- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 24 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Rural Affairs last met representatives of the Scottish Crofters' Union and what issues they discussed.
Answer
I last met officials, officers and members of the Scottish Crofters Union on 1 October 1999 when I visited Lewis. We discussed a wide range of matters including the role and structure of the SCU, the value and nature of crofting, crofting regulation and support and the current difficulties for sheep producers.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are required to identify sites for proposed superquarries in their structure plans.
Answer
National Planning Policy Guideline 4, (Land for Mineral Working) requires Highland, Western Isles and Shetland Islands Councils to consider identifying suitable opportunities for coastal quarries without significant detrimental environmental or socio-economic effects, and to include preferred locations for these in development plans.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 17 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of the recent consultation exercise on shellfish water designation.
Answer
A Direction is being issued to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to designate an additional 11 Scottish waters under the Shellfish Waters Directive (79/923/EEC). The designations take account of the views expressed in the consultation exercise.
Scotland's shellfish farming industry is an excellent example of sustainable development. It supports the rural economy by providing much-needed jobs in some of the most economically fragile areas of the country. Water quality is vital to this success story because it is a key marketing factor when the industry promotes its product world-wide. Designating the additional waters will safeguard quality so that they can support shellfish such as mussels, oysters and scallops. This will be good for the environment generally as well as for the communities who rely on shellfish farming.
The waters to be designated are listed in the table below. A notice announcing the Designations will appear in the Edinburgh Gazette. A copy of the Direction to SEPA designating the new waters will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Maps showing the boundaries of the new designations will be sent to the Information Centre in due course.
Classified Waters | Description |
Bay of Firth, Orkney Mainland | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points HY404142 (Ferry Point) and HY390155. |
Valia Sound, Shetland | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points HU236470 and HU246470 and between HU225472 and HU223474. |
Olna Firth, Shetland | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points HU370640 and HU370651. |
Loch Eriboll, North West | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points NC490650 and NC455650. |
Loch Laxford, North West | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points NC172510 and NC189510. |
Loch Kishorn, North West | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points NG813376 and NG809379 and between NG809379 and NG829392 and between NG829392 and NG821400. |
Loch Snizort, Skye | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points NG233672 (Waternish Point) and NG359700. |
Isle of Ulva/Mull (Loch Tuath) | An area bounded by lines drawn between the points NM365422 (Rubha na Sroine) and NM370450 and between the points NM450388 and NM480388 and between NM480388 and NM480394, extending to MLWS. |
Seil Sound, Argyll | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points NM765147 (Rubba na Moine) NM779147. |
Loch Creran, Argyll | An area bounded by lines drawn between the points NM900438 and NM900433 and between the points NM978445 and NM978444, extending to MLWS. |
Loch Crinan, Argyll | An area inshore of a line drawn between the points NR790945 and NR783965 (Scodaig). |
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 7 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to allow "opt outs" from the right to buy in order to allow social landlords in rural areas to retain houses which cannot be replaced by comparable accommodation.
Answer
Measures are already in place which allow local authorities in rural areas to have a specified area designated as a rural area and allow the landlord a "first option" to purchase a RTB property before it can be sold on to a third party. This measure applies also to houses for which a registered housing association was the landlord at 7 January 1987, as it does for council houses, although only a council can seek to have an area designated.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 3 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with representatives of the Scottish fishing industry about the total allowable catches as agreed at the December EU Fisheries Council.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has been in close contact with Scottish fishing representatives throughout the entire TAC process. I was grateful for the opportunity to meet with them both immediately before the December Council, and in Scotland House in Brussels during a break in Council proceedings. They provided a valuable contribution which I am sure helped us achieve a positive outcome to the negotiations.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing a scheme whereby pig farmers who took out loans to comply with welfare regulations could receive some form of debt relief.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce such a scheme. The very tight EU pigs regime and State Aid constraints which apply to this sector severely limit the scope for providing any direct aid unless, for example, associated with an exceptional occurrence.I believe the debt relief measures which the Republic of Ireland proposes to introduce for some of its pig farmers is based on the very special circumstances of the fire at the Ballymoney pig processing plant.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the current constraints on pig farmers regarding the disposal of meat and bonemeal as a result of the BSE crisis.
Answer
The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) reviewed the ban on the use of porcine MBM as recently as November 1999. The Committee concluded that a relaxation of the feed ban in the UK to allow the inclusion of porcine MBM in poultry feed could not be supported on scientific grounds, reasoning that the comprehensive feed ban in place in the UK had been a critical factor in breaking the cycle of infection in the BSE epidemic. The Scottish Executive has accepted this advice.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list those local authorities and health boards which encourage schools and hospitals in their respective areas to use Scottish meat.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. However, the likelihood is most of the Scottish Health Boards, NHS Trusts and hospitals will obtain their meat from only Scottish sources. Officials from my Department wrote to all Scottish local authorities in November last year highlighting some of the benefits of home-produced pork, lamb and beef.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the review of the functions of the Crofting Commission, proposals will be rejected if there are found to be serious concerns in the crofting community.
Answer
The interests of stakeholders will be an important criterion to be taken into account. The other criteria will be how far the proposals help deliver government policy, how far they maximise accountability, and how far they maximise efficiency, effectiveness and value for money.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce measures to enable the oil fabrication yards in the Highlands to diversify into new areas.
Answer
We take very seriously the difficulties currently facing the fabrication yards in the Highlands. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise in the Highlands and Islands and I visited the Ardersier yard only last week to meet the management and unions. While there is uncertainty over the immediate future of the yards, I am encouraged that they have not been closed and that the owners are committed to their retention on a care and maintenance basis in order that the yards are able to compete for orders when market confidence returns. The enterprise agencies are working closely with the company, and stand ready to help it in any way they can to develop new products and services and compete in new markets.At last week's Oil & Gas Industry Task Force, my DTI colleague the Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe, Mrs Liddell, and I impressed on the industry the need for a response to the problems currently facing platform fabricators. As a result, a "Fabricators Forum" has been established and will be meeting before the end of the month.