- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact any relaxation of import restrictions to the European Union from the Mercosul countries would have on the Scottish beef sector and what economic appraisal it has carried out to assess such an impact.
Answer
Further trade liberalisation will increase the competitive pressure upon the Scottish beef sector. Economists in interested departments of the UK Government and the devolved administrations, including representatives from Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, are considering the impact of future changes – including those in relation to trading conditions. The results of any further work will be put on the Executive website.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any incentives being offered by supermarkets to beef processors to supply South American beef and, if so, what steps it is taking to protect the Scottish beef sector.
Answer
We are not aware of incentives being offered. Beef procurement policy is a commercial decision for individual supermarkets.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends that Scotland should maintain a food supply base and, if so, what steps it will take, either by itself or through Quality Meat Scotland or other bodies, to protect and promote the Scottish beef sector.
Answer
The maintenance of the food supply base in Scotland is a key objective of
A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture. The food processing sector has and will continue to receive support under the Agriculture Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme. Since 2001, this sector has benefited from some £20 million assistance which has triggered investment in excess of £200 million.
The Executive is fully committed to the Scottish beef sector. We will continue to work with organisations such as Quality Meat Scotland to help in the promotion of the red meat sector. Joint activity in securing the Protected Geographical Indication for both beef and lamb has ensured greater flexibility for Scotland in respect of state aid restriction on promotional activity.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 October 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will now lift the Over Thirty Months scheme restrictions and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
The advice from the Food Standards Agency in relation to beef from Over Thirty Months animals entering the food chain, and other relevant information relating to the control systems for testing livestock, is currently being considered by mnisters. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the event that ministerial directions regarding the relocation of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) are withdrawn and that the policy of relocation of the headquarters of SNH to Inverness does not go ahead, what legal liability there would be at this stage to make any payments to staff in respect of the relocation and, in particular, whether there would be any legal liability to the chosen preferred bidder, the Robertson Group and, if so, what its estimate would be of such costs to that company and any other general costs in the event that the relocation did not go ahead.
Answer
There is no intention to withdraw the ministerial direction and SNH are proceeding with the relocation project in accordance with the project plan. SNH is responsible for the management of all aspects of the project including financial and contractual arrangements with its staff and external suppliers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place a copy of the franchise agreement and all contract documents granted by it in favour of First Group for the former ScotRail franchise in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
Under the provisions of the Railways Act 1993, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) are under a duty to publish every franchise agreement in a public register. However, before publication can take place the SRA and the Secretary of State for Transport are required, under the terms of the 1993 Act, to examine the need for excluding matters from the public register version which would be against the interests, including commercial interests, of any person or body if they were published. In the case of the ScotRail franchise, this involves discussions between First ScotRail, the SRA, the Secretary of State for Transport and the Scottish Executive.
Once the statutory process is complete and the ScotRail franchise agreement is placed in the SRA’s public register, copies of this will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, further to the evidence given by the Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services to the meeting of the Finance Committee on 13 January 2004 on figures supplied by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) indicating that the total cost estimated at that time of the relocation of the headquarters of SNH to Inverness would be around £22 million (Official Report col. 788), it can now provide an updated estimate of the cost of relocation.
Answer
In his reply to parliamentary question S2W-9565 answered on 21 July 2004, Allan Wilson indicated that a revised version of the project plan would be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre once the cost information of the human resource (HR) package and building elements were firmed up. This remains the position.
SNH is currently undertaking a staff survey to guide the estimation of costs relating to the HR elements of the project plan and is finalising discussions with Robertson Group on detailed elements of the tender for the new HQ building. It is expected that the results of the staff survey will be available in early December. The revised project plan with cost estimates will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre as soon as possible thereafter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates local authorities have spent, or will spend, on concessionary fares from grant aided expenditure in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05 and (d) in each of the next three financial years.
Answer
The information is set out in the flowing table.
| Year | Expenditure/GAE Allocation |
| (a) 2002-03 | £65.184 million |
| (b) 2003-04 | £90.831 million |
| (c) 2004-05 | £96.906 million |
| (d) 2005-06 | £104.060 million |
Concessionary fares grant aided expenditure (GAE) figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are not yet finalised but will be made available during December 2004 as part of the local government settlement announcement.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 October 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish all veterinary advice it has received with regard to the lifting of the Over Thirty Months scheme.
Answer
The Food Standards Agency has provided advice to the Scottish Executive on the lifting of the Over Thirty Month rule. This advice, which is published on the agency’s website, included veterinary input. The Executive did not seek or receive separate veterinary advice on this matter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 11 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the use of limited duration tenancies, as created by the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003
Answer
Informationprovided by respondents to our recent Agricultural and Horticultural Censussuggests that, as at 1 June 2004, over 100 limited duration tenancies and a similarnumber of short limited duration tenancies had been entered into.
I understand there issignificant demand among potential tenants for these new tenancies. I willexpect landowners to offer more LDTs in the near future, as experience of the2003 act grows and following the introduction of the new single farm payment.
