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Statistical Service
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what qualifications and experience will be required of the successful candidate for the position of Head of the Statistical Service in his Department. [81175]
Mr. Dewar [holding answer 23 April 1999]: The basic educational qualification required is an Honours degree with a substantial element of statistics and/or an equivalent post-graduate qualification. In addition, since this is a post in the Senior Civil Service, management experience at a senior level is necessary, including experience in the use and/or production of statistical information.
Professional Statisticians
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff by grade are employed as professional statisticians in his Department; how many of these staff have been accepted as fast stream by the Civil Service Selection Board; and how many have been granted chartered statistician status by the Royal Statistical Society. [81208]
Mr. Dewar [holding answer 23 April 1999]: Statistical work is undertaken by a range of specialists, including Research Officers, Economists and Statisticians. Since 1996, The Scottish Office has employed statisticians through its own departmental recruitment as well as through the Civil Service Selection Board. This resulted from a rapid growth in statistics posts coupled with a shortfall of recruits from the Civil Service Selection Board source.
Withe my Department there are 36 statisticians recruited through the Civil Service Selection Board: 25 at Band C and 11 at Band B. There are also 13 statisticians at Band B who were directly recruited by the Department. All are managed by a chief professional officer at Senior Civil Service level: at the present time this post is vacant.
Affiliation to the Royal Statistical Society is not mandatory and some members of staff may not have reported acquisition of Chartered Statistician status. There are four statisticians at Band C who are known to hold Chartered Statistician status.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff who have worked as professional statisticians in his Department have left on early retirement in each of the past 10 years. [81188]
Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 23 April 1999]: Statistical work is undertaken by a range of specialists, including Research Officers, Economists and Statisticians. Since 1996, The Scottish Office has employed statisticians through its own departmental recruitment as well as through the Civil Service Selection Board. This resulted
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from a rapid growth in statistics posts coupled with a shortfall of recruits from the Civil Service Selection Board source.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1998-1999 | 1 |
| 1997-1998 | 1 |
| 1996-1997 | 2 |
| 1995-1996 | -- |
| 1994-1995 | 2 |
| 1993-1994 | 1 |
| 1992-1993 | -- |
| 1991-1992 | -- |
| 1990-1991 | -- |
| 1989-1990 | -- |
Job Creation
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in date order since 2 May 1997 each occasion on which Scottish Office ministers have made announcements about the creation or safeguarding of jobs in Scotland indicating (a) the business and the economic sector to which it belongs, (b) its address in Scotland, (c) the number of jobs to be (i) created and (ii) safeguarded, (d) the nature of the assistance offered by the Scottish Office and other Government agencies, (e) the reference number of Scottish Office press notices issued in association with the announcement and (f) the Minister who made the announcement. [82184]
Mr. Dewar [holding answer 26 April 1999]: News Releases issued where Ministers have made announcements about creation or safeguarding jobs are available on:
- 1. The Scottish office website at www.scotland.gov.uk/news/ archive.asp for all news releases issued from October 1997.
- All Scottish Office news releases are also available in the House of Commons Library.
- 2. The Locate in Scotland website www.lis.org.uk/lisnws.cfm for news releases relating to inward investment announcements from September 1997.
- Further information on announcements up to March 1998 is available in the Locate in Scotland Annual Review for 1997-98.
Pollution
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Scottish Environment Protection Agency will list the worst repeat offenders against pollution legislation in a form similar to that published for England and Wales. [81277]
Mr. Macdonald:
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has no plans to publish a league table of offenders in a similar way to that recently published by the Environment Agency. Information on offences against environmental legislation is published in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's Annual Reports, copies
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of which are in the Library. Information on offences in 1998-99 will be included in the report due to be published later this year.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the enforcement regime and level of fines imposed in Scotland against those who transgress pollution standards. [81278]
Mr. Macdonald:
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is the statutory regulator for environmental standards in Scotland. I am satisfied that the Agency is both a firm and fair regulator and is prepared to take enforcement action against those who breach standards or illegally pollute the environment.
In addition to referring cases to the Procurator Fiscal, there are various forms of enforcement action available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. These include the issue of improvement and prohibition notices. Enforcement action can lead to adverse publicity and loss of accreditation for those companies which have independent environmental management systems. These factors are often stronger deterrents than fines.
It is for the Procurator Fiscal to decide whether it would be in the public interest to prosecute a case referred to him by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The level of fines for pollution offences is entirely a matter for the Sheriff to consider in each case.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will include mussel farming as an approved measure under the agricultural business improvement scheme. [82533]
Mr. Macdonald:
The legislation governing the Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme was recently amended following suggestions from industry representatives and detailed negotiations with the European Commission. Mussel farming was not raised in those discussions and there are no plans to include it as an approved measure. The Scheme closes to grant applications on 31 October 1999.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning the shortage of nurses in the United Kingdom. [77837]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We have received no recent representations; however, at the Commonwealth Health Ministers meeting in Barbados in November 1998, the Minister of Health for Jamaica made representations to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health
28 Apr 1999 : Column: 178
about concerns in the region that there was a drain of trained nurses to the UK. It was agreed that a collaborative approach should be developed.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance is in place for the choice of books that are acquired by the British Council for its overseas libraries; what restrictions are imposed by (a) the UK and (b) other Governments regarding what texts can be supplied in any particular country. [79942]
Mr. Fatchett
[holding answer 14 April 1999]: The Government do not give the Council guidance on books for its libraries, which is an operational matter for the Council's management.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Commission staff will receive clearance, in accordance with 1999/218/EC (Official Journal L80, 25.3.99), for access to (a) confidential, (b) secret and (c) top secret material; what categories of information are covered; what is his policy thereto; what contribution to screening Government agencies will make, and at what cost; and if he will make a statement. [81043]
Ms Quin:
Commission Decision 1999/218/EC extends Decision C(94)3282 of 30 November 1994 on the security vetting of European Commission staff to cover documents relating to the Common Foreign and Security Policy. It does not affect the security clearance of staff already working for the Commission.
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