§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total cost of land procurement, planning designing, constructing and fitting out the new Scottish Office building; how many additional jobs have been created, both directly and indirectly; what is his estimate of the additional accommodation costs or savings which will be achieved in each of the next 10 financial years; and if he will make a statement. [39165]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe building at Victoria quay was purchased by Property Holdings for incorporation into the government estate at a total cost of £46.925 million excluding VAT, which includes the site, construction and professional fees. Fitting-out costs of approximately £14.5 million for occupational services works are being met by the Scottish Office.
431WIt is difficult to estimate the effect of the development on jobs. At the peak of construction activity, there was a work force of 600 on site and during fit-out, an average of 140. Fifteen hundred staff and contractors are working in the building and they and visitors to it will provide custom for local businesses.
My Department estimates that running cost savings of about £3 million a year will be achieved from lower opportunity cost rentals than were payable on the buildings given up, economies of scale, the energy efficient design of the building and its flexibility to respond to changing working patterns. There will also be considerable gains to the operational efficiency of the Department due to the co-location of a large number of staff on a single site.