§ 3. Mr. Buchanan-Smithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average interval between the receipt and the settlement of claims from agricultural establishments for repayment of the Selective Employment Tax.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Norman Buchan)About five weeks for the first refund period, but I 1688 expect that in future most claims will be settled about two weeks after they are received.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIs the Under-Secretary aware that his Department is nearly a month behind the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in England in starting repayments? Is this just one more example of the Secretary of State for Scotland failing in his duties towards Scotland and playing second fiddle to England?
§ Mr. BuchanI have never known of any occasion when the present Secretary of State for Scotland has failed in his duty to Scotland. We have taken about five weeks. We were installing a computer programme. About 13,000 claims have been involved, representing about £1 million of public money. I should have thought that hon. Members opposite would have been the first to have been concerned that there should be care about the spending of public money.
§ Mr. RankinWould my hon. Friend repudiate any attempt by the Tories to create bad feeling between Scotland and England?
§ Mr. BuchanAlways.
§ Mr. StodartIs the Under-Secretary aware that time was when the Scottish Office took great pride in always paying claims and administering things slightly more efficiently than its counterpart in the South, and that healthy rivalry was maintained? Will he dedicate himself to trying to restore the Scottish Office to its former efficiency?
§ Mr. BuchanI do not know which part of history the hon. Gentleman is referring to. Perhaps he is referring to the famous previous 13 years. The Department is working very efficiently at present and we are doing extremely well in maintaining the healthy rivalry he referred to.