Scottish Executive (Staffing) (Hansard, 2 July 2002)

§ 33. Pete Wishart (North Tayside)
What assessment he has made of the staffing requirement in the civil service of the Scottish Executive. [63749]

§ Mr. Alexander
Responsibility for staffing levels below senior civil service level is devolved to the Scottish Executive. The Cabinet Office publishes statistics on staffing levels within the civil service and is made aware of significant changes in staffing numbers and the reasons for those changes.

§ Pete Wishart
I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Although I appreciate that the appointment of civil servants is a matter for the Scottish Executive, I am sure he appreciates that the civil service is very much reserved to this House. That might account for the undignified and unseemly spat between the First Minister and the head of the civil service in Scotland about the appointment of some 40 policy analysts in the run-up to the Scottish parliamentary elections next year. Is it the responsibility of this House or the Scottish Parliament to ensure that the appointment of 40 policy analysts is in the public interest and not in the interests of the Labour party in Scotland?

§ Mr. Alexander
On the constitutional point raised by the hon. Gentleman, Sir Muir Russell, the permanent secretary of the Scottish Executive, serves Scottish Ministers, as do all civil servants in Scotland. The hon. Gentleman's point is much overblown. Only eight of those 40 policy analyst posts are new; there are 32 vacancies at present. Some of the criticism levelled at us is therefore unfair, and it reflects the desperation of the hon. Gentleman's party rather than reality.

§ Sandra Osborne (Ayr)
Is my hon. Friend aware of the hundreds and hundreds of questions, some extremely trivial, tabled by SNP list MSPs, who seem to have nothing much else to do with their time? Does he think that that may account for any increase in the number of civil servants required to answer questions?

§ Mr. Alexander
I find myself in wholehearted agreement with my hon. Friend. In anticipation of this issue arising from the question tabled by the hon. Member for North Tayside (Pete Wishart), I looked at the figures and found that there has been a fivefold increase in parliamentary questions since devolution. It was therefore inevitable that there would be an increase in the number of civil servants charged with assisting in the development of answers. The hon. Gentleman's question may be better directed at his colleagues in Holyrood than at this Government.

§ Mr. Tim Collins (Westmorland and Lonsdale)
May I belatedly congratulate the Minister on his thoroughly deserved promotion? Does he stand by the explicit commitments made by the Deputy Prime Minister, not only to members of the civil service for the Scottish Executive but to all civil servants in the United Kingdom, that the Government will shortly introduce a Bill to secure the independence of the civil service?

§ Mr. Alexander
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks of congratulation, and I commend him for his ability to raise that matter in relation to this parliamentary question. The Government remain committed to civil service legislation, but we have also made clear our priorities, and it is simply not possible to do everything at once. It is vital to reform health and education, as we made clear at the election. The Government welcome all the discussion about the civil service that is taking place. I understand that both the Public Administration Committee and the Committee on Standards in Public Life are carrying out work on this issue, and I, for one, shall be interested in their deliberations as we take this policy forward.