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Departmental Groups

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each group that is responsible to his Department, with significant and plural membership from outside the Civil Service, and to which the Nolan rules on non-departmental public bodies do not apply and for each such group, if it (a) is a company limited by guarantee, (b) is a charity, (c) has no formal legal basis, and (d) has some other legal basis giving details. [131242]

Dr. Reid [holding answer 24 July 2000]: There are no groups or bodies in the categories mentioned for which my Department has responsibility.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many unfilled vacancies for permanent staff his Department has; what percentage of staff positions in his Department are vacant; what the monthly cost would be to his Department of employing civil servants in these positions; how many and what percentage of staff his Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; how much his Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the last 12 months; and how much he expects to pay employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the next 12 months. [131428]

Dr. Reid [holding answer 25 July 2000]: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999 and it is still building up to its agreed staffing level of between 110-130 staff. The Department currently has 25 vacancies for permanent staff. This represents 22.3 per cent. of current staffing plans. The monthly cost of filling the posts (at average cost for the grade) would be £45,365.

The Department employs seven staff on a temporary basis from employment agencies; this represents 6.3 per cent. of the current staff. Since July 1999, my Department has paid £69,733 to employment agencies for temporary staff. The amount to be paid next year will depend on progress made in filling vacancies.

Press Officers

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press officers were employed in his Department in (a) May 1997, (b) January 1998, (c) January 1999 and (d) January 2000; and what the total expenditure on press officers by his Department was in each of the years concerned. [132768]

Dr. Reid: In the report on the Government Information and Communications Service (GICS) by the Select Committee on Public Administration (29 July 1998), the number of press officers in the Scottish Office in 1997 was given as 30, with expenditure of £713,000; in 1998 as 30 with expenditure of £803,000; and in 1999 as 33 with expenditure estimated at £822,000.

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The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. On 1 January 2000 the Department had two press officers based in Scotland and two press officers based in London. The total salary cost of press officers from 1 July 1999 to 31 March 2000 was £44,078.

Press Releases

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press releases were issued in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) this year to date; and what the total cost of the production and issuing of these press releases was in each year. [132747]

Dr. Reid: The Scottish Office issued 2,141 press releases in 1997 and 2,757 in 1998. Between 1 January 1999 and 30 June 1999, the Scottish Office issued 1,397 press releases. The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. Between 1 July and 31 December 1999 the Department issued 98 press releases and has issued a further 171 this year.

Exact information on the total cost of the production and issuing of press releases could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, though from the quantitative figures above the total cost has already decreased considerably.

Merchant Navy Day

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ensure that the Red Ensign is flown from departmental buildings on Merchant Navy Day, 3 September. [132965]

Dr. Reid: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier by the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. O'Brien) today, Official Report, column 895W.

Duty Roster

Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the daily Ministerial Duty roster for his Department during the summer adjournment. [133078]

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the daily ministerial Duty Roster for his Department during the summer adjournment. [133146]

Dr. Reid: It is not normal practice of Government to publish the daily ministerial Duty Roster. My Department will ensure that it has sufficient cover through the summer recess in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.

Rural Bus Subsidy Scheme

Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money was spent in Scotland under the rural bus subsidy scheme in (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000; and how much is expected to be spent in 2000-01. [132299]

Dr. Reid: Responsibility for the rural bus subsidy scheme in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive.

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TREASURY

2000 Community Budget

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish the statement on the 2000 Community Budget. [132686]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I have today laid before Parliament the Statement on the 2000 Community Budget, entitled "European Community Finances". This White Paper is the twentieth in the series. As in the past, it covers annual budgetary matters and includes details of recent developments in European Community financial management and in countering fraud against the Community Budget. It also describes the Community Budget for 2000 as adopted by the European Parliament, and the United Kingdom's contributions to the Community Budget between 1995 and 2000.

Merchant Navy Day

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that the Red Ensign is flown from departmental buildings on Merchant Navy Day, 3 September. [132968]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. O'Brien) today, Official Report, column 895W.

Family Tax Credits

Mr. Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to maximise the take-up of Working Families Tax Credit and Childcare Tax Credit; and if he will make a statement. [133149]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue has been running a major campaign to publicise the Working Families Tax Credit since September 1999. There have been two waves of concentrated promotional activity so far. The first ran for some eleven weeks. Television and press advertisements were supported by posters and leaflets in Job Centres and Post Offices, and Treasury Ministers led a series of roadshows that took place throughout the United Kingdom. This was followed by a second wave of television advertising in April 2000. Planning for a third wave of publicity is underway.

All advertising has been backed up by a 24-hour freephone response line. Between waves of publicity, WFTC information has been available from a range of sources--including Post Offices, Inland Revenue Enquiry Centres, and the Tax Credit Office helplines in Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Childcare Tax Credit is publicised as a key component of the Working Families Tax Credit.

Mr. Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families (a) nationally and (b) in Enfield were claiming (i) Working Families Tax Credit and (ii) the Childcare Tax Credit at the last date for which figures are available. [133148]

Dawn Primarolo: The number of families in receipt of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) at the end of May 2000 is provisionally estimated at 1,056,000. It is

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estimated that 3,100 of these were in the Enfield local authority, although this is based on a 5 per cent. sample of awards and is subject to sampling error.

Nationally, it is estimated that about 110,000 awards current at the end of May 2000 included the Childcare Tax Credit within WFTC. There are too few such awards to families in Enfield falling into the sample to provide a reliable estimate for Enfield.

Ms Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Northampton, North have received the Childcare Tax Credit. [133136]

Dawn Primarolo: Nationally, it is estimated that about 10 per cent. of awards of the Working Families Tax Credit include the Childcare Tax Credit. There are too few awards falling into the 5 per cent. sample used for these analyses to provide a reliable estimate for Northampton, North.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families were eligible for Family Credit in the year immediately preceding its replacement by Working Families Tax Credit; and how many families received it. [132699]

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.

Estimates of numbers entitled to Family Credit in 1998-99 will not be published until the autumn.

Information on the number of families receiving Family Credit each year is contained in Table 10 of the Social Security Departmental Report (CM 4614), a copy of which is available in the Library.

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