§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Scottish Office has(a) had direct or indirect involvement in the personnel and recruitment policies of the Rowett Research Institute and (b) made representations or recommendations to the Institute in relation to the early retirement or dismissal of staff. [61721]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe Rowett Research Institute employs staff under terms and conditions laid down by the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department, as the major funder of the Institute, has a limited involvement in the Institute's general policies on personnel, recruitment and retirement of staff, but that involvement does not extend to individual cases which are a matter for the Institute's Governing Body.