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At least the pace of activity has increased over the past eight weeks compared to the previous four years. However, my question is about one of the other proposals that was made in those four years but, unfortunately, has not come to a conclusion.
Concern is expressed about the collection rates of water and sewerage charges, which are still falling behind the rate for comparable water companies in England and Wales.
The current civil service recruitment exercises are well within budget, well within the right numbers and compare favourably to the record of the Conservatives when they were in Government.
If we were holding a committee inquiry, and had a secretariat that could go out and compare the different actions of some of the smaller countries, I would agree with you.
If we were holding a committee inquiry, and had a secretariat that could go out and compare the different actions of some of the smaller countries, I would agree with you.
In the research work that the minister plans to do over the summer, will he consider comparable experience in other countries—such as Norway—that have discovered oil but have managed to sustain an oil fabrication sector and develop long-term benefit to their economy from oil?
I know that that is easy to say, but perhaps it would be better to compare the per capita spending on the health service and education in Scotland to that in the rest of the country; the word nonsense might then die in the throat.
Will the minister pay particular attention to the rates of pay of laboratory assistants, who seem to be remarkably poorly paid compared with other workers in the health service, but who deliver a vital and effective service?
At the end of the comprehensive spending review period, the Government will be spending 4.9 per cent of GDP on education, which compares with the lowest percentage under the Tory Administration—4.9 per cent in 1995-96.