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Research
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ensure that research in Scottish institutions funded by research councils is properly integrated with research funded by the Scottish Executive to ensure the best use of resources. [90778]
Dr. Reid: Appropriate integration of the two streams of the research funding has been recognised for some time as an important matter. The Science and Engineering Base Co-ordinating Committee--which draws its members from the senior officials of the Research Councils, the Funding Councils (including SHEFC), the UK and devolved departments with responsibility for Higher Education and the Office of Science and Technology--aims to co-ordinate science and engineering base research activity across the UK and to ensure that it is consistent with, and targeted on, Government objectives.
Research in Scottish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is funded both by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) and the UK Research Councils Policy relating to the former is devolved and therefore a matter for the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament similarly, the UK Research Council are the responsibility of my noble Friend, Lord Sainsbury.
Gender Impact Assessment
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his Department since June 1997, indicating in each case whether the outcome has been (a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [91998]
Dr. Reid: I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and arrange for copies of my reply to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Quangos
Mr. Singh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many appointments to quangos he made between (a) 1 June 1997 and 31 May 1998 and (b) 1 June 1998 and 31 May 1999; and in each case of those how many were members of Britain's (i) Asian and (ii) ethnic minority communities. [92145]
Dr. Reid: I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and arrange for copies of my reply to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Official Documents
Mr. Wilshire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a list of all those official documents of the last Administration which have been
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seen by (a) him, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) special advisers in his Department and (d) non-career civil servants appointed since May 1997 in his Department. [92172]
Dr. Reid
[holding answer 20 July 1999]: A large number of official documents were generated during the period of the previous Administration, many of which were published or put in the public domain. Since May 1997, the Scottish Office was guided by the convention governing access to papers of a previous Administration, as set out in the then Prime Minister's reply to a written question on 24 January 1980, Official Report, columns 305-07.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the Scottish Executive about the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundary Order; and if he will make a statement. [93269]
Mr. Macdonald:
Following the debate in the Scottish Parliament about the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundary Order on 3 June, the Scottish Executive Minister for Rural Affairs, Mr. Ross Finnie, wrote to the Secretary of State. His letter conveyed fishermen's concerns about the Order. The Secretary of State met with representatives of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation on 24 June.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans to publish the concordats covering administrative arrangements relating to co-operation between Whitehall departments and departments of the Scottish Executive. [93278]
Dr. Reid:
The UK Government will shortly make proposals on concordats which will guide working relations between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive on a range of matters. They will be published once they have been agreed with the Scottish Executive.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his continuing responsibilities relating to research on matters pertaining to shellfish farming. [92278]
Dr. Reid:
Ministerial responsibility for research on matters pertaining to shellfish farming, and fish generally, lies with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, in Scotland, with the Scottish Executive.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his responsibilities are in relation to the use by police of (a) MIBK and (b) CS gas spray. [92320]
Dr. Reid:
None. From 1 July this became a matter for the Scottish Executive.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland by how much he has agreed to increase the Scottish block grant in each of the next three years to meet the new burdens on Scottish (a) health authorities, (b) ambulance
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authorities, (c) police authorities, (d) fire authorities and (e) local authorities laid out in paragraph 7 of Chapter 5 of the Ministry of Defence paper entitled, "Defending Against the Threat from Biological and Chemical Weapons". [93094]
Dr. Reid:
No additional provision has been made. Any additional costs for the authorities mentioned are likely to be very small in relation to the overall provision.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his Department's policy in respect of transferring oral questions to other departments; and in what ways it has changed since 1 July. [93243]
Dr. Reid:
The policy on transferring oral questions has not changed since 1 July.
Dr. Palmer:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mink and fox factory farms there are, by county, in Scotland. [93617]
Dr. Reid:
This is now a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
36. Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent representations he has received regarding the closure of magistrates courts in shire counties. [91634]
Mr. Vaz:
So far this year my Department has received 139 representations regarding the closure of magistrates courts in shire counties.
Under section 56 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997, the Lord Chancellor has a role in magistrates courthouse closures only where an appeal has been lodged. All representations received are carefully considered before any final decisions are made.
37. Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department pursuant to his answer of 7 July 1999, Official Report, column 556, on police authority and magistrates court committee chairmen, if he will take steps to avoid the appointment of the same individual to both chairmanships where the areas of operation are approximately the same; and if he will make a statement. [91635]
Mr. Vaz:
The chairman of a police authority and a magistrates court committee are both appointed by the members of their respective bodies. Neither the Home Secretary nor the Lord Chancellor, has any involvement in these appointments. The Lord Chancellor has however taken powers in the Access to Justice Bill for the preparation of a code of conduct to be observed by magistrates courts committee members and the panels that select them.
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38. Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what advice and guidance he is issuing to judges concerning comments made by them from the bench which may be perceived as being sexist, racist or otherwise disparaging and discourteous. [91636]
Mr. Vaz:
The Judicial Studies Board, which is an independent body controlled by a Board whose members are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, is responsible for providing high-quality training to full and part-time judges. All JSB courses and seminars include modules on equal treatment issues. The JSB's Equal Treatment Advisory Committee is chaired by Mr. Justice Keene and will be publishing the second edition of its guidance to full and part-time judges on ethnic minority issues in the autumn. Further material relating to disability, gender and sexual orientation, litigants in person and children will be issued in the following months.
39. Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how he intends that experience of the pilot and associate pilot schemes will inform the process of establishing a national community legal service. [91638]
Mr. Vaz:
The Pioneers and Associates were chosen for two reasons. First, they are all committed to developing high quality, responsive services to meet the needs of local communities. And second, they represent a range of areas with different characteristics. Some are urban, some rural and some semi-rural. This means that, in one way or another, the various models of best practice which emerge will be capable of transfer onto a national basis.
There will be a careful rolling out, so that the lessons from the Pioneers and Associates can be tailored in a detailed way to meet specific local needs in the rest of the country.
Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how the Pioneer Partnerships for the community legal service have sought to improve access to legal advice and representation by socially excluded groups; and if he will make a statement. [91637]
Mr. Vaz:
The Pioneer Partnerships are working to establish best practice in joined up planning of the advice provision. This will ensure we have the right services of the right quality at the right price to allow the disadvantaged to resolve disputes, enforce their rights or seek the protection of the courts.
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