§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect he expects the Gershon review of Civil Service manpower to have on payments to the Scottish Consolidated Fund. [186384]
§ Mrs. McGuireThe arrangements for payments to the Scottish Consolidated Fund are set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, which was published by HM Treasury in July 2004. These arrangements have not changed. In the 2004 Spending Review, the Government announced efficiency gains by departments, which will be redeployed to front line delivery following the Gershon review. It will be for the Scottish Executive to make decisions on efficiency gains in devolved areas.