Scotland Office branded 'a pointless relic'

THE Scotland Office has been branded the most pointless department in Whitehall after figures showed it received just 39 letters a year from MPs and peers, put out an average of only one press release a week yet managed to spend 32 per cent more on hospitality than in the previous year .

Opposition MPs and taxpayers' campaigners seized on the figures, which show the department received fewer letters than the obscure Pesticide Safety Directorate, Rural Development Service and the Planning Inspectorate.

The department also splashed out 23,000 on entertainment last year, up a third from the previous 12 months, according to answers to parliamentary written questions.

The relevance of the figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrats, was dismissed by the Scotland Office, which insisted its role was more crucial than ever in trying to forge better co-operation with Holyrood and liaising with other departments on issues such as climate change and energy.

But Matthew Elliott, from the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the Scotland Office was a "relic" of the pre-devolution era and should be abolished.

"The Scotland Office is now the most pointless department in Whitehall. Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for an office and staff who are a relic of the pre-devolution era.

"When [Chancellor] Alistair Darling wields the axe ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review in the autumn, he should start with the Scotland Office."

Alistair Carmichael, the Lib Dems' Scotland spokesman said the Scotland Office was "more concerned with hosting soires than communicating with Edinburgh".

He added: "Employing 20 staff to write an average of two official letters each year is indefensible.

"The Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices should merge into a Department for Nations and Regions, with a full-time seat at the Cabinet table."

But David Cairns, the Scotland Office minister, said: "The Scotland Office is a small department spending very small sums of money in a very efficient way. Alistair Carmichael is misusing statistics to make a hackneyed political point and asking pointless parliamentary questions."

A Scotland Office spokesman said the bulk of the entertainment budget was spent on charity events, including

the London launch of the Scottish Poppy Appeal and a lunch for the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

The Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General had a combined budget of 6.6 million last year.

HOW OFFICE TOOK SHAPE

IT WAS almost two centuries after the Act of Union that the Scottish Office was established.

In the wake of the 1707 act, the government did acknowledge the need for Scottish representation in the Cabinet, and, for a short period, a Scottish Secretary was appointed.

But the post was dissolved in the wake of the Jacobite uprising of 1745, and responsibility passed to the Lord Advocate - the king's adviser on Scottish affairs.

This arrangement continued for more than 60 years, until the powers were transferred in 1827 to the Home Secretary.

In 1869, Scottish MPs asked for the post of Scottish Secretary to be reinstated. But they were not successful until 1885, when the Scottish Office was also established.

This arrangement continued until 1999, when the department was superseded by the creation of the Scottish Executive. Renamed the Scotland Office, it retains a small number of its original powers.