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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 25 May 2004
ADVOCATE-GENERAL
Devolution
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Advocate General what devolution issues have been raised with her since 27 April. [174429]
The Advocate-General for Scotland: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh).
SCOTLAND
Energy Supplies
8. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the security of energy supplies in Scotland. [174435]
Mrs. McGuire: The Government are committed to maintaining the security and reliability of energy supplies in the UK.
Asylum Seekers
9. Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Executive and (b) Glasgow city council with regard to support for asylum seekers. [174436]
Mrs. McGuire: Scotland Office officials and I have regular contact with the Home Office, the Scottish Executive and also Glasgow city council regarding the support of asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland.
Ferry Subsidies
10. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last discussed with (a) representatives of the Scottish Executive and (b) ministerial colleagues subsidies to ferry services. [174437]
Mrs. McGuire: Regular discussions are undertaken on a wide range of issues with the Scottish Executive and ministerial colleagues.
Postal Services
12. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Post Offices have closed in Scotland over the last three years. [174439]
Mrs. McGuire:
I understand from Post Office Ltd. that closure numbers in Scotland, over the last three years for which data are available, are:
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| Number | |
|---|---|
| Year ending March 2001 | 63 |
| Year ending March 2002 | 26 |
| Year ending March 2003 | 20 |
Economic Performance
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the performance of the Scottish economy. [174438]
Mr. Darling: The recent performance of the Scottish economy offers grounds for encouragement. The labour market continues to improve, with employment at its highest level since records began in 1992 1 and unemployment around its lowest level since the 1970s. Interest rates and inflation are historically low. The Scottish Executive's GDP index, recently revised to better reflect real changes in the economy, shows that growth in Scotland has closely matched that of the UK in recent years. Business surveys are pointing to a continued strengthening of business activity in Scotland in both services and manufacturing and independent forecasters predict that growth will continue to be above-trend in 2004 and 2005. But there is no room for complacency. The Government and Scottish Executive recognise that Scotland's growth has been lower over the long-term than the UK average. They have each taken steps to promote productivity and build a more enterprising, innovative and highly skilled economy.
1 Data prior to 1992 are not yet consistent with this series, though are scheduled to be available in revised form later this year.
Electoral Systems
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the independent commission on electoral systems in Scotland (a) to begin and (b) to report on its work. [174426]
Mr. Darling: I am pleased to announce that Professor Sir John Arbuthnott has agreed to be chairman of the Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems. Sir John was Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde for nine years until 2000, and is currently chairman of the Greater Glasgow NHS Board. Membership of the Commission will be announced shortly.
The Commission will start work as soon as possible, and will be expected to complete its work in around 18 months.
Public Expenditure
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on levels of public spending per capita in Scotland. [174432]
Mrs. McGuire:
The Treasury published "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2004" on 19 April, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Tables 8.2 and 8.4 detail total identifiable public expenditure per head for each country and region of the UK.
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Regional Air Services
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the Scottish Executive to discuss the provision of public service obligations on regional air services. [174431]
Mr. Darling: I discuss a wide range of issues with Scottish Executive Ministers. Following on from the White Paper, discussions between the Scottish Executive and the Department for Transport are on-going and have contributed to a consultation paper on interpreting the criteria required for imposing PSOs. This will be published shortly.
Transport
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received regarding transport issues in Scotland. [174433]
Mr. Darling: I receive representations on a wide range of Scottish issues.
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Draft Bills
34. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Leader of the House how many Bills have been introduced as draft Bills. [175293]
Mr. Woolas: In the current Session, six draft Bills have been published so far.
Figures for draft Bills for previous Sessions since 1997 are as follows:
| Draft bills | Sets of draft clauses | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 3 | |
| 1998–99 | 6 | |
| 1999–2000 | 6 | |
| 2000–01 | 2 | |
| 2001–02 | 6 | |
| 2002–03 | 9 | 1 |
Visitors
35. Mr. Pike: To ask the Leader of the House what proposals he is putting to the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons to help schools outside of London and the South East of England with the costs of parliamentary visits. [175294]
Mr. Woolas:
My right hon. Friend's view is that, while assistance with the cost of school visits is an option that the House of Commons Commission might wish to consider, the priority is to make a substantial improvement to the learning resources we provide via the parliamentary website. We have some 7,500 educational visitors a year—a figure which I hope we can increase significantly and a further 36,000 schoolchildren visit on constituency tours; but it will always be a minority of schoolchildren who are able to visit in person.
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In contrast to the number of visitors to Parliament, during the 2002–03 financial year the Parliament website had 14.6 million hits. This shows that the number of people who might make use of the website is limitless.
Participation (Debates)
36. Julie Morgan: To ask the Leader of the House what plans he has to make proposals to enable more hon. Members to participate in debates. [175295]
Mr. Woolas: In its response to the Procedure Committee's report on Procedures for Debates, Private Members' Bills and the Powers of the Speaker (published last week in the Committee's Second Special Report of this Session, HC 610), the Government has indicated that it supports the Committee's recommendation that, on an experimental basis, there should be an opportunity for an hour, or half-hour, of shorter Back Bench speeches before the wind-up speeches on occasions when the Speaker thinks it appropriate. My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House will table a motion that allows the House to decide, when it debates the Committee's report, whether this experiment should go forward.
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