- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 21 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what account it has taken of any representations received from the National Farmers Union Scotland on the impact of any revised proposals drafted by the EU Commission for the protection of animals during transport.
Answer
The Executive is still awaiting the Commission's proposed amendments to EC Directive 91/625 on the welfare of animals during transport. The proposals are unlikely to be published until some time in May and the National Farmers Union of Scotland will be consulted then.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 20 March 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer whether there has been any change to the latest estimate of #324 million of the cost of the Holyrood project; if so, what the estimate is now; whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) will inform the public of any change to the costs in the period between 31 March and 1 May 2003; whether project management on a monthly basis reviews and reports costs as suggested in recommendation 27(g) of the report by the Auditor General The New Scottish Parliament building: An examination of the management of the Holyrood project of September 2000, and, if so, when the next reports are due to be made between now and 1 May 2003 and whether their main findings in relation to costs will be made public.
Answer
There has been no change to the estimate of cost as last reported to the Finance Committee. Costs are kept under constant review by the Cost Consultant and by Project Management and reports are made on a fortnightly basis to the Holyrood Progress Group (HPG). In addition, reports are made to the SPCB on a monthly basis and to the Finance Committee quarterly. The next report is due to be made to the HPG on 26 March and to the SPCB during April. There is at present no reason for these reports to be made public, in line with practice to date.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 18 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been, or will be, made available to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Scotland for the maintenance of a database of wildlife crime; whether the information held on such a database will be verified and, if so, by whom; whether such a database would contravene the human rights of an individual, and whether the information will not be used in the compilation of reports to the procurator fiscal.
Answer
In the financial years, 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) received a grant of £20,000 per year from the Scottish Executive. This was a contribution given towards the continuing costs of species protection measures under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is a matter for the RSPB how these funds were allocated within these areas. This funding ended in March 2002 and it is not anticipated that further funding will be made available to the RSPB from the Scottish Executive for species protection measures.Processing by the RSPB of personal data relating to individuals is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. Any query on this issue is a matter for the Office of the Information Commissioner, the body responsible for enforcing the law in this area.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any measures have been introduced in order to avoid displacement of fishing effort from the white fish sector to nephrops fisheries; if so, what measures have been introduced; if not what the reasons are for this position and what measures will be introduced, and when it first received representations on this matter.
Answer
In the short-term, it is our intention to target forthcoming transitional support of up to £10 million through a variety of selection criteria and conditions of award. One such condition will require white fish vessels restricted to 15 days per month (or the equivalent) to tie up rather than pursue additional fishing opportunities (for example on nephrops). In the long term, we plan to consult on other options such as restrictive licences.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the effects of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease will be with regard to job and economic losses in (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Dumfries and Galloway and (c) Scotland over the next five years.
Answer
This information is not yet available. The Economic Impact Assessment Group has commissioned external consultants to provide an assessment of the outbreak and that work is in its final stages.In addition to a Scotland total, the assessment will quantify the economic impact of the outbreak on sectors and regions of Scotland. In line with the definitions used during the outbreak, Scotland will be divided geographically into three categories: South of Scotland, central belt and north of the central belt. As such, separate information on Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders will not be available.Estimates of long-term impacts will be included.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a copy of the Sea Fish Industry Authority preliminary study carried out by Dr M.A. James, Dr B.R. Howell and Professor J.A. Young of Fisheries Resources Management Ltd; whether the authority has made the employees at the Ardtoe Marine Farming Unit aware of the full text of the report and, if not, whether it will make representations to the authority to do so in view of the possible redundancies at the unit.
Answer
No. The report on the study commissioned by the Sea Fish Industry Authority is commercial-in-confidence. The publication or otherwise is very much a matter for the authority.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 11 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive to which institutes involved in aquaculture research, other than the Ardtoe Marine Farming Unit of the Sea Fish Industry Authority, the Minister for Environment and Rural Development was referring at the meeting of the Rural Development Committee on 18 February 2003 (Official Report, c 4352); what research these institutes are conducting, and how this research is more "sophisticated" than that conducted by the authority.
Answer
Other Scottish institutes involved in aquaculture research include Fisheries Research Services, the North Atlantic Fisheries College, the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling, Aberdeen University and a number of other university departments. The research relevant to current and emerging aquaculture species is broad-based, e.g. immunology, epidemiology, growth and nutrition and the environmental impacts of aquaculture.The research is more "sophisticated" than the largely applied, industry-led, developmental work undertaken by the authority in that the science is more fundamental in nature.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 11 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to prevent the closure of the Ardtoe Marine Farming Unit by the Sea Fish Industry Authority.
Answer
Highlands and Islands Enterprise stand ready to support prospective operators in accordance with their established remit and have been proactive in recent weeks in terms of attempting to broker a deal.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 11 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest figures are for the number of people that have migrated (a) into and (b) out of each local authority area.
Answer
Reliable information for in and out migration at local authority level is not readily available from the current data sources used to estimate annual migration. However, a new methodology which aims to provide this information has been developed, for use with the Registrar General's 2002 mid-year population estimates due to be published in May 2003.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure the future of the Ardtoe Sea Fish Aquaculture Research Facility.
Answer
The Executive and the Enterprise Network stand ready to assist any prospective operator from within existing grant assistance schemes subject to that operator satisfying the usual application criteria.
