- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a system to provide any necessary assistance to meet any costs of bed and breakfast businesses in hooking up to the Internet and project OSSIAN and any membership costs thereof.
Answer
All accommodation establishments who are members of Area Tourist Boards receive a free entry on the Internet via Ossian. General IT and Ossian specific training is provided through Local Enterprise Companies and Area Tourist Boards.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken or plans to take in relation to its policies following the "Business in the Chamber" event on 18 February 2000 and whether it will specify any new or supplementary polices in detail.
Answer
I will respond to the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee Inquiry on local economic development when the final report is published.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to cease the operation as independent companies limited by guarantee of local enterprise companies and instead that they should operate as part of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise or Scottish Enterprise network and whether it can provide an estimate of the savings, if any, that this measure might bring.
Answer
The status of local enterprise companies is being considered as part of the review of the enterprise networks in Scotland which I announced recently. I encourage all those who wish to have an input to contribute to the debate.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a course or courses in song writing within the tertiary education system and, if so, with whom it will consult regarding establishment and delivery; whether, as part of any such course or courses, advice would be issued to ensure control over all intellectual property rights on songs, and what plans it has to promote song writing and to give prominence to young song writers from Scotland throughout the world.
Answer
There are no plans to do so.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 16 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include in its draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill a definition of the aims of the national park proposal to include the individual residents and the communities within the area of a Park and, if not, why not; and why in the draft Bill, the term "area" does not include any specific explicit reference to the individual residents or communities within either sections 1(3) or 30.
Answer
All the comments made on the draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill are currently being considered.We recognise the importance of communities and local residents in the running of the National Parks they live in. The draft Bill sets out the aims of National Parks at section 1(3) and the conditions for a National Park proposal at section 1(2). These encompass the interests of residents and communities, as well as many other interests, without specifying them all by name. Section 30 is for definition of terms and is not the appropriate place for setting out community involvement.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate whether the due date for subscriptions and other payments to the area tourist boards by members can be altered in order to minimise any cash flow problems experienced because of the seasonal nature of the tourist trade.
Answer
The budgeting arrangements of Area Tourist Boards are a matter for the individual bodies themselves.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 15 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a map of Scotland showing the areas which are subject to some form of nature conservation designation and whether it will state for each local authority area the percentage of the land which is subject to such designation.
Answer
The information you request can be found in Facts and Figures, the companion publication to Scottish Natural Heritage's Annual Report. A copy of the latest version, Facts and Figures 1998/99, is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 14 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will estimate the number of farmers and crofters who it anticipates will be sequestrated in each of the next five years and the associated cost to public funds and whether it considers that additional support provided now to farmers and crofters would cost less to public funds in the long term.
Answer
It would be inappropriate for the Scottish Executive to seek to forecast decisions taken by thousands of businessmen and women. These decisions are based on a multitude of factors, most of which are outwith the control of the Executive. The aim of the Executive is to work with the farming industry to help it create a more viable and sustainable future.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 14 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3711 by Ross Finnie on 27 January 2000, whether it will detail for each of the years mentioned the sums actually taken up from those sums referred to as "offers of financial assistance" and why this information was not provided in response to the original question which asked for it.
Answer
The following table shows the actual take-up of known financial assistance made to the pig industry in Scotland out of the provision made for it during the period 1995-1999. As the table demonstrates there can be a lag between provision and uptake.Financial Assistance paid to the pig industry 1995-99 (£000s)
1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
282 | 61 | 403 | 248 | 428 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 13 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-3702 and S1W-3706 by Henry McLeish on 27 January 2000, how the #12 million Business Growth Fund will be administered, whether copies of the application forms will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, whether Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) will have total responsibility for determining applications and whether not giving LECs total responsibility will result in unnecessary delay and bureaucracy in applications to the fund.
Answer
The Business Growth Fund is administered by Scottish Enterprise (SEn) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Copies of the application forms for the fund have been placed with SPICe although any applicant should be encouraged to discuss the fund with their local LEC in the first instance. The LEC will be able to provide scheme details, as well as general advice on applying. Final decisions are taken centrally by SEn and HIE, taking account of advice from the LEC dealing with each application. This ensures a consistent approach in delivering this national programme across the SEn and HIE areas.
