§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what meetings took place about the proposed linkage of Berwickshire and East Lothian in advance of publication of the White Paper which involved local district councillors;
(2) what meetings took place about the proposed linkage of Berwickshire and East Lothian in advance of publication of the White Paper which involved special or political advisers to the Secretary of State for Scotland and local representatives for either Berwickshire or East Lothian;
(3) if he will place in the Library a list of those who made representations on the proposal to link Berwickshire and East Lothian in the context of local government reform in Scotland;
(4) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the White Paper suggesting that Berwickshire should be joined to East Lothian; and who made the suggestion.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 25 October 1993]: In reaching their decisions on the proposed boundaries for the new single-tier authorities that were included in the White paper "Shaping the Future—The New Councils", the Government took account of the responses to the consultation paper "Shaping The New Councils", and to a wide range of other factors including costs, the efficient delivery of services, accountability, economic development considerations, population and geography. No meetings were held with local authorities or other interest groups to discuss specific boundaries relating to Berwickshire and East Lothian prior to the publication of the White Paper. Since publication, however, I and my colleagues have met with a number of individuals and organisations from Berwickshire, East Lothian and other 631W parts of Scotland. A total of 417 individual letters have also been received about the proposed Berwickshire and East Lothian council. I have placed in the Library a list of those who have made representations. In addition, local campaigns about the Berwickshire and East Lothian proposals have generated postcards, pro forma letters and petition signatures.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the transitional costs of the restructuring of local government; and if he intends those costs to be met from local or national resources.
§ Mr. StewartThe Government's White Paper, "Shaping the Future—The New Council" estimated that transitional costs in the range of £120 million to £196 million would be incurred over a 15-year period. The Scottish Office has invited local authorities to submit estimates of the genuinely additional costs they expect to incur in the financial year 1994–95 and my right hon. Friend will be taking account of these in determining the level of the local government finance settlement for that year. Similarly the funding of costs in future years will be the subject of consultation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in the normal way.