§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) on which dates in 1999 the former Secretary of State met Mr. George Simpson of GEC; if he will publish minutes of the meetings; and if he will list the attendees at those meetings; [174304]
(2) what communications (a) the former Secretary of State and (b) his representatives and advisers had in 1999 with GEC over (a) the proposed merger of BAEGEC and (b) Govan shipyard; and if he will publish the communications; [174305]
(3) what (a) meetings and (b) communications the (i) former Secretary of State and (ii) his representatives and advisers had with Kvaerner, their representatives and advisers over the proposed closure of the Govan shipyard in 1999; on what dates meetings were held; and if he will publish the communications; [174306]
(4) what meetings his Department held with management of Govan/Kvaerner to discuss the future of the Govan shipyard in 1999; [174307]
(5) what briefings the former Secretary of State (a) gave and (b) received in 1999 on the GEC interest in the Govan shipyard; [174316]
(6) on what date the former Secretary of State received the minutes of the meeting between Mr. George Simpson of GEC and the Prime Minister to discuss the merger of BAE and GEC; [174317]
(7) what meetings the former Secretary of State held at (a) Dover House and (b) elsewhere to discuss (i) the future of the Govan shipyard and (ii) the BAE-GEC merger; and on what dates; [174319]
(8) if he will publish the (a) minutes and (b) list of attendees of meetings held by the former Secretary of State at Dover House or elsewhere to discuss (i) the future of Govan shipyard and (ii) BAE-GEC merger; [174320]
506W(9) what meetings (a) the former Secretary of State and (b) his advisers, representatives and officials had with the taskforce chaired by Sir Gavin Laird set up by the Government to look for potential buyers for the Govan shipyard in 1999; [174321]
(10) what meetings were held by the former Secretary of State with Sir Gavin Laird to discuss the future of the Govan shipyard in 1999; and what the dates were of the meetings;[174322]
(11) what meetings took place between Mr. Ed Miliband and his officials in 1999 to discuss the (a) GEC-BAE merger and (b) Govan shipyard; and what the dates were of the meetings. [174323]
§ Mr. DarlingMy officials and I have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals. As with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings, under exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Exemption 12 of the Code also applies with regard to privacy of an individual.
§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what his Department's involvement was in the negotiations over the future of Govan shipyard in 1999; [174308]
(2) what the involvement was of (a) the former Secretary of State and (b) his representatives and advisers in informal and oral approaches made to GEC over the purchase of Govan shipyard in 1999. [174309]
§ Mr. DarlingThe then Scottish Office established the Kvaerner Task Force to act as a facilitator for discussions with key stakeholders, with the aim of securing the immediate future of the Govan shipyard.
§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) who chaired the press briefing on 16 April 2004 at the Scottish Office at which it was suggested that GEC would be transferring some of its shipbuilding work to Govan from Barrow-in-Furness; [174310]
(2) if he will publish the (a) minutes and (b) list of attendees of the press briefing on 16 April 2004 at the Scottish Office at which it was suggested that GEC would be transferring some of its shipbuilding work to Govan from Barrow-in-Furness. [174318]
§ Mr. DarlingNo Scottish Office press briefing was given on that date. I am informed that a briefing was given by Sir Gavin Laird in his capacity as Kvaerner Task Force chairman.