- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support and promote a pilot scheme for the introduction of road equivalent tariff on one of the ferry routes to the Western Isles.
Answer
We have no plans to support such a scheme.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the case for road equivalent tariff to be applied to the costs of travel by ferry; whether it has considered the cost of implementing such a policy and, if so, what the estimated cost would be, and whether it has estimated what the additional traffic would be through a reduction in the ferry fares by the application of a road equivalent tariff policy.
Answer
We have no plans to implement a road equivalent tariff (RET) approach to setting fares for ferry services which the Executive subsidises, nor do we intend to conduct research into the cost of implementing such a policy. As I have indicated in previous answers, it is clear that RET would require substantial alteration in the fares structure of Caledonian MacBrayne at a time when it and the people whom it serves most require stability and security of service. Our efforts must be focused on securing continuity of services and protection of fares through the future tendering exercise relating to the company's services.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Elaine Murray on 3 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific measures it has taken or plans to take to promote the use of architects and what action it has taken to ensure that Communities Scotland works in partnership with architects.
Answer
The Executive is committed to the promotion of good architecture by means of the objectives and commitments set out in A Policy on Architecture for Scotland. The Executive believes that good architecture is the product of the creative collaboration of many disciplines and that architects have a key role to play in this process. Communities Scotland meets quarterly with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland to facilitate joint working.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 3 May 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, in light of the passage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will now disclose information which was classified as confidential in answers to previous written parliamentary questions on the Holyrood Project, detailing the reasons for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Parliament's position on the disclosure of commercially confidential information has not changed, and is set out in my answer of 19 September 2000 to question S1W-9469. When the provisions of the Freedom of Information Bill come into force, claiming commercially confidential material will require to be judged in the context of the act's provisions on a case by case basis.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 29 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a detailed breakdown of the estimated #20 million cost of a new campus for the Scottish Agricultural College in Paisley and a move to Aberdeen; whether it is satisfied that these costings are accurate; whether the costings have been submitted for analysis or assessment and, if so, to whom.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24835.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 29 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail each venture written off as a "failed joint venture" as referred to in the director's report on the Scottish Agriculture College (SAC), setting out the reason why each failed and the amount of money that was written off as a result.
Answer
The director's report to the Scottish Agricultural Group Accounts, for the year to 31 March 2001, refers to joint ventures that were entered into by SAC Commercial Ltd - the commercial arm of the SAC group. This company is not grant aided by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. In the circumstances, the member might wish to approach the SAC for the information he is seeking.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Simpson on 29 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure the provision of specialist drug misuse services within the Lochaber area.
Answer
The Executive has allocated additional resources of over £380,000 for treatment and £831,000 for the rehabilitation of drug misusers in the Highland area for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04. Responsibility for how these and existing resources are spent rests with the local Drug and Alcohol Strategy Group and its constituent agencies, taking into account local circumstances and needs.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 29 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Environment and Rural Development to the Parliament on 21 March 2002, Official Report, col. 10615, whether the proposals for the Scottish Agricultural College, Auchincruive will be submitted in any form for independent assessment or audit and, if so, who will carry out this assessment or audit; with which "major stakeholders" the college will consult and whether it will ensure that this includes representatives from the college students, the local National Farmers Union Scotland and the campaign to retain the college; what it meant by the "range of options that are open to the SAC", and whether it will specify these options.
Answer
The member is probably aware that the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has agreed to conduct a review of its future functions and objectives, in consultation with its key stakeholders. I would expect representatives of the groups to which the member refers to be invited to participate in the consultation process.Following this piece of work, the SAC will examine options - for all of its three campuses - about how it might restructure itself to be able to meet these objectives, prior to putting their conclusions to ministers for consideration. In advance of this work being taken forward, it is not possible to say at this stage what options will emerge for consideration or to comment on any individual one. The SAC will be using external consultants to help it with these major initiatives. The consultants will bring an independent line of thought to bear.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 8 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any (a) powers and (b) plans to give financial relief to fish farms in respect of rents charged by the Crown Estates Commissioners and what information it has received on any such charges collected in other countries for the purposes of assessing their impact on the fish farming industry in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no powers and, therefore, no plans to give financial relief to fish farms, in respect of rents charged by the Crown Estates.The fish farming industry has described the effect that the rents have on their competitiveness, in comparison with other salmon-producing countries. However, this is a matter for the Crown Estate and the industry to take account of, in their rent reviews. In the course of the development of our aquaculture strategy, we are considering the future competitiveness of the industry.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Boundary Commission for Scotland that, if the boundaries of the constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber are altered, the new constituency name should be "Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey" and not "Inverness and Badenoch".
Answer
This is a reserved matter and as the Scottish Executive does not have a statutory role, it does not intend to make any representations.
