Donald Dewar: The estimated staff costs of ministerial private offices for the period July 99-June 2000 are as follows: Ministerial Team (No. of Ministers) Private Office Staff Costs Children and Education (3) £128,000 Communities (3) £128,000 Enterprise and Lifelong Learning ...
Donald Dewar: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Crown Estate on a range of issues.
Donald Dewar: A written reply was sent to Ms Sutherland on 15 August.
Donald Dewar: The information requested in relation to the target of 20 working days for the period 1 October 1999 to 31 January 2000 is detailed in the table below. Department Number of replies due % of replies to members of the public issued within 20 working day target TOTAL 5,523 74% Crown...
Donald Dewar: A copy of Sir Andrew Leggatt’s annual report for 1999-2000 is being laid before Parliament today in accordance with section 107(3) of the Police Act 1997. After consultation with the Chief Commissioner and Scottish Ministers in accordance with section 107(4) of the Act, the Prime Minister has decided not to publish the confidential annex to the report because it would be prejudicial to the...
Donald Dewar: It is already a matter of record that the decision was taken by the Scottish Cabinet. The Executive operates on the basis of collective responsibility and details on the internal process through which this or any other decision is made are not disclosed (reference paragraph 2.2 of the Scottish Ministerial Code ).
Donald Dewar: The information requested in relation to the target of 17 working days for the period 1 March to 30 April 2000 is detailed in the table below. The figures include correspondence sent to the First Minister, which is distributed among departments according to the subject matter of the letters. Department Number of replies issued % of...
Donald Dewar: The current Ministerial Committees are: 21st Century Government Ministerial Steering Group Ministerial Committee on Digital Scotland Ministerial Committee on Tackling Drug Misuse Ministerial Committee on Rural Development Ministerial Group on Sustainable Scotland Ministerial Steering Committee on Diligence Ministerial Working Group on GM Science Ministerial Working Group on Renewing Local...
Donald Dewar: PQ S1W-2029 was answered on 9 May.
Donald Dewar: An answer was provided for question S1W-2029 on 9 May 2000.
Donald Dewar: No.
Donald Dewar: It is evident from our employment records that none of the current members of Information Directorate staff has previously worked for the Labour Party in media relations.
Donald Dewar: No Scottish Executive research staff provide services to Westminster MPs. For a breakdown of research staff by department, I refer the member to the answer to question S1W-2058.
Donald Dewar: Most ministerial powers are conferred upon "the Scottish Ministers" and can be exercised by any member of the Scottish Executive. Any such powers which are at present, in practice, exercised by the First Minister will, during his absence, be exercised by the Deputy First Minister. The Deputy First Minister will also deputise for the First Minister in the carrying out of administrative...
Donald Dewar: The Minister for Transport and the Environment has asked the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Nicol Stephen, to support her on the parliamentary stages of the National Parks (Scotland) Bill.
Donald Dewar: The Executive's priorities were set out clearly in "Making it work together: a programme for government", which was published last September. That document explained what we are committed to achieving in government and turned our priorities into a programme for action, on which we are now delivering. If Alex Salmond looks round Scotland, he will see evidence in plenty that that is so.
Donald Dewar: I, too, look at the statistics quite carefully. I notice, for example, that output in the manufacturing sector in Scotland increased by 1.4 per cent in the four quarters to the end of the third quarter of 1999, compared with a decrease of 0.7 per cent for the United Kingdom as a whole. That is not always a reverse pattern, and of course we welcome it. Alex Salmond will know that Scottish...
Donald Dewar: I fear that we are getting a deplorably selective view of the picture from Alex Salmond, which does not come as a total surprise to me. I remind him that the ILO figure for unemployment in Scotland—of 7.5 per cent, as he correctly said—is well below the European average of 8.8 per cent. Total employment rose by 23,000 in the year to December 1999 and through to February 2000. Employment...
Donald Dewar: I very often have to deal with bogus points, and very often in these exchanges. I should tell Alex Salmond—in a low-key way—that no one is likely to recognise his picture of the Scottish economy. Our current record of employment is good and there is genuine growth in the manufacturing export sector and in the modern—and some of the older—industries. For example, the Executive is...
Donald Dewar: No.
