- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 April 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive whether contractual obligations regarding reprocessing spent nuclear fuel could be fulfilled by Dounreay without building a vitrification plant.
Answer
The Scottish Government is confident that Dounreay will be able to meet its historic contractual obligations regarding overseas radioactive waste without the need for a new vitrification plant to be built. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is in discussions with Dounreay's overseas customers regarding the form that the waste will be returned in, including cemented form. If necessary, waste substitution will permit vitrified waste to be repatriated from Sellafield, allowing contracts to be honoured in full at the earliest possible opportunity and providing additional clarity as to the decommissioning requirements at the Dounreay site.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 April 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it took to ensure that there were no viable alternative options before agreeing to the Dounreay radioactive waste substitution policy.
Answer
The Scottish Government discussed alternative options with a number of stakeholders including the UK Government, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and SEPA. The Dounreay Radioactive Waste Substitution consultation paper, published on 3 December 2010, provided an opportunity for members of the public and other stakeholders to offer their views on the proposed policy.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 April 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what options were considered in relation to fulfilling contractual obligations regarding reprocessing nuclear waste at Dounreay.
Answer
As made plain in the consultation paper Dounreay Radioactive Waste Substitution, published by the Scottish and UK Governments on 3 December 2010, the following options were considered in addition to waste substitution:
leaving overseas radioactive waste in the UK until Dounreay could put it into a form that the relevant overseas facilities were ready to receive, and
designing, building, operating and eventually decommissioning a vitrification facility at Dounreay.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 23 April 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to contractual obligations that allow for waste to be returned in cement form, in light of responses to the Dounreay Radioactive Waste Substitution Consultation 2010.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the overseas radioactive waste resulting from historical Dounreay contracts signed in the 1980s and 1990s is returned as soon as possible. This will assist with the decommissioning and clean up of the Dounreay site. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is in discussions with customers of the countries concerned regarding the form that the waste will be returned in, including cemented form.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 17 April 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for retirement on the grounds of stress have been approved for teachers who are members of the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme in each of the last five years.
Answer
The number of approved applications for ill-health retirement on the grounds of a stress related illness, from teachers who are members of the Scottish Teachers Superannuation Scheme, in each of the last five years are as follows –
2007-08
|
49
|
2008-09
|
43
|
2009-10
|
43
|
2010-11
|
36
|
2011-12
|
24
|
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2012
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what cost analysis was carried out prior to the ending of the road equivalent tariff for commercial vehicles travelling to the Western Isles.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2012
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 28 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the ferry service between Oban and Lochboisdale has been subject to (a) disruption and (b) cancellation in each year since 2007.
Answer
The following table provides information relating to the number of disruptions and cancellations on the ferry service between Oban and Lochboisdale since 2002. A longer time series than that requested has been provided to illustrate the fact that the impact of weather conditions, which are responsible for the majority of cancellations and disruptions, fluctuates over time.
Year
|
Total
Sailings
|
Cancelled
Weather
|
% Cancelled
Weather
|
Cancelled
Other
|
2002
|
865
|
9
|
1.04%
|
1
|
2003
|
985
|
10
|
1.02%
|
2
|
2004
|
884
|
21
|
2.38%
|
5
|
2005
|
886
|
40
|
4.51%
|
1
|
2006
|
940
|
33
|
3.51%
|
4
|
2007
|
940
|
24
|
2.55%
|
5
|
2008
|
947
|
37
|
3.91%
|
8
|
2009
|
947
|
41
|
4.33%
|
7
|
2010
|
957
|
28
|
2.93%
|
1
|
2011
|
951
|
48
|
5.05%
|
0
|
Year
|
%
Cancelled
Other
|
Diverted
Sailings
|
%
Diverted
|
Total
Lateness
|
%
Total
Lateness
|
2002
|
0.12%
|
3
|
0.35%
|
69
|
7.97%
|
2003
|
0.20%
|
6
|
0.60%
|
88
|
8.93%
|
2004
|
0.56%
|
28
|
3.16%
|
92
|
10.40%
|
2005
|
0.11%
|
9
|
1.01%
|
80
|
9.02%
|
2006
|
0.42%
|
8
|
0.85%
|
31
|
3.29%
|
2007
|
0.53%
|
3
|
0.31%
|
55
|
5.96%
|
2008
|
0.84%
|
11
|
1.16%
|
82
|
8.65%
|
2009
|
0.73%
|
11
|
1.16%
|
90
|
9.50%
|
2010
|
0.10%
|
20
|
2.08%
|
119
|
12.43%
|
2011
|
0.00%
|
22
|
2.31%
|
163
|
17.14%
|
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what the legislative basis will be for the streamlined planning process for enterprise areas.
Answer
<>I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-06165 on 26 March 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what the streamlined planning process for enterprise areas will involve.
Answer
The streamlined planning process for enterprise areas is concerned with ensuring that applications are processed swiftly and to an agreed timescale. It does not remove the requirement to obtain planning or other permissions. Environmental and other public interest concerns will continue to be considered in line with the normal statutory planning requirements, such as the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2008.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 March 2012
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how environmental and other public interest concerns relating to enterprise areas will be considered in the streamlined planning process.
Answer
<>I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-06165 on 26 March 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.