§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an estimate of the total cost to his Department of all aspects of(a) the consultation paper on the structure of local government of June 1991 and subsequent consideration, (b) the White Paper of July 1993 and (c) all correspondence, meetings and briefings before and during the second reading debate and the committee stage of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill.
§ Mr. StewartThe total cost of the consultation paper "The Case for Change", which was published in June 1991, of the consultation paper "Shaping the New Councils", published in October 1992 and of associated material, including leaflets, a video and so on, was approximately £148,800. The cost of the White Paper "Shaping the Future—The New Councils" and related material was £58,200. It is not possible to identify or quantify administrative costs incurred by the Scottish Office which are related specifically to correspondence, meetings and briefings about the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants from his Department have been required to travel to London in connection with the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill during each week since 16 January; and if he will give the number from each grade, the number of clays and the costs of(a) travel and (b) subsistence.
§ Mr. StewartDetails of the civil servants travelling to London in connection with the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill since 16 January are given in the table:
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Civil Servants travelling to London in connection with the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill Number of officials of each grade Number of "man" days (Number of officials x number of days) Total number of overnight stays1 17 January 1994 Grade 5 1 Grade 7 2 Administrative trainee (Europe) 1 4 4 24 January 1994 None 0 0 321W
Number of officials of each grade Number of "man" days (Number of officials x number of days) Total number of overnight stays1 31 January 1994 Grade 5 1 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 1 Administration trainee (Europe) 1 Executive officer 1 Personal secretary 1 Administration assistant 1 32 26 7 February 1994 Grade 5 1 Grade 7 3 Administration trainee (Europe) 1 Executive Office 1 Personal Secretary 1 Administrative Assistant 1 32 24 14 February 1994 Grade 5 2 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 3 Administrative trainee (Europe) 1 Executive officer 1 Personal secretary 1 Administrative assistant 1 34 26 21 February 1994 Grade 5 1 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 2 Higher executive officer 1 Administrative trainee (Europe) 1 Executive officer 2 Personal secretary 1 Administrative officer 2 34 25 28 February 1994 Grade 3 1 Grade 5 4 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 4 Higher Executive Officer 2 Admin Trainee (Europe) 1 Executive Officer 1 Personal Secretary 1 Admin Officer 1 54 44 7 March 1994 Grade 4 1 Grade 5 3 Grade 7 6 Higher Executive Officer 2 Admin Trainee (Europe) 1 Executive Officer 1 Personal Secretary 1 Admin Officer 1 54 41 14 March 1994 Grade 5 4 Grade 7 6 Senior Professional and Technical Officer 1 Higher Executive Officer (Development) 1 Higher Executive Officer 2 Admin Trainee (Europe) 1 Executive Officer 1 Personal Secretary 1
Number of officials of each grade Number of "man" days (Number of officials x number of days) Total number of overnight stays1 Admin Assistant 1 51 39 21 March 1994 Grade 5 3 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 5 Higher Executive Officer 1 Admin Trainee (Europe) 1 Personal Secretary 2 Admin Officer 1 Admin Assistant 1 Typist 1 45 40 28 March 1994 Grade 5 1 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 1 Higher Executive Officer 1 Personal Secretary 1 Admin Officer 1 Admin Assistant 1 Typist 1 23 22 11 April 1994 Grade 5 2 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 4 Higher Executive Officer 1 Personal Secretary 1 Admin Officer 1 Admin Assistant 1 Typist 1 39 31 18 April 1994 Grade 5 5 Grade 6 4 Grade 7 10 Higher Executive Officer 3 Admin Trainee (Europe) 1 Executive Officer 1 Personal Secretary 1 Admin Assistant 1 63 51 Totals 152 official journeys 465 373 1 Overnight stays include only those spent in London and not nights spent away from home whilst travelling between London and Edinburgh on the sleeper service. It is possible to produce only broad estimates of travel and subsistence costs, as follows:
(a) Travel
- A return air journey costs approximately £220.
- A return train journey including travel by sleeper and overnight travel allowance costs approximately £180.
- Assuming, therefore, an average cost of £200 for each official travelling the total travel cost is approximately £30,400.
(b) Subsistence
- Subsistence is paid at the rate of £65.15 to every official required to spend a night in London.
- Using the total number of overnight stays required in London, the approximate subsistence cost is £24,300.