§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknishasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Macdonald of Tradeston on 9 March (WA 23) on who will conduct Public Expenditure Survey negotiations with the Treasury on behalf of the Scottish Executive after 1 July 1999, whether it will be a member of the Scottish Executive, the Secretary of State for Scotland, or a senior official of the Scottish Executive. [HL1491]
§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)The majority of future changes to the public expenditure settlement for Scotland will be determined through the Barnett formula, with consultation between Treasury Ministers and the Scottish Executive on its calculation and application of the rules which surround it. Negotiations on annually managed expenditure allocations will be conducted by the Scottish Executive. Ultimately, the level of public expenditure will be a matter for the UK Government, in which Scotland's interests will be represented by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
170WAConsultation: Response Time
§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
What the Cabinet Office guidelines are for the minimum period allowed for response time to public consultation documents issued by individual departments of state. [HL1581]
§ The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)The Cabinet Office guidelines state that eight weeks should generally be the minimum response time for all consultation exercises, but whenever possible more should be allowed. Where less than eight weeks is allowed, the consultation document should specify why a longer response time could not have been given (for example, pre-determined statutory periods for consultation, threats to health, the pace of EU negotiations or long-standing existing arrangements). For consultations with clearly defined or specialist groups, shorter consultation periods may suffice, depending on the nature of the subject and the scale of the exercise: this is for departments, agencies and other bodies to judge according to the circumstances.