§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will list the statutory powers under which the Lord Advocate's Department is authorised to make payments of any kind to non-Government bodies, including individuals, the total paid under each such statutory power in 1982–83, and the total number of staff involved in making such payments.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe Law Commissions Act 1965 and the Tribunal and Inquiries Act 1971 make provision for the expenses of, respectively, the Scottish Law Commission and the Council on Tribunals and its Scottish committee to be defrayed out of unds provided by Parliament. The Lord Advocate has certain statutory responsibilities with regard to these bodies, particularly in connection with the appointment of members and staff.
In the year 1982–83 the following payments were made:
£ Scottish Law Commission 423,986 Council on Tribunals (Scottish committee) 20,868 No payments were made to individuals. Payments were made to those bodies by staff in the Scottish Office computer service—in the case of salaries—and by staff 257W in the Scottish courts administration—in the case of other categories of expenditure. In neither case were these administrative costs significant. Information about expenditure on the Scottish Law Commission is readily identifiable from published Appropriation Accounts for Class XV, Vote 11, Administration of Justice.