- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 20 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on whether any public sector employee dismissed for sectarian behaviour should not receive any terminal payment, such as a lump sum payment, in recognition of the unacceptability of such behaviour and whether it requires to amend the contract terms of contracts of employment to secure this objective.
Answer
The Civil Service Management Code sets out regulations and instructions to departments and agencies regarding the terms and conditions of service of civil servants. The code provides delegated authority to departments and agencies to apply sanctions as result of disciplinary proceedings as they deem appropriate.
The Scottish Executive has no set tariff of penalties for particular offences and each case is dealt with on its own merits. In cases of gross misconduct the penalty would normally be summary dismissal without notice or any compensatory lump sum payment in lieu of notice.
As the code does not extend to all public sector employees, the relevant organisations will have their own arrangements in relation to the terms and conditions of service for their employees.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 20 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its position in respect of the upgrading of the A96 or any part thereof has changed and whether it will include upgrading of the A96 in any forthcoming announcement of trunk road improvements.
Answer
Our position has not changed. We are committed to over £22 million of improvement schemes on the A96, but there are no current plans to upgrade the entire route to dual carriageway.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 20 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is appropriate to use pens in order to enclose deer prior to shooting them; whether this practice is humane; what evidence it has in respect of the extent to which deer culled in this manner suffer from stress, and how the humaneness of this method of killing deer compares with instant death from a skilled stopper's bullet.
Answer
Based on advice on best practice from the State Veterinary Service and the Deer Commission for Scotland, we have no reason to believe that the use of live capture pens to handle wild deer causes undue stress. As with any animal handling system, welfare will largely depend on calm, competent operators.
The production of guidance on the use of this system will be considered by the steering group charged with developing best practice in deer management.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 8 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote the restoration of Kinloch Castle; whether Kinloch Castle is on the Scottish Civic Trust's buildings at risk register and, if so, what implications this has for the castle's future and whether this renders it eligible for any public funding towards the costs of its restoration.
Answer
Kinloch Castle is owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). This is therefore an operational matter for SNH. I understand that SNH are in discussion with the Phoenix Trust to investigate possible approaches to securing the castle’s future.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 6 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward details of the replacement to the Livestock Improvement Scheme (LIS); on what date any new scheme is intended to come into force, and whether there will be any gap between the date of cessation of the LIS and commencement of a replacement scheme.
Answer
It is currently expected that firm proposals for a scheme to replace the Bull Hire Scheme will be finalised and published in October with a view to obtaining state aid approval and introducing the scheme in early 2005. Hires arranged under the Bull Hire Scheme in response to applications received in September 2003 will continue until late 2005, early 2006. We have no plans to replace the Ram Purchase Scheme and the Shetland Ram Scheme.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 5 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9052 by Allan Wilson on 28 June 2004, whether the cost of the Scottish Natural Heritage headquarters is an operational matter for Scottish Natural Heritage and, if not, what the cost of the building is estimated to be and whether the costs will be met from public funds.
Answer
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is responsible for planning and implementing the relocation of its Edinburgh headquarters to Inverness. SNH submitted a project plan covering all aspects of the relocation which ministers accepted as a basis for SNH to develop their tender specification for the new HQ building. SNH issued invitations to tender on 11 June and the budget for procurement of the accommodation will be set after the tenders have been received and evaluated. The costs of the relocation will be funded by additional grant-in-aid from the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 5 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered using existing reports and studies obtained by the owners of Castle Tioram in relation to the building's structure, history and culture.
Answer
I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:
Existing reports and studies obtained by the owners of Castle Tioram into the monument’s structure, history and culture were considered by the Inquiry Reporter at the Public Local Inquiry held in 2001 into the owners' application for scheduled monument consent (SMC) to restore the Castle. In his report to scottish ministers recommending that SMC be refused, the reporter identified gaps in understanding in the Statement of Cultural Significance obtained by the owners. Historic Scotland is commissioning the preparation of a full Statement of the Cultural Significance of Castle which will address those gaps. This will inform consideration of any future applications for SMC.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 5 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all written reports by the Chief Executive of the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service and Head of Legal and Parliamentary Services to it, including to the First Minister, the former Minister for Parliament and the Minister for Parliamentary Business, have been provided to the Holyrood Inquiry; if so, whether the chief executive has provided no such written reports since the 15 August 2003, the date of the last report to be published on the inquiry's website, and if any such written reports have not been provided to the inquiry so far, whether they will now be provided.
Answer
The Executive has adopted the normal practice of providing papers up to the point at which an inquiry begins. The Executive has therefore provided copies of those reports made before 1 September 2003, the date on which Lord Fraser received his formal letter of appointment and terms of reference.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 5 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any (a) written or (b) oral report was made to any of its ministers, including the First Minister, by the Chief Executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Head of Legal and Parliamentary Services in March 2002 regarding meetings and discussions of the Holyrood Progress Group.
Answer
There is no record of any such written or oral report having been made to ministers in March 2002.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 2 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the tariff rebate subsidy scheme has been suspended and, if so, (a) on what date the decision to suspend the scheme was taken and by whom, (b) what consultation was undertaken prior to any such decision, (c) when it will decide whether to re-instate the scheme and (d) what economic impact assessment was made prior to the decision being taken and whether it will be published.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has carried out investigations into the administration of the Tariff Rebate Subsidy (TRS) scheme for bulk freight, following concerns that one or more of the operators in receipt of support under the scheme may not have been complying with its terms and conditions. This investigation started in December 2003 and the processing of claims was suspended pending completion of the investigation, since it would clearly have been inappropriate to continue to make payments in such circumstances.
The investigation concluded that the scheme was in some cases not being operated as intended. There was however no evidence to suggest that any claims were being made fraudulently.
Following the investigation we have reviewed the scheme and have concluded that it has not been demonstrably achieving its central objective of maintaining and improving sea transport services serving the Highlands and Islands. We have noted that the great majority of bulk freight transported by sea in the Highlands and Islands does not benefit from bulk freight TRS. Currently only three companies are eligible to claim TRS. Independent consultants commissionedby the Executive some time ago to evaluate the scheme reported that:
the overall contribution of TRS to economic development in the relevant areas has been very limited;
it has made only a limited contribution to sustaining bulk shipping capacity in the Highlands and Islands;
the absolute level of TRS is insignificant compared with the companies’ costs and turnover, and
any reduction in consumer prices (for bulk freight products) will have been slight and it is not clear that TRS support has fed through to reduced prices for the end consumers.
For all these reasons, we have decided that the bulk freight TRS scheme should remain in suspension. We have paid all outstanding claims to 31 March 2004 but have no plans, at present, to make further funding available under the scheme. The three companies that have been entitled to claim have been advised accordingly.
We remain very keen to encourage greater use of shipping for freight. In this regard we will be introducing later this year the new Waterborne Freight Grant Scheme to grant aid the operating costs of new shipping routes which remove lorries from roads. Details of the scheme are still being finalised.
