§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.
§ Mr. Malcolm Rifkind[holding answer 17 November 1987]: The only residential accommodation provided for Scottish Office Ministers is my official residence at Bute house, Edinburgh which is used primarily for receptions and other formal Government occasions. The running cost figures for Bute house (rent, rates, fuel and maintenance) are as follows:
£ 1979–80 8,000 1980–81 37,000 1981–82 9,000 1982–83 11,000 1983–84 14,000 1984–85 12,000 1985–86 52,000 1986–87 102,000 The figures for 1980–81, 1985–86 and 1986–87 reflect the incidence of major works of maintenance.
197WResidential accommodation continues to be provided for prison staff on a diminishing scale. The available figures for the net running costs are:
£ 1981–82 184,000 1982–83 258,000 1983–84 215,000 1984–85 137,000 1985–86 199,000 1986–87 94,000 The information in respect of other civil servants is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost and on an incomplete basis.