- 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 Jim Wallace on 14 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will require former superiors, who so wish, to claim compensation from former vassals within a shorter period than the two years proposed by the Scottish Law Commission and, if so, how long this period will be.
Answer
The period of 2 years was recommended by the Scottish Law Commission to allow superiors enough time to make the necessary arrangements to serve notices requiring compensation for feuduties which have not yet been redeemed. It is clear that an adequate period of preparation must be allowed.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will accept the recommendation of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee that the consultation period on the proposed new strategy for tourism be extended beyond 31 August and, if so, to what date, and how it will promulgate this extension.
Answer
Yes. I will accept responses up to the end of this month. I issued a News Release announcing my decision on 2 September. This was also published on the Parliament's web site. My officials have informed the industry organisations in membership of the Scottish Tourism Forum and also Area Tourist Boards, Local Enterprise Companies and local authorities.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 14 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many individual cases since the setting up of the Scottish Legal Aid Board involving (a) refusals of grants of civil legal aid, (b) refusals of increases in advice and assistance and (c) refusals of grants of criminal legal aid have been subject to representations by Members of Parliament requesting that the original decision be reviewed and, of these cases, how many original decisions in each category were overturned as a result of such representations.
Answer
Between its inception on 1 April 1987 and 31 March 1999, the Scottish Legal Aid Board has dealt with just over 310,000 applications for civil legal aid of which just over 60,000 were refused following a review of the decision; over 1 million applications for an increase in authorised expenditure under Advice and Assistance, of which approximately 110,000 were refused; and over 800,000 applications for summary criminal legal aid (including appeals) of which around 79,000 were refused following a request for a review of the decision. Solemn criminal legal aid is determined by the courts and central records of applications refused are not maintained.Records are not held on the number of representations by Members of Parliament who request that the Board's decision be reviewed. This is because the Board will only consider a formal legal application for a review or reconsideration of a decision if it comes from the applicant or their solicitor.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-616 by Jack McConnell on 3 August, how many miles of upgraded motorways, A class roads and B class roads will be constructed on the basis of planned expenditure in the years 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is responsible only for expenditure on motorways and trunk roads. Other A Class roads and B Class roads are the responsibility of Councils and comprehensive information is not available on their construction proposals.The planned expenditure set out in the response to question S1W-616 by Jack McConnell is expected to result in 40.8km (25.35 miles) of new road being opened in 1999-2000. Decisions on the use of the motorways and trunk roads budget for the two subsequent years have still to be taken.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 14 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are currently employed by (a) Scottish Enterprise (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise (c) each Local Enterprise Company and (d) every other body which has a responsibility in relation to enterprise and is wholly publicly funded.
Answer
The information requested for Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Local Enterprise Companies is set out in the table below. A large number of bodies have some involvement in enterprise. There is no centralised account of their total staff numbers.
SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE | HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE |
Core staff | 475 | Core staff | 152 |
Enterprise Ayrshire | 101 | Argyll and the Islands Enterprise | 4 (23.1)* |
Scottish Borders Enterprise | 78 | Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise | (22.7)* |
Dumfries and Galloway Enterprise | 36 | Inverness and Nairn Enterprise | 18 (7*) |
Dunbartonshire Enterprise | 70 | Lochaber Ltd | 2 (11.6)* |
Fife Enterprise | 71 | Orkney Enterprise | 3.5(8.4)* |
Forth Valley Enterprise | 80 | Ross and Cromarty Enterprise | 8 (16.3)* |
Glasgow Development Agency | 152 | Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise | 2 (12.3)* |
Grampian Enterprise | 48 | Shetland Enterprise | |
Lanarkshire Development Agency | 136 | Western Isles Enterprise | 4 (19.9)* |
Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise | 125 | | |
Renfrewshire Enterprise | 73 | | |
Scottish Enterprise Tayside | 81 | | |
Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey | 16 | | 6 (8.6)* |
* Figures in brackets denote staff directly employed by local enterprise companies rather than seconded from SE or HIE.
Moray Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise is jointly funded by SE and HIE and the staff figure is split accordingly.Numbers are expressed as full time equivalents.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 13 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make available any reports it holds relating to other countries' experiences with road pricing.
Answer
Reports on developments in and experiences with road pricing in other countries have appeared from time to time in, for example, academic and professional journals. The Scottish Executive does not hold any such reports which are not already in the public domain.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 13 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to provide an estimate of the cost of the M8 road charging trial and, if so, whether this will include details of the amount to be spent on (a) labour, (b) consultancy fees and (c) materials/equipment.
Answer
The contract for implementing the UK electronic road user charging demonstration project will be the subject of a competitive tendering exercise to be initiated shortly. Subject to the standard rules on commercially confidential information, I would expect, in due course, to be able to provide some information on the cost associated with the winning tender.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 13 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the costs incurred as a result of the change of name from "The Scottish Office" to the "Scotland Office" will be met from its block grant and, if so, to provide a breakdown of these costs.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer I gave to Lord James Douglas-Hamilton's question S1W-745.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 13 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will cover financially salmon farmers' stock for a 2 year rolling period (with annual review) until such time as the current outbreak of Infections Salmon Anaemia (ISA) is over and whether it will ask commercial insurers whether they will be willing to offer policies which cover ISA.
Answer
What the Member suggests is essentially an insurance scheme, similar to that proposed by the fish farming industry, to be run by The Scottish Executive. We have considered this matter very carefully, and we have had discussions with representatives of the insurance industry. We have concluded that such a scheme would not be an appropriate call on public funds. Instead, as announced on 6 September, we shall be making available through Highlands and Islands Enterprise £3 million per annum for three years to assist those operators directly affected by the disease.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 13 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the Scottish Salmon Growers Association Ltd in relation to measures it has been asked to take to address the state of the salmon farming industry in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with representatives of the Scottish salmon farming industry and the Minister for Rural Affairs and I met a delegation on 11 June 1999. Of late the main topic covered has been Infectious Salmon Anaemia, with particular reference to the policy of eradicating that disease, and the cost of that policy.
