Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-04625

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out to determine whether condensate effluent from rendering plants associated with the BSE cattle cull is safe to apply to land as fertiliser.

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) have considered the practice of spreading rendering condensate on land and have concluded that as a precautionary measure it should be discontinued on land where cattle may graze.

The Environmental Agency published a report on the options for the disposal of treated effluent from a particular rendering plant in June 1997 which showed that all the disposal methods - including the historical method of disposal onto the land surface - present extremely low risks of exposure to BSE infectivity, negligible compared to other risks in daily life. An assessment of the risk using a set of pessimistic assumptions showed that the likelihood of the most exposed individual ingesting sufficient material in one year to cause infection was around one in a 1,000 million.The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee have noted the methodology used in this report and is content with its conclusions.

Question reference: S1W-04623

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3934 by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2000, which waste-water works process waste from the two mammalian rendering plants at Inverurie and Newarthill, Motherwell, what treatment the waste receives and which contractors remove the waste from the water works.

The first plant, Dundas Brothers Ltd at Kintore by Inverurie, treat their waste on site using their dissolved air floatation and biological treatment plants. This produces a "float" (or "sludge") which is tankered by Dundas Brothers to Burnhaven, Peterhead where it is disposed of, under licence, to the sea via a six inch bar screened outfall facility. This process is overseen by North of Scotland Water. Liquid waste is disposed of by Dundas Brothers into the River Don.The second plant, William Forest and Son (Paisley) Ltd, treat their waste at Daldowie treatment works, where it is subject to full tertiary treatment, including nitrification. The treated liquid effluent is discharged into the public sewer under consent issued by North Lanarkshire Council. Discharge is controlled by SEPA under a waste management licence. A contractor, Cunningham, removes the sewage sludge from the treatment works to the Mount Vernon landfill site.

Question reference: S1W-04636

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive with reference to the disposal of waste from the two mammalian rendering plants at Inverurie and Newarthill, Motherwell at waste-water works, whether any of this waste water is disposed of on land and, if so, at which farms, opencast sites, forestry sites or other sites it is being disposed and which contractor is carrying out the disposal.

Neither of the two plants in question, Dundas Brothers at Kintore by Inverurie, or William Forrest and Sons (Paisley) Ltd at Newarthill, Motherwell, dispose of waste by spreading on land. Under the Fertilisers (Mammalian Meat and Bonemeal) Regulations 1998, it is an offence to spread mammalian protein derived from the rendering process on agricultural land.The Newarthill site does remove sewage sludge to the Mount Vernon landfill site for burial. There is also provision given under their Waste Management Licence for up to 600 tonnes of permissible effluent per day to be discharged to a mine shaft on site in an emergency situation.

Question reference: S1W-04627

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive which butcher shops, supermarkets or other retail outlets have received meat from abattoirs dealing with livestock brought up on farms, or other sites, which have been spread with condensate effluent brought to Scotland from Staffordshire.

Question reference: S1W-04634

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what research there has been to determine whether prions, thought to be the cause of BSE and new variant CJD, can be carried in the protein cell of plants.

Question reference: S1W-04637

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the spread of condensate effluent from rendering plants in Staffordshire on Scottish farms and sites, what is the destination of any produce from any of these farms or sites; which abattoirs have received any livestock produced from any of these farms or sites and what has been the destination of any meat products processed from this livestock.

Question reference: S1W-04267

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 23 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what emergency response plans it has for an accident or incident at the Ministry of Defence weapons and armoury storage facility at Crombie, Fife.

Emergency response plans for accidents or incidents occurring within the Crombie storage facility are a matter for MOD.I understand, however, that while the facility is exempt from the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999, MOD have prepared, in co-operation with local authority and emergency services, plans to protect people and the environment in the surrounding area from the effect of any incident at the facility.

Question reference: S1W-03934

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive where in Scotland the two mammalian rendering plants approved to process specified risk material are situated.

Question reference: S1W-03299

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 7 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has recently provided to Fife Health Board on the most recent Business Plan submitted by the Fife Acute Services Trust for the reshaping of its services.

Question reference: S1O-01039

Asked by: Bruce Crawford, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 3 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the Scottish population lives in areas which are currently eligible for European aid and what the equivalent proportion was under the structural funds settlement applying immediately prior to the new settlement.

The special programme for the Highlands & Islands, to replace the Objective 1 programme, is available throughout the Highlands & Islands. The Objective 3 programme for the European Social Fund has been available throughout Lowland Scotland and will remain so. Those living in the former Objective 2 and 5b areas, covering some 77% of the Scottish population, will have access to either full or transitional support in the new Objective 2 programmes.