- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 18 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what action it is taking to limit the risk of disease exposure from blood products factors VIII and IX produced from large donor pools of up to 20,000 donors and (b) what consideration it gave to the risk from the imported blood and blood products which use blood from the paid donor clinics in the United States.
Answer
The coagulation factor concentrates prepared by SNBTS use only plasma collected from healthy volunteer unpaid donors from three centres in the US and one in Germany. SNBTS and the Medicine Control Agency have rigorously audited these centres and volunteers must meet rigid health checks.
Each donation is tested for a wide range of markers of infectivity and any donation which tests positive is rejected. Samples of pooled donations, of approximately 5,000 donations, are further tested on arrival at the SNBTS Protein Fractionation Centre and any which test positive are discarded.The manufacturing processes used to make current batches of coagulation factor concentrates are all carefully designed to ensure that infective agents are eliminated.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 17 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what legal expenses have been incurred by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in connection with the judicial review action raised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) over the Cairn Gorm Funicular Railway, what sum has been awarded by way of judicial expenses and what sums have so far been paid in this respect by the RSPB and the WWF.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I will ask the Chairman of that organisation to write to Mr Ewing.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/46) to ensure that employment defined therein as "customary" is not excluded from protection.
Answer
Under the current Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order (No 46) 1998, hill shepherds are paid at a weekly rate for all hours worked on the "customary" duties related to tending sheep. This rate includes a notional allowance for overtime. Actual overtime is paid only when a hill shepherd undertakes additional duties unrelated to sheep.
From 1 January 2000, hill shepherds will be paid a basic rate for the first 39 hours worked each week and an overtime rate for any additional hours regardless of the nature of the work undertaken. The reference to "customary" duties will disappear from the new Wages Order, but hill shepherds will have the same level of protection of pay and conditions of service as all other agricultural workers.The Scottish Agricultural Wages Board is responsible for making Wages Orders.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 16 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the European Regional Development Fund money being made available through the special programme for the Highlands and Islands 2000-06 can competently be used to improve the area's transport infrastructure, including roads.
Answer
The draft Plan for the special programme provides for improvements to communications, including roads, under Priority 2. The Plan is now subject to discussion and negotiation with the European Commission. I understand that the Commission has previously made it clear that it does not consider transport infrastructure should be given particular priority other than in exceptional circumstances.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1854 by Ross Finnie on 20 October 1999, whether, for the purposes of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996, Scotland and not the UK is regarded as "the country of origin or provenance".
Answer
For the purposes of the Food Labelling Regulations 1999 Scotland can be regarded as a "country of origin or provenance".
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 16 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend Schedule 7, paragraph 3 of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 to permit the appointment of more than eleven members of water and sewerage authorities.
Answer
We have no plans to expand the membership of the Water Authorities beyond that currently allowed under the Act.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 November 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 16 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the rules governing the Victims Notification Scheme, in particular to permit notification to victims of the release of a person from custody where, although the person in custody was under 18 years of age at the time of the commitment of the crime, he or she is over 18 at the date of release.
Answer
The present Victim Notification Scheme would not prevent the victims of crime being notified of the release of a person from custody in these circumstances. The age of a person at the time of committing a crime would not in itself prevent the victim or, in the case of homicide, next of kin, being notified of that person's release from custody under the Victim Notification Scheme.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 15 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the structure of the Scottish Tourist Board with a view to increasing the emphasis on the marketing of Scotland.
Answer
We have no plans to do so. A Policy and Financial Management Review of the STB undertaken in 1998 found that all of the Board's current functions are necessary. These functions can be summarised as consumer and trade marketing, the development of the Area Tourist Board network and increasing the competitiveness of the industry. They are carried out in support of the objective that has been set for the Board, which is to help maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland. Currently, over 60% of the Board's programme expenditure is incurred on consumer and trade marketing.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 October 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 12 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed salaries are of the Chairman and other Directors of the proposed Scottish University for Industry.
Answer
The Chief Executive post was advertised at circa £80,000, and the 4 Executive Directors at circa £50,000. Non Executive Directors of the Scottish UfI will not be paid. The question of an honorarium for the Chairman has yet to be decided.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 29 October 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 12 November 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consult with interested bodies as to how the Scottish University for Industry will add value to existing provision and how adequate performance measurement mechanisms will be instituted.
Answer
The Opportunity Scotland consultation paper of September 1998, the "Skills for Scotland" paper of March 1999 and the SUfI Development Plan of October 1998 all invited comment on our plans to establish the Scottish University for Industry by autumn 2000. Respondents overwhelmingly supported the establishment of the Scottish UfI.The Scottish UfI will be required to develop a number of success criteria which will be monitored and published. These will include targets such as the number of enquiries to the Scottish UfI helpline, the numbers taking up learning, the numbers progressing to further learning and the numbers completing learning. The Scottish UfI will be expected to publish an annual report and will be required to meet tough targets under a contractual agreement with the Scottish Executive for its funding.
