§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing each royal visit to Scotland since 1984, giving details of the(a) date, (b) location, (c) purpose and (d) participating Scottish Office Minister or Ministers.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 16 January 1995]: Where possible, I or one of my ministerial colleagues accompanies, Her Majesty the Queen as Minister in attendance when she is carrying out public engagements in Scotland. Members of the royal family are conscious of the demands on Ministers and it has been the practice 471W for many years that Ministers are not, as a matter of course, in attendance on all visits. Ministers do not normally accompany other members of the royal family on visits to Scotland.
The Scottish Office information directorate acts on behalf of the press secretary to Her Majesty the Queen in making media arrangements for visits to Scotland by Her Majesty the Queen and immediate members of the royal family and, in this capacity, is present on such visits.
While the date and location of visits by Her Majesty the Queen and immediate members of the royal family are available, no central records are held as to the purpose of a visit or whether or not a Minister was present. The available details are being extracted and will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Scottish Office(a) Ministers and (b) civil servants accompanied His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on his visit to Strathclyde flood sites; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 16 January 1995]: Representatives of the Scottish Office information directorate assisted with the media arrangements during the visit by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to the flood sites.
The answer to a question about ministerial attendance at royal visits, which I gave to the hon. Member today, explains the practice followed for many years. On this occasion, no Minister was present.