Memoranda from the Scotland Office
SCOTLAND OFFICE AND OFFICE OF THE ADVOCATE
GENERAL SPRING (OAG) SUPPLEMENTARY
Thank you for your letter of 20 March seeking
background information on the Scotland Office's and OAG's take-up
of End Year Flexibility (EYF) of £0.9 million in the Spring
Supplementary.
I should begin by explaining that although the
Supplementary is in the name of this Office, we also have responsibility
for managing the provision of the Office of the Advocate General
for Scotland and some aspects of the take-up of EYF relate to
that Office.
The additional provision covers four main areas:
1. Whilst the Scotland Office rents Dover House
from the Crown Estate Commissioners, the Office is not the sole
occupant and other Departments occupy parts of the building. Until
the middle of last year, the Leader of the House (and office)
occupied accommodation in the building and paid the Scotland Office
for an agreed share of the running costs of that building under
a MOTO. We had predicated our estimated expenditure on the continuation
of that arrangement during the financial year but the departure
of the Leader's Office in August 2007 resulted in a loss of income,
which became particularly acute in the light of continuing demands
for additional monies for the repair and maintenance of the building.
2. The Scotland Office and OAG occupy Dover House
on the basis of a peppercorn rent by the Crown Estate Commissioners
but in conjunction with that minimal rent, the Office is responsible
for the maintenance of the fabric of the building in order to
meet historic building conservation standards. The expenditure
this year to meet these obligations has again been at a high level.
3. The Office of the Advocate General has an
agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions whereby the
former is reimbursed for the legal staff costs of cases pursued
by that Department in Scotland. During the year, this work reduced
significantly and thus the corresponding income reduced.
4. In contrast, over the same period the Office
of the Solicitor to the Advocate General had to handle an increase
in legislative and advisory work for UK departments as regards
Scotland, as well as an increase in the work directly related
to the responsibilities of the Advocate General. In consequence,
during the year additional solicitors had to be appointed to that
Office.
Turning to the remaining EYF that is available
to the Scotland Office and OAG, going into 2008-09 we have £2.4
million of EYF which the Offices may need to utilise in future
years, with the approval of HM Treasury, depending upon provision
and spending requirements at that time. We have no specific plans
for the EYF.
April 2008
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