§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff are expected to be employed in each of the new town corporations at the time of their winding up; how many will have been transferred before the winding up of each of the new towns; how many of the transferred staff will be covered by the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulation 1981 and the European Community acquired rights directive; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 8 December 1993]: It is not possible to predict how many staff will be employed at final wind-up. Staff will retire or be transferred to other bodies or be made redundant at different times during the wind-up period, depending on the completion of projects, the outcome of negotiations with the bodies to receive transferees and the demands of the complex process of winding up. Whether the TUPE regulations apply to a group of staff is a matter for decision in each case, in the light of legal advice, by the body which takes over the associated function. Therefore it is not possible to predict how many staff will transfer by virtue of TUPE. Current staff members for each development corporation were given in my answer to the hon. Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram), on 6 December 1993, Official Report, column 84.