§ 39. Mr. McKelveyasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will list the vacancies in the Procurator Fiscal's Department.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandAs at 31 May 1985 there were vacancies for five legal assistants, one executive officer and nine typing posts.
§ Mr. McKelveyBecause of the worsening working conditions of the service of the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland, has the Solicitor-General had any indication from the staff that they intend to take some form of industrial action, which may culminate in strike action, to pursue their claims? If they put pickets on a Crown Office building, which police force will monitor their activities?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandUnfortunately for the hon. Gentleman, he got the wrong answer. He was anticipating that the number of vacancies would be increasing rather than decreasing. In any event, such is my respect for the procurator fiscal service as a whole that I have no doubt that industrial action of the sort that he suggests would be considered wholly inappropriate.