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Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Davidson of Glen Clova on 11 February (HL1065) concerning the Scotland Office and staff sickness, why the question was not answered when it was addressed to Her Majesty's Government as a whole. [HL1464]

The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Davidson of Glen Clova): While the Scotland Office is part of the HMG, its staff are employees of the Ministry of Justice or the Scottish Executive, who are employed on a secondment type basis. It is only the staff who are employees of the Ministry of Justice that can be classified as belonging to HMG.

In terms of data capture for Scotland Office staff seconded from the Ministry of Justice, staff sickness records are not separately identifiable within the recording mechanisms used by the Ministry of Justice, as they incorporate under the same business entity, staff who are seconded to the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland. However, the information relating to the specifics of the administrative section of the Scotland Office, which you enquired about in your original request, would not be published as the numbers are fewer than five and would make the identification of individuals possible.

UK Chemical Community

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will seek confirmation from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council that their funding for the United Kingdom chemical community will not be reduced. [HL1197]

3 Mar 2009 : Column WA147

The Minister of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Drayson): The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has an annual budget of approximately £800 million for 2008-09 to fund research and training across engineering and physical sciences. EPSRC's primary criterion for investment is research quality as judged by independent

3 Mar 2009 : Column WA148

peer review. Future funding levels for the chemistry community will therefore be dependent on the quality of proposals submitted.

There are also significant opportunities for chemists to participate in EPSRC's thematic programmes, which currently include energy, towards next generation healthcare and nanoscience through engineering to application.

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