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.

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Question reference: S2W-12117

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lewis Peatlands are classified as a Special Protection Area under the EU Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) and, if so, what the extent is of the site; what species of bird in the area are listed as the qualifying interest; how many of these species occur in the area and what proportions of national and international populations they represent, and whether the site is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area (SPA) was classified under the European Council Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) on December 7 2000; the site encompasses an area of 58,984.23 hectares.

The relevant international population by which the importance of any bird species on an SPA can be assessed is expressed in terms of the biogeographic population from which it is drawn or is a part of. A biogeographic population is a group of birds which breed in a particular location (or group of locations), breed freely within the group, and rarely breed or exchange individuals with other groups.

The qualifying species are – black throated diver (11 pairs representing at least 6.9% of the GB breeding population and <0.1% of="" the="" biogeographical="" population),="" dunlin="" schinzii="" sub-species="" (3,650="" pairs="" representing="" at="" least="" 33.2%="" of="" the="" breeding="" baltic/gb/ireland="" population),="" golden="" eagle="" (six="" pairs="" representing="" at="" least="" 1.5%="" of="" the="" gb="" breeding="" population="" and="" 0.1%="" of="" the="" biogeographical="" population),="" golden="" plover="" (1,978="" pairs="" representing="" at="" least="" 8.8%="" of="" the="" gb="" breeding="" population="" and="" 0.4%="" of="" the="" biogeographical="" population),="" greenshank="" (152="" pairs="" representing="" at="" least="" 0.3%="" of="" the="" breeding="" europe/western="" africa="" population="" and="" 0.3%="" of="" the="" biogeographical="" population),="" merlin="" (20="" pairs="" representing="" at="" least="" 1.5%="" of="" the="" gb="" breeding="" population="" and="" 0.2%="" of="" the="" biogeographical="" population)="" and="" red="" throated="" diver="" (60="" pairs="" representing="" at="" least="" 6.4%="" of="" the="" gb="" breeding="" population="" and="" 0.8%="" of="" the="" biogeographical="">

The whole of the Lewis Peatlands SPA is not underpinned by Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notification. However, four SSSIs are contained within the SPA boundary. These are mainly notified for reasons other than the SPA interest and are:

1. Achmore Bog SSSI (296.73ha. Notified for blanket bog).

2. Loch Laxavat Ard & Loch Laxavat Iorach SSSI (267ha. Notified for woodland,open waters and breeding bird assemblage).

3. Loch Nan Eilean Valley Bog SSSI (33.26ha. Notified for blanket bog and valley mire).

4. Loch Scarrasdale Valley Bog SSSI (218.26ha. Notified for blanket bog and valley mire).

Question reference: S2W-12004

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to protect the peatland features of the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site outside the boundary of the Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation.

Question reference: S2W-11999

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deer were killed in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 (i) under control agreements made under section 7, (ii) under control schemes made under section 8, (iii) as part of emergency measures taken under sections 10 and 11 and (iv) by occupiers or persons authorised by occupiers acting under section 26 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.

Question reference: S2W-12000

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is undertaking research into means of avoiding damage by deer to woodland, agricultural production of crops or livestock that do not involve the taking or killing of deer.

Question reference: S2W-12005

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure is for complying with Articles 3.1 and 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention in relation to Ramsar sites (a) which are also Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and (b) which are not SSSIs.

All Ramsar sites in Scotland are designated as Special Protection Areas or candidate Special Areas of Conservation under the EC Birds and Habitats Directives, except one which has been notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Compliance with Article 3.1 and 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention is ensured through the procedures for designated Natura sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest set out in The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.

Question reference: S2W-11998

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many control (a) agreements under section 7 and (b) schemes under section 8 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 have been made since 1 January 2002 and, of these, how many are still in operation.

Question reference: S2W-12003

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site overlaps with the (a) Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation and (b) Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area.

Question reference: S2W-11560

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to consult interested parties regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water.

In January 2003, ministers established the Quality and Standard 3 project group made up of a range of stakeholders and experts to advise on the extent of the industry’s investment requirements. This process has included a range of stakeholders the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator, the Water Industry Commissioner and Scottish Water as well as Cosla, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Homes for Scotland, CBI, Scottish Consumer Council, Water Customer ConsultationPanels, Communities Scotland and various interests across the Scottish Executive.

In July 2004, ministers issued a formal consultation, Investing in Water Services 2006-2014 (Bib. number 33325) to some 6,000 individual and organisations . This was supported by the Water Customer Consultation Panels hosting a number of seminars throughout Scotland in August for stakeholders to discuss the issues raised in the consultation. In addition, we commissioned research to investigate the attitudes and priorities of Scottish Water’s domestic customers.

Question reference: S2O-04153

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering increasing the funding available for the Biodiversity Action Grants Scheme.

Question reference: S2W-11564

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that its decisions regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water are consistent with its sustainable development principles, in particular with the “polluter pays” principle.

The Quality and Standards three process takes place within a statutory framework which places great value on sustainable development. Scottish ministers, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the responsible authorities are required under section 2(4) of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 to act in a way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development principles. In addition, under section51 of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, Scottish Water must “act in such a way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development”.