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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 8 April 2003

CABINET OFFICE

Websites

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total expenditure across Government on websites has been in each of the last six years. [107248]

Mr. Alexander: Information on expenditure on websites across government is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Historic costs of the Cabinet Office website (www.cabinet-office.gov.uk) could be produced only at disproportionate cost. However, expenditure (excluding staff costs) on the Cabinet Office website for the year ending 31 March 2003 was £23,218.80 including VAT.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL

Devolution

19. Mr. Weir: To ask the Advocate-General what devolution issues have been raised in the last month under the Scotland Act 1998. [106710]

The Advocate-General for Scotland: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. Reid), Official Report, 8 April 2003, column 119.

Human Rights

20. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Advocate-General what human rights issues have been raised with her since 11 March. [106712]

The Advocate-General for Scotland: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. Reid), Official Report, 8 April 2003, column 119.

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Advocate-General what discussions she has had with Scottish Ministers regarding the proposed establishment of a Scottish Human Rights Commission. [106711]

The Advocate-General for Scotland: I have had no discussions with the Scottish Ministers regarding the proposed establishment of a Scottish Human Rights Commission.

SCOTLAND

North Sea Oil and Gas

7. Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the prospects for the North Sea oil and gas sector. [106719]

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8. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the prospects for the Scottish economy related to the North Sea oil and gas sector. [106720]

Mrs. Liddell: The Government are committed to maintaining an active and successful oil and gas industry in the UK, and to promoting future development of the nation's oil and gas reserves. The sector is, and will remain, important to the wider UK economy in terms of jobs, investment and its contribution to national income. The Government are working with the industry—notably through the PILOT initiative—to encourage investment in both existing and new fields.

Iraq Conflict

9. Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with the First Minister and the Ministry of Defence about providing support to the families of Scottish troops presently in Iraq. [106721]

Mrs. Liddell: The Government recognise the important contribution service families make to defence. The First Minister said in his statement to the Scottish Parliament on 19 March they will have our care and support. The Ministry of Defence's aim is to manage with care the issues of dependent family members recognising the special circumstances of service families, particularly at this time.

Small Businesses

10. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the prospects for small businesses in Scotland. [106722]

Mrs. McGuire: The Government have put in place a solid macro-economic framework for business to prosper in. Small businesses make a crucial contribution to the Scottish economy and I am confident that in Scotland they are well placed to take advantage of this.

National Minimum Wage

11. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to give information to Scottish workers who are concerned that they may not be being paid the National Minimum Wage. [106723]

Mrs. McGuire: The Government have taken a number of steps to ensure that awareness of the National Minimum Wage is high in Scotland. These include a dedicated Scottish National Minimum Wage helpline, launched on 24 February; access to help and advice through the network of Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland; an interactive website www.tiger.gov.uk giving advice on employment rights and information events arranged by the joint DTI and Inland Revenue Customer Responsive Outreach Work (CROW) teams.

National Insurance

12. Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations she has received from Scottish (a) employers and (b) employees on the increases in National Insurance contributions. [106724]

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Mrs. McGuire: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with business organisations and trades unions about a range of matters including economic policy and taxation matters. I concur with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's view that the additional revenue from the increase in National Insurance contributions is required to fund essential increases in investment in public services.

Scotch Whisky Industry

13. Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are employed in the Scotch whisky industry in Scotland. [106725]

Mrs. Liddell: A recent study commissioned by the Scotch Whisky Association indicated that 9,500 people are employed in Scotland in the production of Scotch whisky and that the industry supports an estimated 41,000 jobs in total in Scotland.

Compulsory Liability Insurance

14. Miss Begg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with Treasury Ministers about difficulties Scottish businesses are having in getting Employer's Compulsory Liability Insurance. [106726]

Mrs. Liddell: My Department is in close touch with the Department for Work and Pensions, who are carrying out a review of Employer's Liability Compulsory Insurance. This review is due to report to Ministers in the spring.

Manufacturing

15. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the prospects for manufacturing industry in Scotland. [106727]

Mrs. Liddell: The manufacturing sector continues to be of vital importance to the Scottish economy and remains a substantial employer with significant linkages to the rest of the economy. Despite the impact of difficult global conditions the sector has an excellent export record and is well placed to benefit from the wide range of supporting measures in the Government's manufacturing strategy.

PRIVY COUNCIL

Pre-legislative Scrutiny

36. Mr. Allen: To ask the President of the Council what discussions he will have with Chairmen of select committees on pre-legislative scrutiny in the next Session of Parliament. [107451]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government are committed to increase the publication of Bills in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. My right hon. Friend wishes to establish close dialogue with the Chairman of the Liaison Committee on pre-legislative scrutiny and other matters.

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Legislative Scrutiny

37. Norman Baker: To ask the President of the Council what plans the Government have to make proposals to improve scrutiny of European legislation. [107452]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the Government's positive responses to the report of the European Scrutiny Committee on European Scrutiny in the Commons (Second Special Report from the European Scrutiny Committee, Session 2001–02, HC 1256) and to the report of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union entitled "Review of Scrutiny of European Legislation" (available on the Parliament website).

38. Helen Jackson: To ask the President of the Council what proposals he has to improve scrutiny of legislation throughout the Parliamentary Session. [107453]

Mr. Bradshaw: The proposals agreed by the House last October for more routine publication of Bills in draft, for consultation with opposition parties on the broad shape of the legislative year and more flexibility in programming, and for carry-over of Bills, should contribute to improved scrutiny of legislation.

Legislative Updates

39. Simon Hughes: To ask the President of the Council if he will arrange for the regular publication of (a) commencement dates of all new legislation and (b) the repeal date of all repealed legislation. [107454]

Mr. Bradshaw: The commencement date of new legislation and the repeal dates of repealed legislation are all set out either in primary legislation or in secondary legislation, and are therefore already published in that form by the Queen's Printer (and accessible via: www.hmso.gov.uk). To make things easier for users, commencement instruments are numbered as a separate sub-series of the statutory instruments. These are identified within the SI issue list, published daily by The Stationery Office Ltd., on behalf of the Queen's Printer.

There are a variety of commercial publications which distil and re-present the information published by the Queen's Printer, and there seems to be no need to supplement them.

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