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Forth Bridge
20. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his role in respect of the safety and maintenance of the Forth Bridge. [114028]
Mr. Wilson: My right hon. Friend takes an active interest in the safety and maintenance of the Forth Bridge but it is primarily for the Rail Regulator to ensure that Railtrack complies with its obligations under the Railways (Safety Cases) Regulations 1994 and other legal obligations in relation to the safety of the bridge and its operation.
Pig Industry
22. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held with the First Minister on the future of the Scottish pig industry. [114030]
Mr. Wilson: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the First Minister on a wide range of issues.
Television Reception (Rural Areas)
23. Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regarding television reception in rural areas of Scotland. [114031]
Mr. Wilson:
The Government are aware of the particular problems in receiving terrestrial television signals in rural areas. I understand that, with the introduction of digital television, new analogue transmitters are no longer being
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planned. However, the BBC and Independent Television Commission, which are responsible for the television transmission network, are now considering, in consultation with the digital broadcasters, the Government, and other interested parties, how to develop the coverage of digital television across the whole of the UK. The Government will ensure that no fewer than those who presently receive analogue television (in Scotland 98.1 per cent. of the population) can receive the main free-to-air channels digitally before the analogue signals are switched over. The process of switch over is subject to close liaison and consultation with all those involved, including viewers.
Mr. Wray:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the claimant count rate of unemployment in Scotland (a) currently and (b) a year ago. [114026]
Mr. Wilson:
The claimant count rate of unemployment in Scotland in February 2000 was 5.1 per cent., down from 5.6 per cent. in February 1999, and the lowest rate since April 1976.
Scottish Legislation
25. Mr. Savidge: To ask the Advocate-General if she will make a statement on the arrangements for considering whether Bills passed by the Scottish Parliament are within its legislative competence. [114033]
The Advocate-General for Scotland: I receive copies of all Bills introduced to and passed by the Scottish Parliament to enable me to consider whether their provisions are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. Similar arrangements enable all UK Departments with an interest to do likewise.
Responsibilities
26. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Advocate-General if she will make a statement on the opinions for which she has inherited responsibilities from the Lord Advocate. [114034]
The Advocate-General for Scotland: One of my functions as a UK Law Officer is to give opinions, when required, to the UK Government on Scots law. This function was performed by the Lord Advocate before devolution.
European Convention on Human Rights
28. Mr. Browne: To ask the Advocate-General what recent discussions she has had with the Lord Advocate and Solicitor-General regarding the incorporation of the European convention on human rights into Scots law. [114036]
The Advocate-General for Scotland:
I have regular discussions with the Lord Advocate and Solicitor-General regarding a variety of matters of mutual interest.
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29. Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Advocate- General what steps she is taking to monitor the impact of the European convention on human rights in Scotland. [114037]
The Advocate-General for Scotland:
Questions relating to the European Convention on Human Rights may now be raised as "devolution issues" in courts or tribunals in Scotland and must be intimated to me under schedule 6 of the Scotland Act 1998.
30. Mr. Connarty:
To ask the Advocate-General what subjects have been raised with her as devolution issues; and how many cases have now been intimated to her. [114038]
The Advocate-General for Scotland:
Since May 1999 around 500 devolution notices have been intimated to me. A variety of subjects have been raised and almost all have been in criminal cases. Common subjects include: delay in raising proceedings; access to a solicitor; legal aid; temporary sheriffs; questioning in road traffic cases; and use of hearsay evidence.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Advocate-General what discussions she had with the Solicitor-General for Scotland before his recent visit to Washington to discuss the Lockerbie trial. [114035]
The Advocate-General for Scotland:
I meet the Lord Advocate, as he now is, from time to time, and our discussions are wide-ranging.
Trade Union Recognition
51. Angela Smith: To ask the President of the Council to ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if it will formally recognise the TGWU 1/427 parliamentary staff branch which represents the staff of hon. Members. [114064]
Mr. Kirkwood: No. The Commission is not responsible for the pay and conditions of service of Members' staff. Therefore, the question of formal recognition of a union by the Commission does not arise.
Modernisation
52. Mr. Rammell: To ask the President of the Council what assessment she had made of the impact of the work of the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons on the way in which the House operates. [114065]
Mr. Tipping: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral answers I gave earlier today to my hon. Friends the Members for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) and North-West Norfolk (Dr. Turner), Official Report, column 853.
53. Mr. Gapes:
To ask the President of the Council if she will make a statement on future plans to modernise the working hours of the House. [114066]
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Mrs. Beckett:
My hon. Friend will be aware that at present, we have experiments both on providing extra sittings in Westminister Hall and on bringing forward the hours of sitting on Thursday.
I have no further proposals to change sitting hours at present.
54. Helen Jackson:
To ask the President of the Council if she will make a statement on the progress of the experiment with sittings in Westminster Hall. [114067]
Mr. Tipping:
The experiment of sittings in Westminster Hall appears to be successful and will be evaluated by the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons in due course.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what plans the Committee has for improving the acoustics for sittings in Westminster Hall. [115250]
Sir Sydney Chapman:
An additional loudspeaker is being installed adjacent to the press table in the Grand Committee Room, which should improve audibility in that area; however, as Sittings of the House in Westminster Hall are still an experiment, it would be premature at this time to allocate additional funds, which could prove to be nugatory, in order to improve the acoustics further.
If my hon. Friend has been experiencing problems with the acoustics in the Grand Committee Room, she may wish to discuss the nature of the problem directly with the Director of Parliamentary Works.
55. Mr. Levitt:
To ask the President of the Council what progress there has been in the development of timetables for legislation in the House this Session. [114068]
Mrs. Beckett:
I refer my hon. Friend to the oral reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths), Official Report, column 851.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee what plans the Committee has to review the design of the parliamentary website. [115248]
Mr. Allan:
As part of its ongoing examination of the information services provided for Members, the Information Committee has discussed the design and content of the parliamentary website with officials. I am advised that a number of improvements have been initiated. These include the addition of Bound Volume text of Hansard back to Session 1988-89, a rebuilding of the publications search engine, the introduction of links to a redesigned internet POLIS and the preparation of a site map.
Discussions are also taking place with the House of Lords about site design. These include consideration of a major redesign of the site. The work is being undertaken by the Joint Working Party on Information Management and the Parliamentary Intranet, who will be identifying priorities for improvements to the site
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and making recommendations accordingly. Members of the Information Committee have agreed to provide feedback on their use of the parliamentary website as part of this process.
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