Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive funds an ongoing research programme of about £600,000 per annum on sustainable deer management. The research includes developing a decision support tool for management of deer in woodlands as an aid to native woodland regeneration.

In addition the Deer Commission has a deer research programme and I have asked the director to write to you with details.

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.

This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Director of the Deer Commission for Scotland to respond to you. A copy of the response shall be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

The Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site is identical to the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area in extent (58,984.23 ha) and boundary. The Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation is smaller (27,945.59 ha) and lies entirely within the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site.

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.

We are delighted that the Biodiversity Action Grants scheme has been very well received and we decided to top up the scheme from contingency funds for 2004-05. Decisions on future funding for the scheme will depend both on the availability of resources, and on the level and quality of applications in future years.

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”.

Within Scottish police forces, there are two full-time police staff employed on wildlife crime and 86 police officers who have wildlife crime designated as part of their normal police duties.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2002-03, only two charges were reported to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Servicie - both were prosecuted and both were convicted. In FY 2003-04, three charges were reported, three were prosecuted and (to date) only one has been convicted. The two remaining charges are still subject of court proceedings.

SEPA is a key stakeholder actively involved in the Quality and Standard three project group which is advising on the extent of the industry’s investment requirements, post 2006. This work has informed the content of the recent consultation, Investing in Water Services 2006-2014. As part of this process, SEPA’s advice has covered the extent of investment required for environmental targets including the Water Framework Directive. SEPA has also submitted a formal response to this consultation.