§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what conveniently available figures he has of the number of contract staff currently working for Scottish Natural 287W Heritage; and what steps are being taken to ensure that the reservoir of expertise among those who worked on contract for the Nature Conservancy Council in Scotland has been kept available for Scottish Natural Heritage.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonAt present there are 65 contract staff working for the Nature Conservancy Council in Scotland and 19 contract staff working for the Countryside Commission for Scotland.
Subject to parliamentary approval of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Bill, it is hoped that Scottish Natural Heritage will be established on 1 April 1992. Staff on contracts with the predecessor bodies with termination dates after 1 April 1992 will have their contracts honoured. Scottish Natural Heritage will also be able to appoint or re-appoint contract staff where appropriate. Decisions on staff levels and structures will be taken later this year.