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-16958

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is in the interests of social and economic development on Rum that Scottish Natural Heritage is its owner and whether it would consider the transfer of part or all of the ownership of Rum to a third party.

Question reference: S1W-16956

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is regarding encouraging community development on Rum; whether it supports the re-establishment of the Rum Development Group, and whether it considers that there should be more development on Rum and, in particular, in Kinloch.

Question reference: S1W-16959

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date (a) the Historic Buildings Inspectorate carried out its inspection of Kinloch Castle and (b) the Inspectorate's report was communicated to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and what action SNH has taken since to implement the report's recommendations.

The Historic Buildings Inspectorate visited Kinloch Castle on 7-10 February 1996 at the request of Scottish Natural Heritage. The Inspectorate's report was communicated to Scottish Natural Heritage on 12 March 1996. The management of Rum is an operational matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. I suggest the Member arranges to meet with Scottish Natural Heritage to discuss these and other issues more fully.

Question reference: S1W-16955

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what the population of Rum was and (b) which government conservation agency owned it, in each year since 1957.

The following table shows the population for Rum collected by the Registrar General in the Census of Population which is carried out every ten years.

Population Present¹			Resident Population²
1961	1971	1981	1981	1991
40	40	42	17	26

1 Persons present on census night.

2 Persons usually resident. The 1981 figure includes both present and absent residents of households where someone was enumerated as present on census night; the 1991 figure includes both present and absent residents of households including a count or estimate where no-one was enumerated as present on census night.

Rum was purchased for the nation in 1957 by the then Nature Conservancy and has been managed by its successor agencies the Nature Conservancy Council, the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and, since April 1992, by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Question reference: S1W-16961

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns regarding the stewardship of Rum by Scottish Natural Heritage and, if so, what steps it will take to address these.

Question reference: S1W-16954

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of a delay in the submission date for the application by the Scottish Natural Heritage to the Heritage Lottery Trustees in respect of Kinloch Castle from September 2001 to January 2002 at the earliest and what the reasons are for any such delay.

Question reference: S1W-16960

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the Historic Buildings Inspectorate first recommended that Scottish Natural Heritage explore Heritage Lottery Funding as a means of carrying out work to the Category A listed Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum.

Question reference: S1W-16891

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 6 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16022 by Mr Jack McConnell on 13 June 2001, whether any institutions offer a part-time course for qualification as a primary school teacher that is recognised by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and, if not, whether it will take steps to ensure that such a course is provided.

A part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) primary course at Strathclyde University, accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and approved by the Scottish Executive, will be piloted in session 2001-2002.

A key feature of this part-time route is a formal agreement with four local authorities in the west of Scotland (Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Stirling) to recommend and sponsor students from their non-teacher school employees. The first cohort in session 2001-2002 will have 20 students.

Question reference: S1W-16888

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of the contract let to Environmental Resources Management Ltd on 30 October 2000 in relation to the need for improved information on rural land holdings and on beneficial ownership.

Question reference: S1W-16795

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 July 2001
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 1 August 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how it expects demand for primary aggregates to change in the next five years and what factors it expects to account for any change in the level of demand.