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Ministerial Duty Rota

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish (a) the

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ministerial duty rota for his Department during the summer adjournment and (b) the dates between which each of the Parliamentary Secretaries and the Lord Chancellor will be on annual leave during the adjournments of their respective Houses of Parliament and will not be available for official duties. [133171]

Jane Kennedy: It is not the normal practice of Government to publish the Ministerial Roster. This Department will ensure it has sufficient cover through the summer recess in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code. Neither is it normal practice to disclose Ministers' holiday plans, as this is personal information.

Official Visits

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what official overseas visits (a) the Lord Chancellor and (b) the Parliamentary Secretaries plan to make during the parliamentary adjournments. [133172]

Jane Kennedy: During the parliamentary adjournments the following overseas visits are planned:

My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor will visit Australia, Hong Kong and Japan.

My hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest (Mr. Lock) will visit India and Sweden.

I will visit Canada.

Advisory Bodies

Tony Wright: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list all the (a) task forces, (b) action teams, (c) policy reviews and (d) other temporary advisory bodies with external members currently in existence within his Department; and on what date each body (i) was set up and (ii) is expected to terminate. [131450]

Jane Kennedy: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer given today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy).

Immigration Adjudicators

Mr. Cox: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the total number of immigration adjudicators was on 1 July. [132629]

Mr. Lock: On 1 July there were 43 full-time and 295 part-time immigration adjudicators.

SCOTLAND

Paper and Timber Products

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department come from a sustainable source. [110153]

Dr. Reid: The Scotland Office aims to conserve resources and minimise waste by reducing the use of materials from non-renewable resources and ensure that any products derived from nature, such as paper and timber, come from sustainable resources and comply with

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EU and international trading agreements such as the Convention on International Trading in Endangered Species (CITES).

My Department participates in a number of contracts established by the Scottish Executive. Guidance is issued to contractors to ensure that our purchasing policy takes full account of environmental considerations.

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by his Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110154]

Dr. Reid: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is accepted by buyers as demonstrating that timber and timber products come from sustainably managed sources. However, it is not practicable to require that all paper and timber products purchased by my Department are certified by the FSC because this might discriminate against equally valid schemes and therefore be against public procurement rules.

Recycling

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of documentation used by his Department is (a) made from recycled paper and (b) collected for recycling. [111606]

Dr. Reid: No information is currently collected on the proportion of recycled paper used by my Department. Arrangements are in place in buildings occupied by the Department for the collection and recycling of much of the waste paper produced.

My Department will be developing a strategy for waste management based on the three "Rs", with "Recovery" (i.e. recycling, composting and energy recovery) following "Reduce" and "Re-use" as the preferred options for reducing waste sent to landfill.

Opinion Research

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place copies of the results of all market and opinion research carried out by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies since May 1997, in the Library. [123813]

Dr. Reid [holding answer 25 May 2000]: Full information on market and opinion research carried out by the former Scottish Office, its agencies and non- departmental public bodies, between May 1997 and June 1999 has not been collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Decisions relating to the publication of research results were taken on a case by case basis; some of the material was provided on the basis that it remained confidential. Some results of market and opinion research were made publicly available, either by publishing the reports or placing them on the appropriate website. I shall arrange for copies of the published material to be placed in the Library.

The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. The Department has not carried out any market or opinion research since that date.

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Special Advisers

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of Special Advisers, including salary, transport and other costs, employed by his Department in (a) 1992, (b) 1997 and (c) 1999. [125572]

Dr. Reid [holding answer 14 June 2000]: Special Advisers' salaries are negotiated individually within the three-band range announced to the House by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 16 November 1998, Official Report, column 354. Individual salaries and pension contributions are confidential. No information is available about the costs of Special Advisers in 1992. Other costs of Special Advisers in the Scottish Office in 1997-98 were £35,000; and an estimated £57,000 in 1998-99.

The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. The other costs of Special Advisers to 31 December 1999 was £10,246.

PFI Contracts

Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the PFI contracts entered into by the Scottish Office prior to July 1999, indicating (a) their dates of commencement, (b) their value, (c) if they have been subject to refinancing and (d) if the Department has a claw-back entitlement to share in the savings arising from refinancing. [129056]

Dr. Reid: The details relating to PFI contracts entered into by the then Scottish Office prior to July 1999 are as follows.

	Project name
	Skye Bridge	M6 DBFO	Kilmarnock Prison
Date of commencement	July 1992	December 1996	November 1997
Capital Value (£ million)	23.6	103	32
Subject to refinancing	No	No	Yes
Claw-back arrangement	No	No	No

National Science Centre

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about his recent visit to the National Science Centre in Govan. [130954]

Dr. Reid: I visited Glasgow Science Centre on 7 June 2000 to launch the Health and Safety Strategy Statement demonstrating that the Government and the Health and Safety Commission are determined to work together to revitalise health and safety in the UK. I very much welcome the birth of the Glasgow Science Centre as an example of economic and cultural regeneration not only for Govan and for Glasgow but also for Scotland. I hope that it will fulfil its potential of being a showcase for science and linking to other science centres in Scotland and beyond. I am sure that the policy of recruiting locally will be welcomed by the local population. The centre represents an investment of £75 million and will bring 120 new jobs.

Advisory Bodies

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the (a) task forces, (b) action teams, (c) policy reviews and (d) other temporary advisory bodies

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with external members currently in existence within his Department; and on what date each body (i) was set up and (ii) is expected to terminate. [131448]

Dr. Reid: My Department has no groups or bodies in the categories mentioned.

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