28
1992	23
1993	32
1994	28
1995	29
1996	26
1997	(10)34

(10) Includes visits by members of the royal family planned for the remainder of 1997. In addition, staff of the royal household have been in residence from time to time in connection with their duties.

Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the annual cost of the maintenance at Holyroodhouse palace in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [9149]

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Mr. Chisholm [holding answer 23 July 1997]: The subject of the question relates to operational matters undertaken by Historic Scotland. I have asked the chief executive, Mr. Graeme Munro, to arrange for a reply to be sent.

Letter from Graeme Munro to Mr. Norman Godman, dated 30 July 1997:

In the absence of Graeme Munro, Historic Scotland's Chief Executive, on annual leave I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the maintenance costs of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Secretary of State funds the cost of maintaining the fixed fabric of Holyroodhouse (as distinct from furniture, tapestries, paintings, etc.), together with security costs, the costs of utilities such as electricity, gas and telephones, and limited capital purchases such as equipment and office furniture. The Royal Household funds the costs of administering the Palace for Royal use, and the Royal Collection Trust undertakes the arrangements for public visiting.

The annual costs falling to the Secretary of State under these headings since 1990-91 are as follows:

	Programme expenditure	Historic Scotland employee costs	Total £
1990-91	860,833	288,636	1,149,469
1991-92	723,000	334,346	1,057,346
1992-93	696,600	338,530	1,035,130
1993-94	693,215	337,852	1,031,067
1994-95	897,700	345,124	1,242,824
1995-96	805,400	273,909	1,079,309
1996-97	743,700	288,126	1,031,826
1997-98 (estimate)	734,700	275,673	1,010,373

These figures include all Historic Scotland's expenditure directly related to the Palace apart from central professional and administration costs.

The provision of figures for the years preceding 1990-91 (prior to the formation of the Agency), or the separation of maintenance from other costs such as security and utility charges, could not be undertaken without disproportionate effort and cost.

I hope that this information is helpful.

Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions Holyroodhouse palace has been the setting for public events in each of the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [9151]

Mr. Chisholm [holding answer 23 July 1997]: Each year, approximately 14,000 people are invited to some 20 functions given at the palace by the Queen and by the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on Her Majesty's behalf, including garden parties, dinners, receptions and investitures. The place is also used on occasions by other members of the royal family. In addition, the palace was used in December 1992 for the meeting of the European Council under the UK's presidency; in 1994 for a sate visit by the King of Norway; and during the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Edinburgh during October 1997, the Queen will receive Heads of State and other representatives of Commonwealth countries at the palace and will give a dinner and reception for those attending the conference.

Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many tourists have visited Hollyroodhouse palace in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [9164]

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Mr. Chisholm [holding answer 23 July 1997]: The numbr of visitors to the palace of Holyroodhouse in each of the last 10 years was as follows:

Year ended 31 March	Number of visitors
1988	316,593
1989	321,629
1990	297,730
1991	314,694
1992	278,346
1993	276,866
1994	299,722
1995	253,714
1996	260,294
1997	283,877

The palace was open on most days of each year, apart from during the visits of HM the Queen and the Lord High Commissioner and a few days of preparation before and after their visits.

Learning Support Teachers

Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many learning support teachers expressed as a full-time equivalent have been provided by each education authority in the current year; and how many were provided over the previous four years by them or their predecessor authority. [9613]

Mr. Wilson: The information requested is not held centrally on a comparable basis for each education authority in Scotland at the present time. Information is collected annually as part of the school census about the provision of learning support. An analysis of this data shows that there has been a substantial variation recently from year to year and among education authorities. We strongly suspect that some of this variation is due to differences in the patterns of provision and interpretation of definitions of learning support, rather than differences in the total amount of learning support being provided in each authority. The methods used to collect this information are currently being improved. My Department will be considering with colleagues in education authorities, schools and HM inspectorate how to resolve this issue and collect and publish the information on a more comparable basis.

Pharmacists (Drug Offences)

Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will bring forward proposals to change the law to prevent a pharmacist, who has been disbarred following a professional hearing for offences involving drugs, from continuing his business. [9620]

Mr. Galbraith: I do not propose to change the existing legislation controlling the business of a registered retail pharmacy.

Persons who have been removed from the register of pharmaceutical chemists are not entitled to use the restricted title of "pharmacist" and cannot legally own a pharmacy business in their own name. They may retain an interest in the business by transferring ownership to a partnership or body corporate, but in either case the pharmacy must operate under the personal control of a registered pharmacist.

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