4 Expenditure
12. Scrutiny of departmental expenditure is one of
the key tasks of select committees. We are committed to holding
an annual oral evidence session with the Secretary of State at
the Scotland Office each year to scrutinise the department's expenditure,
as reflected in the Departmental Annual Report, as well as its
plans for the future. This year, we took evidence in July from
Rt Hon Des Browne MP, as well as the Minister of State, David
Cairns MP and Dr Jim Wildgoose, Head of the Scotland Office. We
published the transcript of that session, as well as associated
written evidence, on 23 October.[11]
13. The large majority of the Scotland Office's expenditure
consists of funding for the Scottish Executive's budget, determined
by the population-based Barnett formula. The Executive makes its
own spending decisions on devolved programmes within the overall
totals, subject to approval by the Scottish Parliament. In 2007-08,
£24.6 billion is to be paid as a grant to the Scottish Consolidated
Fund for the Scottish Executive block grant and £6.468 million
is provided for administration of the Scotland Office and Office
of the Advocate General for Scotland.
14. This year's oral evidence session focused on
the role of the Scotland Office after devolution. The Scotland
Office told us that it acts to promote bilateral co-operation
and co-ordination between Whitehall and the Scottish Executive
and ensure that Scotland's interests in relation to reserved areas
are known and represented within the UK Government. We explored
the operation of the Barnett Formula, which governs the funding
allocated to the Scottish Executive, and relations with the new
administration.
11 Oral evidence taken before the Scottish Affairs
Committee on 17 July 2007, HC 943-i (2006-07). Back
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