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Scottish Parliament

5. Pete Wishart (North Tayside) (SNP): When he last met the First Minister to discuss extending the power of the Scottish Parliament. [174430]

The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Alistair Darling): I am in regular contact with the First Minister, but I have not discussed extending the powers of the Scottish Parliament with him.

Pete Wishart : I thank the Secretary of State for that very illuminating answer. The First Minister has identified Scotland's population problems as perhaps the biggest issue facing Scotland in the short to medium term, yet we remain hampered by a UK immigration policy that actively discourages people from coming here—people whom we desperately require. The First Minister's response to the situation was the announcement of his student visa scheme, which he said was a Scottish solution to a Scottish problem, but far from being a trailblazing scheme, it is a regional pilot for a general UK-wide policy. When are the Secretary of State and the First Minister going to cut through this inept Edinburgh spin and get real with this issue, and does the Secretary of State really believe that Scotland's immigration issues are best served by the current UK immigration policy?

Mr. Darling: What a load of nonsense. The First Minister has rightly identified the fact that the declining population in Scotland is a problem: it is a problem now, and it will be in the future. [Hon. Members: "Why?"] "Why?" they say—simply because if we have an ageing population and a declining population, the costs increase. It is incredible that Opposition Members do not understand fundamental points like that. As I said, the First Minister has correctly identified the problem and the fresh talent initiative that he announced is designed to encourage people of talent to come to Scotland and to stay in Scotland. That should be supported and encouraged, and we certainly do so.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND

The Advocate-General was asked—

Devolution

13. Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York) (Con): What devolution issues she has considered since 27 April. [174440]

14. Annabelle Ewing (Perth) (SNP): What devolution issues have been raised since 27 April. [174441]

15. Mr. Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) (LD): What devolution issues have been raised with her since 27 April. [174442]
 
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The Advocate-General for Scotland (Dr. Lynda Clark): Since 27 April, there have been 37 devolution issues intimated to me. Twenty-four of those related to criminal matters, including pre-trial delay, self-incrimination under the Road Traffic Act 1988, regulatory fisheries offences and the use of sexual history evidence in trials. In the civil sphere, 13 devolution issues were intimated concerning sequestration, appeals to the parking appeals service and a planning decision, with the remainder relating to prison conditions.

Miss McIntosh : I am most grateful for that reply. Has the Advocate-General been asked to give her opinion on devolved and reserved matters under the Energy Bill, particularly those matters to be decided jointly between the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry? In those circumstances, who will have the last word, and will those decisions be justiciable?

The Advocate-General: Obviously, I am not able to advise on what opinions I gave or what I advised. As to the general statutory structure, the hon. Lady is aware that both devolved and reserved matters are covered. Each decision will have to be determined on the basis of the particular circumstances, bearing in mind the specific statutory structures.

Annabelle Ewing: As Scotland's senior Law Officer at Westminster, what representations does the Advocate-General plan to make to the UK Home Secretary further to the calls last week by the church and nation committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to close the family unit at Dungavel?

The Advocate-General: As the hon. Lady recognises, what happens at Dungavel is a reserved matter and the policy issues are not for me to deal with, but for the responsible Ministers at the Home Office. Home Office Ministers are aware of the General Assembly's criticisms and will doubtless take them into account.

Mr. Alan Reid: Because of the Financial Services Act 1986, post office staff are told that they must not advise pensioners whether or not to take up a Post Office card account. However, the Government's own customer conversion centres show no such restraint as they bully and badger pensioners into taking their custom away from the Post Office. Will the Advocate-General look into the script used by the customer conversion centres to check whether they are acting legally under the terms of that Act?

The Advocate-General: I am more than happy to look into that specific issue. In general terms, however, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that it is not appropriate to give individual members of the public financial advice. That is not a matter for counter staff, but they can advise on how, procedurally, various accounts can be opened.

