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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2743 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S1W-01379

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered article 16 section 1A of the Draft Regulations for Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance and, if so, whether this would permit the payment of compensation to scallop farmers in the period from 2000 to 2006.

It has not been the policy of successive governments to compensate for losses incurred due to disease or other natural phenomena in the fisheries sector. However, the Scottish Executive is currently consulting on the terms of EU structural assistance in the fisheries sector for the future. The availability of funds will be limited, but the option of compensation for scallop farmers could be considered in the course of this consultation.

Question reference: S1W-01173

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take steps which would permit salmon farmers to obtain insurance cover for stocks destroyed by the Diseases of Fish (Control) Regulations 1994 (S1 1994/1447).

The insurance industry has indicated that it is not prepared to provide cover for Infectious Salmon Anaemia so long as EU legislation dictates immediate intervention by Government and compulsory slaughter of all fish when disease is confirmed.We are exploring the possibility of greater flexibility in the rules which might, over time, provide the incentive for involvement by the insurance industry.

Question reference: S1W-01172

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the total annual value of the Scottish salmon farming industry's output and also the export value.

Question reference: S1W-01171

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs are generated by the Scottish salmon farming industry in Scotland and how many of those are in the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S1W-01542

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will delete the word "unwarranted" from the section headed "Third party's commercial confidence" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, if not, whether it will provide examples of the type of disclosures which it would regard as (a) warranted and (b) unwarranted.

Question reference: S1W-01541

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a definition of the words "personal information" as used in the section headed "Privacy of an individual" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and whether it will provide examples of what type of information about a person would not be regarded as "personal information".

Question reference: S1W-01535

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a definition of the "confidential communications" referred to in the section headed "Communications with the Royal Household" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, in particular, whether communications regarding costs are included or excluded from this definition and, if included, what its justification is for this definition.

Question reference: S1W-01533

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will define in detail the terms "harm and prejudice" as used in the first and second paragraphs of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and whether it will confirm that the definitions exclude possible harm and possible prejudice.

For reasons of practicality and continuity and to ensure that openness arrangements were in place from 1 July 1999, the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information is based closely on the UK Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Consideration of applications for information takes into account guidance on interpretation of the UK Code issued by the Cabinet Office. A copy of this guidance will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.Work is in hand to review and amend this guidance to ensure that appropriate references to the Scottish Executive Code are included. Amended guidance will in due course be provided to all public authorities which operate the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information.

Question reference: S1W-01543

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information applies to public authorities which deal with devolved and other matters, as listed in Annex E of "The Scotland Act: A Guide".

The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information applies to those Scottish public bodies within the jurisdiction of the Scottish Commissioner as listed in Schedule 1 to the Code. Cross Border Public Authorities, as listed in Annex E of "The Scotland Act: A Guide" are not subject to the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information. This arrangement reflects the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament with regard to freedom of information.

Question reference: S1W-01536

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list who it regards as members of the Royal Household for the purposes of the section headed "Communications with the Royal Household" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, if not, why not.