| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Departmental Spending
Mr. Swinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will allow representatives of the Scottish National Party, Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party access to view, on a confidential basis, papers relating to spending by his Department already allocated and contracts signed by his Department for the period after 1 July for spending within the control of the Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [69920]
Mr. Dewar [holding answer 9 February 1999]: The allocation of all of the resources which will, after 1 July 1999, be under the control of the Scottish Parliament is set out in the booklet 'Scotland's Supply Estimates 1999-2000, which was laid before the House on 4 February. There is no central record kept within the Department of the wide range of contracts and similar arrangements entered into throughout the year by the Scottish Office, its agencies and associated Departments.
Civil Servants (Misconduct)
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the offences or acts of misconduct under which a civil servant in his Department could have his pension removed or reduced; and how often this has happened during the last five years. [70779]
Mr. Dewar: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 15 February 1999, Official Report, column 570.
Fisheries
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the selection criteria and priorities of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance scheme against which projects are selected. [70713]
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 149
Mr. Macdonald:
Guidance notes for applicants, which are widely available, provide information on selection criteria and priorities of the scheme. Copies of the guidance notes have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Forestry Commission met Mr. Roger Harris to discuss hunting; and what action is to be taken as a result of this meeting. [70926]
Mr. Macdonald:
Some of the Forestry Commissioners met Dr. Harris on 29 January to discuss the Joint Universities Study on deer hunting. The Commissioners will formally consider the findings of the study once it has been published and subjected to peer review.
Mr. Alexander:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people his Department is committed to employing during 1999 under the subsidised job option of the New Deal programme. [71433]
Mr. Dewar:
The Scottish Office is offering a total of 50 places under the subsidised job option of the New Deal programme.
Mr. Alexander:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements his Department proposes to make in order to select candidates to propose for City Status. [71430]
Mr. McLeish:
Awards of city status are made by Her Majesty The Queen acting under the Royal Prerogative, on the advice of the Government of the day. Her Majesty has expressed the intention of making awards in 2000 and 2002. Towns which have indicated an interest in city status will be contacted in May and invited to submit a formal application.
Mr. Berry:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what amounts in his Department's budget for 1998-99 can be attributed to spending on disabled people; and what proportion this represents of total departmental spending. [71282]
Mr. Galbraith:
Elements of the expenditure on a wide range of services within my right hon. Friend's budget, including social work, health, housing, education and transport, are of benefit to disabled people. It is not possible to identify these separately.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much of the funding allocated to colleges under European funding schemes is currently outstanding; [71362]
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 150
Mr. Macdonald:
The information requested could not be identified except at disproportionate cost. Further Education colleges in Scotland secure from the European Social Fund assistance amounting to over £20 million per year for over 400 projects per year. Payments are made as soon as possible following the receipt of valid claims.
The administration of the European Structural Funds in Scotland will, from 1 July 1999, be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Sir Robert Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average daily number of prisoners employed and the percentage of prisoners involved in vocational training by (a) quarter and (b) month in 1998. [71646]
Mr. McLeish:
The information requested is not available at this time in the detail sought, as figures for prisoners in employment are collated centrally for the full period required by the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts, that is, from April to March each year. The numbers involved in vocational training are collected separately. Provisional figures for the number of prisoners engaged in vocational training for 1998 are as follows.
(2) how many bids by Scottish colleges for European funding have been successful; and what has been the average length of time between the initial approval of the scheme and the receipt by the college of the first and the final payments. [71363]
| Month | Average daily number of prisoners |
|---|---|
| January | 292 |
| February | 289 |
| March | 297 |
| April | 281 |
| May | 286 |
| June | 310 |
| July | 316 |
| August | 109 |
| September | 310 |
| October | 316 |
| November | 322 |
| December | 273 |
The Scottish Prison Service is developing a computerised management information system for regime activity to support continuous improvement in prisoner programmes and other opportunities, and data collection.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the total spending on education for Scotland across all categories of education expenditure for each year from 1994-95 to 2000-01 in (i) current and (ii) constant 1998-99 prices. [71776]
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 151
| Year | Cash terms | 1998-99 Prices |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 3,485 | 3,894 |
| 1995-96 | 3,534 | 3,837 |
| 1996-97 | 3,590 | 3,781 |
| 1997-98 | 3,596 | 3,695 |
| 1998-99 | 3,758 | 3,758 |
| 1999-2000 | 4,036 | 3,938 |
| 2000-01 | 4,351 | 4,141 |
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 152
As from July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the spending on education in each of the current local government areas and for Scotland as a whole for (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000 and (e) 2000-01 in (i) current and (ii) constant 1998-99 prices. [71775]
Mrs. Liddell:
The available information is given in the following table. Final outturn figures for any year are generally higher than the budget estimates.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Notes:
1. All figures are net current expenditure excluding loan and leasing charges as returned by the individual local authorities to the Scottish Office, adjusted, where necessary, to 1998-99 prices using the GDP deflator.
2. The provisional outturn figures for 1998-99 and the budget estimates for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 are not yet available.
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 151
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |