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SCOTLAND

Departmental Estate

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was paid by his Department in 2004–05 in rent for properties in (a) total, (b) Scotland and (c) London. [36007]

David Cairns: The costs for the buildings rented by the Scotland Office in 2004–05 are as follows:
£

Building	Scotland	London	Total
Dover House	—	12,338	12,338
Melville Crescent, Edinburgh	135,250	—	135,250
Total	135,250	12,338	147,588

The Office pays a reduced rent for Dover House and consequently an adjustment is made in the resource accounts of the Office to reflect this; the latest net book value of the building is £1.09 million.

In addition, the Office has a small amount of accommodation in Meridian Court, Glasgow and Frederick Street, Edinburgh. These premises are shared with other Departments. The Office pays an agreed share of the overall running costs of each building which includes such items as rent, rates, utilities, cleaning and security and a separate record is not held of the rental element of the costs. The costs of the agreed share in 2004–05 for Meridian Court was £21,797 and for Frederick Street was £7,107.
 
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Departmental Expenditure

Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total value is of (a) catering and (b) entertainment contracts let by his Department; and what value of such contracts has been let in each nation and region of the UK, including London. [37473]

David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not hold any catering or entertainment contracts.

Departmental Research

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research projects commissioned by his Department are being undertaken; and what the publication arrangements are in each case. [32998]

David Cairns: None.

Departmental Staff (Chronic Back Pain)

Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain. [34985]

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). Both the DCA and the Executive can arrange for provision of practical and timely support for employees with chronic back pain or other health problems, including mental health.

Disability

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether a Minister in his Department is planned to be nominated to take responsibility for liaison with the Office for Disability Issues; and if he will make a statement. [37085]

David Cairns: Overall responsibility for the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) comes within the remit of the Department for Work and Pensions. I will liaise with ODI for this Office's interest.

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the initial activity undertaken by his Department in response to those recommendations in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit Report Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People where lead responsibility was assigned to all Government Departments. [37086]

David Cairns: Policy responsibility for the recommendations of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit Report lies with other Government Departments. Scotland Office officials attended the Scottish consultation on the Office for Disability Issues and will continue to keep a watching brief in relation to Scotland.

Public Relations

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the value was of (a) public opinion research and (b) public relations contracts issued by his Department in 2004–05. [36008]

David Cairns: The Scotland Office did not award any contracts for public opinion research or public relations in 2004–05.
 
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Rates

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was paid by his Department in rates in 2004–05, broken down by local authority; and how much was paid in rates in 2004–05 in London. [36002]

David Cairns: The payments for rates for the Scotland Office in 2004–05 were:
£

Name and address	Local authority	Cost
Dover House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AU	City of Westminster	131,100
1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7HW	City of Edinburgh	48,118

In addition, the Office has a small amount of accommodation in Meridian Court, Glasgow and Frederick Street, Edinburgh. These premises are shared with other Departments. The Office pays an agreed share of the overall running costs of each building which includes such items as rent, rates, utilities, cleaning and security and a separate record is not held of the rates element of the costs. The costs of the agreed share in 2004–05 for Meridian Court was £21,797 and for Frederick Street was £7,107.

Taxis

Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent by his Department on taxi travel in the 2005–06 financial year; and what proportion of such travel was undertaken in each nation and region of the UK, including London. [37474]

David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not record the costs of taxi travel by region. Expenditure on taxi travel for the current financial year, to the end of November 2005, is £5,713.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Products (Designation)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what agricultural products she plans to designate as sensitive in the forthcoming World Trade Organisation negotiations. [36626]

Mr. Bradshaw: The issue of sensitive products is a key aspect of the negotiations on agricultural market access. The principle that WTO Members may designate an appropriate number" of sensitive products was established under the July 2004 Framework Agreement. However, the number and treatment of sensitive products have yet to be agreed under the negotiations. When these issues are agreed, it will be for the EU as a whole, rather than for individual EU member states, to designate the sensitive products. The UK's position in these EU discussions will be guided both by our firm support for the Doha Development Agenda mandate to secure substantial improvements in agricultural market access, and by the position of key UK stakeholders.

Animal Disposal

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many calls
 
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have been made to the Animal Health Divisional Office requesting collection of dead sheep in each year since 2002. [37906]

Mr. Bradshaw: Since 2002, the number of recorded calls made to Animal Health Divisional Offices are as follows:

	Great Britain	Northern Ireland	Total
2002	(13)225	195	420
2003	4,063	918	4,981
2004	5,615	603	6,218
2005 (to 1 December 2005)	8,834	1,501	10,335
Total	18,737	3,217	21,954

⁽¹³⁾GB only started receiving information from AHDOs in October of 2002.

Animal Fairs

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her intention that there will be a full public consultation on animal fairs in relation to the Animal Welfare Bill; and when a regulatory impact assessment for the Bill will be published. [38189]

Mr. Bradshaw: A Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Animal Welfare Bill was published on 14 October 2005. This includes information on our plans for consultation about pet fairs.

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