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Scientific Research
2. Dr. Ian Gibson (Norwich, North): What plans he has to distribute and control funds for scientific research within Scotland. [84127]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Calum Macdonald): The Scottish Office controls a block of research-related spending of around £250 million in total. This underpins the science base in Scotland and covers the full range of the responsibilities of the Scottish Office. The Scottish Parliament will assume devolved responsibility for all these matters on 1 July.
At the same time, the UK research councils also fund research projects in Scotland. Research council funding is a reserved matter.
Dr. Gibson:
Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating medical scientists at the university of Dundee, who are developing radical cancer therapies and have launched a £4 million appeal? Does he agree that with talent like that, they can well compete for research grants on the international scene as well as for those from UK research councils and their charities? There is no need for breakaway funding councils; they can compete across the world.
Mr. Macdonald:
I agree completely with my hon. Friend. Some Scottish Office research funding for the health service in Scotland, for example, goes to successful bidders throughout the United Kingdom. It is important to maintain those connections.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):
Will the Minister assure us that funding will continue for the research centre in Edinburgh that was responsible for much of the research that linked bovine spongiform encephalopathy to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease? Who will be responsible for funding that centre? Will it be funded nationally or from Scotland?
Mr. Macdonald:
I am not sure whether that research institute is funded through the Scottish Office or through UK funding. If the funding comes from the Scottish Office, it will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament. If it is UK research council funding, it will continue as at present.
Mr. Jimmy Hood (Clydesdale):
Will my hon. Friend outline the steps that the Government are taking to allay public concerns about genetically modified crops?
Mr. Macdonald:
Some £2 million of Scottish Office research funding goes into GM-related research. That research is important to gain the necessary knowledge to assess the future of GM crops and foods.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):
On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I welcome the whole of the renewed
Will the Minister ensure, in his role as a UK Minister, that the excellent research facilities in Scotland--particularly in the north-east of Scotland, at organisations such as the Rowett institute, the Macaulay institute and universities--secure continued funding through the Scottish Parliament? Will he also support our excellent universities as they seek the UK and international funding for which they have earned a reputation throughout the world?
Mr. Macdonald:
First, I have always been a UK Minister, because the Scottish Office has always been part of the UK Government. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Scottish research institutes should be able to continue to bid for funding from around the United Kingdom.
3. Mr. Brian H. Donohoe (Cunninghame, South):
If he will make a statement on the Government's policy on CCTV as a method of crime prevention. [84128]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Calum Macdonald):
The Government are firmly committed to strong policies on law and order. That is why we support CCTV as a method of crime prevention, as is demonstrated by our commitment to the Scottish Office CCTV challenge competition, which has awarded £6.8 million to more than 100 projects in Scotland since 1996. From 1 July, that will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Donohoe:
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. He will know of my interest in the subject, because Irvine and Kilwinning in my constituency are without CCTV. I wrote to my hon. Friend the Member for Central Fife (Mr. McLeish), who was then the relevant Minister, and received a reply at the end of last month suggesting that there would be a new competition for an additional £13 million. When will that begin?
Mr. Macdonald:
I know that my hon. Friend has been lobbying on the issue for some time. He lobbied successfully for funding for Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenson. The next round of funding will be in July or August, and will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Peter Viggers (Gosport):
Do the Government think that there is a connection between the reduction in the number of police officers in Scotland in the past year and the 13 per cent. growth in crime?
Mr. Macdonald:
I know that CCTV has resulted in a 20 per cent. reduction in crime figures in some areas. It is not a substitute for good, modern policing, but the two must go hand in hand.
4. Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend, East):
If he will publish a document listing his responsibilities following the establishment of the Scottish Executive. [84129]
12. Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):
If he will make a statement on the future role of the Secretary of State for Scotland. [84138]
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Dr. John Reid):
As Secretary of State, I will continue to have the role of representing Scottish interests across the range of matters that are reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament, as well as easing and assisting in relationships between the British Government and the Scottish Executive and between the two Parliaments.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
While I wish the Secretary of State well, are we not in danger of creating a costly constitutional nonsense by retaining a group of Scottish Ministers who will be little more than Muppets sitting on the Front Bench, with no power to influence decision making in Scotland? If he doubts that, as he will no doubt tell me he does, would he care to consider Question Time today--before 1 July--when he will be asked what visits he plans and what his opinions are on social inclusion and biotechnology? Will the change not make a nonsense of the House of Commons? Why should we spend all the money on keeping a Scottish Office when its powers have gone?
