§ Annabelle EwingTo ask the Advocate General, what the(a) total cost and (b) budget provision for her Office has been each year since its inception. [77260]
Advocate-General[holding answer 28 October 2002]: I refer to the answer I previously gave to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) for the period from the inception of my Office until 2000–01, in Official Report, 25 January 2002, column 1127W The figure for 2001–02, in respect of identifiable costs of staff and related administration for my Office, was £1,431,426. Approximately half of the costs of the Office relates to work on litigation and advisory work, including the preparation of Bills, carried out by lawyers from the Office of the Solicitor to the Advocate-General on behalf of Government Departments other than the Advocate-General. These costs were met from within the overall budget of the Scotland Office.
§ Annabelle EwingTo ask the Advocate-General, how many devolution cases have been intimated to her since the inception of her Office. [77257]
The Advocate-General[holding answer 28 October 2002]: Devolution issues are intimated to me in accordance with the Scotland Act 1998 as devolution minutes. There may be more than one minute intimated in the course of a case. As at 6 November 2002, approximately 1746 minutes were intimated to me in connection with a total of 1575 cases.
§ Annabelle EwingTo ask the Advocate General, in how many devolution cases she has intervened since the inception of her Office. [77256]
The Advocate-General[holding answer 28 October 2002]: I have intervened in 24 cases since the creation of my office in May 1999.