§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what charging arrangements are in place in respect of the budgets of the Scottish Executive and National Assembly for Wales, to pay for the time of Ministry of Defence officials preparing briefing for members of the(a) Scottish Executive and (b) National Assembly for Wales when replying to debates. [101150]
§ Mr. HoonMembers of the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly of Wales are entitled to ask for and receive any information which would be relevant to the running of their business. The same principles apply to information that the Ministry of Defence might require from the devolved Administrations. As this relationship includes an exchange of information both ways, there are no charging arrangements in place in respect of the budgets of the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly of Wales to pay for the time of Ministry of Defence officials preparing this briefing.
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§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what security level members of the Scottish Executive are briefed on defence matters when answering debates on defence issues in the Scottish Parliament. [101149]
§ Mr. HoonMembers of the Scottish Executive are provided with all information that is necessary and appropriate to enable them to meet their responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament. As Scottish Ministers are Ministers of the Crown and members of the Scottish Executive remain Civil Servants, no additional security restrictions apply.