- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 21 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to implement the resolution of the Parliament on 1 December 2005 on motion S2M-3657 as amended, in respect of onboard observers.
Answer
No further action is required.
Fisheries Research Services has carried out an onboard observer sampling of demersal boats for 30 years. The sampling is scientific in nature and access to vessels is through a voluntary arrangement with the skipper. We have no plans to expand the remit of this scheme to cover other issues.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it may be exposed to legal action, particularly under employment law or the European Convention on Human Rights, if any employee of the Crofters Commission is required to surrender civil service status.
Answer
Legislation is underway to change the status of the Crofters Commission. Once this legislation is introduced, staff of the Crofters Commission will be given the choice to transfer to the new non-departmental public body, or to retain their status as civil servants. Those staff based at the commission who do not accept an appointment with the new body will remain Scottish Executive staff and we will endeavour to find posts for them elsewhere within the Scottish Executive or in other parts of the civil service. We therefore do not foresee any member of staff currently employed by the Crofters Commission being required to surrender their civil service status.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that employees of the Crofters Commission can be required to surrender their civil service status; whether any reservations or doubts have been expressed in the legal or other advice received on this issue and, if so, whether it will provide details of such reservations or doubts.
Answer
Legislation is underway to change the status of the Crofters Commission. Once this legislation is introduced, staff of the Crofters Commission will be given the choice to transfer to the new non-departmental public body, or to retain their status as civil servants. Those staff based at the commission who do not accept an appointment with the new body will remain Scottish Executive staff and we will endeavour to find posts for them elsewhere within the Scottish Executive or in other parts of the civil service.
The issue of staff being required to surrender their status as civil servants does not arise.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies, excluding those in the Crofters Commission, have arisen in its departments, agencies and non departmental public bodies in Inverness in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05, broken down by (i) department agency or non-departmental public body and (ii) grade and whether it will provide details of any agreement permitting civil servants to fill such vacancies in non-department public bodies without other candidates being considered.
Answer
In 2003-04 there were nine vacancies within the Scottish Executive in Inverness as follows:
Band A1 – 2; Band A2 – 1; Band A3 – 2; Band B1 – 3; Band B2 – 1.
In 2004-05 there have been six vacancies within the Scottish executive in Inverness so far, as follows:
Band A1 – 2; Band A2 – 1; Band A3 – 1; Band B2 – 1; Band C1 – 1.
The Scottish Executive has signed up to a Civil Service wide protocol aimed at avoiding redundancies resulting from surpluses across departments. The protocol requires departments to consider surplus staff from other departments before advertising any posts externally.
While the Scottish Executive will work closely with other government departments to meet our commitments to the protocol, it would be for the importing body to determine whether they are prepared to consider surplus Scottish Executive staff and the Scottish Executive cannot require other government departments to absorb any staff we have who may be surplus.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is able to provide grant funding to new businesses in the timber and timber processing sectors and, if so, what limits apply to such funding.
Answer
New businesses in the timber and timber processing sectors can access generic business development support. The provision of advice and support for business start-ups and growing businesses is primarily an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise working with local partner organisations. Access to the range of local and national measures available to support new and growing businesses in the Scottish Enterprise area is available through Business Gateway and in the Highlands and Islands area, access to business support is through Highlands and Islands Enterprise's network of 10 local enterprise companies located throughout the area who are the first stop for information and advice.
In addition, the Farm Business Development Scheme (FBDS) and Agricultural Business Development Scheme (ABDS) are designed to assist Scottish farmers with the restructuring or re-orientation of agricultural production by exploitation of new business opportunities. This could include timber processing. Projects involving diversification outwith agricultural activities may attract a grant of 50% or £30,000 (FBDS) and £40,000 (ABDS), whichever is the lesser.
