§ Mr. Bestasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will state for each of the last six years the number of (a) Welsh debates, (b) meetings of the Welsh Grand Committee and (c) statements on matters relating to Wales; and if he will give similar information in respect of Scotland.
§ Mr. Biffen[pursuant to his reply, 4 March 1986, c. 96]: Since my earlier reply, a number of other debates have also been identified. The figures for the period 1979–80 to 1984–85 should now read as follows:
154W
Session Welsh debates* Scottish debates* 1979–80 14 22 1980–81 5 24 1981–82 10 21 1982–83 5 13 1983–84 12 23 1984–85 14 23 * Excluding debates on various stages of legislation, ten-minute Bills, money resolutions, SO No. 10 applications and PNQs, but including inter alia daily Adjournment debates, debates on statutory instruments and Consolidated Fund Bill debates. It should be noted, however, that in view of the difficulty of defining precisely what constitutes "Welsh debates" and "Scottish debates", this table may not be comprehensive.