§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many staff are employed in the Social Exclusion Unit in(a) Scotland and (b) the UK; [8596]
(2) what was the Social Exclusion Unit's expenditure on administration and staff costs in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in each of the last five years; [8599]
(3) what representatives the Scottish Executive have in the running of the Social Exclusion Unit; and what their remits are [8600]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Social Exclusion Unit is part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and reports to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Prime Minister. Its remit is to help improve Government action to reduce social exclusion by producing "joined-up solutions to joined-up problems". It works mainly on specific projects, chosen following consultation with other Ministers and suggestions from interested groups. The unit's remit covers only matters which are the responsibility of the Government, but it keeps in close touch with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland devolved Administrations, which have their own strategies for tackling social exclusion.
On 1 October 2001 there were 52 members of staff in the SEU. The administration and pay costs for the unit for the past five years are as follows: 45W
SEU £ Admin costs Pay costs Total 1 December 1997–31 March 1998 42,841 45,914 88,756 1 April 1998–31 March 1999 262,600 418,518 681,119 1 April 1999–31 March 2000 760,046 810,618 1,570,665 1 April 2000–31 March 2001 1,100,289 1,145,957 2,246,247 1 April 2001–31 March 20021 712,000 1,659,000 2,371,000 1Budget allocation There are no staff employed in the Social Exclusion Unit in Scotland and there were no administration and staff costs over the past five years.