Forestry Commission Scotland contributes to local initiatives to support timber and wood use. For example, Forestry Commission Scotland is a partner in the Highland Woodfuel Development Programme, which provides support for wood-fuel developments. There are also a number of financial support mechanisms for biomass plant and bio-energy schemes. These include the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bio-Energy Capital Grants Scheme, which will part-fund the planned new biomass electricity plant at Lockerbie. Grant offers are also being made by Forestry Commission Scotland under the Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme to help develop the supply chain required to harvest, store, process and supply biomass to energy end users.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many sequestrations of individuals have been awarded following petitions raised by (a) HM Customs and Excise, (b) the Inland Revenue and (c) HM Revenue and Customs, since it was established in April 2005, in each year since the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 came into force.
Answer
I have asked Gillian Thompson,Chief Executive of Accountant in Bankruptcy to respond. Her response is asfollows:
The following table shows thenumber of sequestrations awarded annually for each petitioning creditor from theintroduction of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 on 1 April 1986.The number of HM Revenue and Customs petitions awarded is from 1 April 2005 to 30September 2005. The agency is awaiting the decision of the court hearings in respectof petitions lodged by HM Revenue and Customs since 1 October 2005. Therefore, I amunable to determine whether the sequestrations have been awarded or the petitionshave been dismissed in these cases.
Number of Awardsof Sequestration
| Year | Inland Revenue | HM Customs and Excise | HM Revenue and Customs |
| 1986 | 4 | 32 | |
| 1987 | 12 | 36 | |
| 1988 | 28 | 25 | |
| 1989 | 25 | 49 | |
| 1990 | 38 | 49 | |
| 1991 | 31 | 97 | |
| 1992 | 66 | 121 | |
| 1993 | 114 | 223 | |
| 1994 | 186 | 249 | |
| 1995 | 195 | 227 | |
| 1996 | 192 | 301 | |
| 1997 | 230 | 189 | |
| 1998 | 225 | 188 | |
| 1999 | 189 | 230 | |
| 2000 | 193 | 228 | |
| 2001 | 163 | 116 | |
| 2002 | 389 | 130 | |
| 2003 | 430 | 293 | |
| 2004 | 521 | 206 | |
| 2005 | 202 | 92 | 458 |
Source: Accountant in Bankruptcy.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 5 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek approval from the European Union for a 20% harvest ratio in its negotiations in respect of next year’s west of Scotland nephrops Total Allowable Catch, based on advice from the Fisheries Research Services Marine Laboratory that this ratio is more appropriate than the 15% previously envisaged by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and the Advisory Committee on Fishery Management, and whether the Executive will discuss this issue with the Mallaig and North-West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers’ Organisation.
Answer
I have argued for some time that there is a strong case for an increase in the west coast nephrops TAC. I am pleased to see that the Commission’s proposals for this TAC reflect the advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) that there should be a 39% increase. My officials, and I, have already discussed this issue with Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers Organisation and would be happy to do so again.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite representatives from the Mallaig and North-West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers’ Organisation to act as informal advisers to assist it in impending negotiations in Brussels in respect of next year’s west of Scotland nephrops Total Allowable Catch.
Answer
I met with Mallaig and North West Fishermens Association on 10 August 2005 to discuss this year’s December Council. The association was also represented at my meeting with stakeholders in Inverness on 1 September 2005 and at a number of preparatory meetings held at official level. If the association is in Brussels for the December Council then I will be happy to speak to them alongside the other representatives who will be there.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 28 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is in favour of establishing Business Improvement Districts.
Answer
We said in Partnership for a Better Scotland that we would work with local authorities to establish Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). We have done that. Following extensive consultation with business and local authorities, we announced in June 2005 that all the recommendations of a working group set up to consider the way forward for BIDs had been accepted. One of those recommendations was to establish pilot BID areas, and work on that front is now well underway.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in its review of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, it will consider whether the Act can be extended to cover charities such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), insofar as the RSPB receives public funding in respect of some of its activities.
Answer
The review, and associated public consultation, will consider a number of aspects of the operation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, including the criteria that should be applied in order to designate Scottish public authorities under section 5 of the act. It would not be appropriate for me to prejudge the outcome of the consultation and the review by commenting now on the position of specific organisations.