Dr. Reid:
I do not whom the hon. Gentleman meant by his reference to Muppets--we are not a bad team, with three PhDs and a millionaire. People in Scotland are capable of deciding who is and is not a Muppet, as they did in Cathcart in 1979. I assure the hon. Gentleman that the people of Scotland wish to be Scottish and British, they wish to take more of their own decisions in the Scottish Parliament, and they wish to play a full part in a partnership with English, Welsh and Northern Ireland representatives in the United Kingdom. In so doing, they send Members of Parliament here who have been and will be active in defending and representing the interests of the people of Scotland at every level and across the range of important issues--which he deems unimportant to them--such as pensions, benefits and welfare, economic and industrial policy, and foreign affairs and defence. I should have thought that that was a full-time job.
Miss Kirkbride:
Now that we have devolution, will the Secretary of State give a proper answer to the so-called West Lothian question which is greatly exercising my constituents in Bromsgrove and those in many other English seats? In particular, will he explain why it is right or fair that the right hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Mrs. Liddell) should be the Minister for Transport, with responsibility for roads in my constituency, but this House has no responsibility for roads in Scotland? Why is it right or fair that his hon. Friends who sit for Scottish seats can vote on health and education issues that affect my constituency, while English Members cannot vote on those issues in Scotland?
Dr. Reid:
I am sure that they speak of little else but the West Lothian question in the pubs of Bromsgrove. I must remember not to go for a good night out in a Bromsgrove pub.
The hon. Lady seems to assume that the process of devolution stopped at the Scottish border. It did not. The process of devolution and decentralisation is of benefit and applicable to the whole of the United Kingdom. It is already taking place in Wales; we are discussing it in Northern Ireland; and we are devolving power to London. As that process unfolds, and we decentralise the basis of decision making, we will of course consider the structures at the top that were built on the old system. We are committed to bringing decision making closer to people in the United Kingdom, be they in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, or, indeed, in England.
Dr. Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Inverclyde):
I offer my sincere compliments to my right hon. Friend. What authority has he over matters relating to the management of traditional Scottish inshore fishing grounds? The recent transfer of jurisdictional control over several thousand square miles of traditional Scottish fishing grounds to English courts has caused deep concern among fishermen. Should not the Scottish Fishermen's Federation have been consulted on that matter?
Dr. Reid:
I thank my hon. Friend for his compliments. First, as he will understand, there was previously no legal boundary line but an administrative one. Secondly, the line that has been set allows something like--I speak from memory--140,000 square miles of sea for Scottish fishing. That line has been set according to the internationally agreed legal standards and determined by the two adjacent land points. Fishermen on the western side of Scotland seem prepared to accept that international standard, although those on the eastern side do not.
I am aware of the concerns, which have been communicated by letter to my Ministers. I shall listen carefully to what fishermen have to say.
Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow):
It will be within your recollection, Madam Speaker, that you had some strong words to say on the matter of the sub judice rules in connection with Lockerbie. Will my right hon. Friend say whether the person with the relevant responsibility--either the Advocate-General or the Lord Advocate--is addressing the question of how The Sunday Times came to run a coach and horses through the sub judice rules on its front page last Sunday? Is any action being taken?
Dr. Reid:
I thank my hon. Friend for the notice that he gave me about that question, which he did as I walked through the door into the Chamber this afternoon. I can tell him that my understanding of the matter, which is much fuller than it was before I entered the Chamber, is that it has been the subject of discussions between the Attorney-General and other parties, but that so far it has not involved Scottish Law Officers. However, in the near future I shall discuss the matter with my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Dr. Clark), who is Advocate-General for Scotland and on the Bench beside me today. I shall then write to my hon. Friend with further details.
Dr. Liam Fox (Woodspring):
The Secretary of State should be aware that his response to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride) about the breaking-up of England and the imposition of its balkanisation on an unwelcoming English public is likely
Dr. Reid:
On the first question, there are a number of residual powers that are not under the control of other Departments. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman with a list, which he can read in due course. On the second question, I know that the hon. Gentleman has difficulty holding two ideas in his head at the same time, but it is possible to be both Scottish and British. Indeed, the Scottish people have lived with those two ideas for some 300 years, as even a cursory glance at Scottish history would reveal.
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