Ann McKechin (Glasgow, Maryhill) (Lab): My hon. and learned Friend will be aware that I raised concerns with her last month about the decision taken on the practice of slopping out in Scottish prisons. I understand that the particular case to which I referred is
 
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now the subject of an appeal. Can she confirm whether there are any other such cases pending in Scotland? Does she share my concern that, now that the practice has been abolished in prisons in England, all parties should work to eradicate this inhumane practice at the earliest opportunity in Scotland?

The Advocate-General: My hon. Friend is correct in saying that those representing the Scottish Executive have appealed the Napier case. I can also confirm that a number of new cases have been intimated to me as devolution issues. So far, they are small in number and will be dealt with in the usual way. I have not intervened in any of the new cases to date. On the general issue, my hon. Friend rightly recognised that the practice was abolished in England and the Scottish Executive have indicated that they are working towards reform in Scotland.

SCOTLAND

The Secretary of State was asked—

Postal Services

7. Mr. Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) (LD): What recent discussions he has held with Royal Mail regarding postal services in Scotland. [174434]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mrs. Anne McGuire): I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of earlier today to my hon. Friend Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg).

Mr. Reid: I believe in freedom of choice, and consider that pensioners should have a fair choice between taking up a Post Office card account or opting for a bank account. However, the script from the customer conversion centre of the Department for Work and Pensions is very biased. For example, the first thing that a pensioner who telephones the centre hears is, "I know that you have asked for a Post Office card account, but . . . " Staff at the centre then badger and bully pensioners into moving away from using the card account. Will the Minister look at the script and revise it to make its advice fair and unbiased?

Mrs. McGuire: I am assured by colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions that the advice is neutral and unbiased. However, given the hon. Gentleman's comments, I will have further discussions with those colleagues to see whether the script needs to be refined.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State was asked—

Dr. Doug Naysmith (Bristol, North-West) (Lab/Co-op): Question 16, Mr. Speaker. [Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker: Order. Hon. Members should know better than to walk in front of an hon. Gentleman.
 
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Community Legal Service Partnerships

16. Dr. Naysmith: If he will make a statement on the       performance of community legal service partnerships. [175296]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Mr. David Lammy): Community legal service partnerships have greatly improved the delivery of advice and guidance by co-ordinating the work of providers in response to locally identified need. The recently completed independent review of the community legal service enables us to build on that significant achievement by making recommendations for the future development of the partnership.

Dr. Naysmith: I thank my hon. Friend for that interesting reply. My constituency is unusual in that it spans two local authority areas. The partnerships work well in one area, but have been disbanded in the other. The voluntary sector was keen in both areas. Senior officers and the private sector in one local authority are committed to the scheme, which makes it possible to identify resources, and that has been very useful. In the other area, however, there was a lack of involvement by senior officers, and private firms were only marginally involved. Can the Minister suggest ways to encourage local authorities and the private sector to get involved? Will he perhaps make some funds available to start the process when need is identified?

Mr. Lammy: I know that my hon. Friend does excellent work with the advice sector in his community, but I remind him that we spend £900 million on civil legal aid in this country. Also, I refer him to the Matrix review, the first review of the CLSPs, which makes a number of recommendations. It welcomes the establishment of the CLSPs, but it also calls for the appointment of an executive director to give them greater coherence. Other recommendations are the adoption of a three-year strategy and a programme board. I am considering those recommendations, and will be happy to discuss the matter further with my hon. Friend.

Mr. David Kidney (Stafford) (Lab): Does my hon. Friend the Minister accept that the first stage of the CLSPs has been a success, in that a full geographic coverage has been established, but that we must now make the second stage of the process a success? That is, we need to tie in more firmly all those partners that must co-operate. They include voluntary sector agencies, private legal service providers and, crucially, local government. What is being done to tie in local government and secure its commitment to the success of the CLSPs?

Mr. Lammy: We now have 99 per cent. coverage across the country, which is a tremendous improvement on the situation of three years ago. At that time, people did not know where the resources were, it was not possible to refer people for advice, and there was no quality benchmarking process for the advice that people received. However, further progress remains to be made. We must ensure that there is greater coherence and definition, and that involves working more closely with local government.
 
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