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House of Commons (Participation) Bill

The hon. Gentleman should consider the fact that there is much more Government expenditure in my region, but I do not have the opportunity to ask such questions. He should also consider how many of the questions are in the form of, ““What discussions has the Secretary of State for Scotland had with the Scottish Executive about…””. That is a spurious way of raising an issue that is eventually a matter for the Scottish Executive. It is an anomaly that we still have Scottish questions and a Secretary of State for Scotland. We need a single Minister who is responsible for co-ordination with the devolved Administrations and non-devolved constitutional matters, but we no longer need a Department that behaves as though it still has some sort of provincial authority over the country of Scotland, when it does not. It is a remnant of a previous dispensation.