Chamber and committees

Farmers are required to register their holdings under the Agriculture Act 1974 with the Agricultural Census branch, and thus a complete database of farms already exists. However, in reality, it is acknowledged that a small number of farmers refuse to complete census forms or confirm land movements, and thus completeness and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.In addition, the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) holds details of all claimants for EU agricultural subsidies. Both systems are subject to restrictions on the uses to which these data may be put, due to confidentiality constraints. Discussions are on-going to ensure that coverage of both systems is as complete and consistent as possible.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21706. Any amendments to reports are only made as result of careful consideration of all relevant evidence and not solely on comments from any source, including an education authority. Final responsibility for changes - as with every aspect of the published inspection report - clearly lies with HMIE.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21706. During inspections, Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) take account of evidence drawn from a number of sources, including comments by the education authority, headteacher and school board chair, data from a representative sample of parents, and first-hand experience of the learning and teaching in the school. These procedures are outlined in inspection guidance, which is publicly available. Based on all the evidence gathered in the course of the inspection, the published report records HMI's professional evaluation of the standard of the school.

Leslie Gardner is the Senior State Veterinary Service representative in Scotland and advises the Scottish ministers on all animal health matters. He did not see any specific report of any threat from the PanAsia Type O strain of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). All strains of FMD are significant and are a constant threat. Our contingency plans reflect that.

In the past two years the Scottish Executive has been represented at the following international conferences:Conference of Directors of EU Paying Agencies, Portugal - May 2000;The World Potato Conference, Amsterdam - September 2000;The Annual General Meeting of the OIE, Paris - May 2000;FMD Conference on Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Brussels - December 2001;FMD was discussed at the OIE and Foot-and-Mouth Disease Conferences.

SEERAD made two key sources of information available to those involved in tackling the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001.The first source was basic information held in the EU Agricultural subsidies database, the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) which provided details of all IACS and agri-environment claimants. This covers most agricultural holdings, the exception being pig and poultry farms and non-claimants. The IACS Field Register was used to provide geographic information on the boundaries of fields and farms. The grid reference of each holding found to be infected was used to identify details of fields and farms located within the 3km exclusion zone of that holding. A set procedure was established to ensure that checks were undertaken within SEERAD to verify the grid reference prior to use, to ensure its accuracy. Under the IACS regulations, claimants are subject to a regime of administrative checks and on-the-spot inspections to validate claims, with a percentage of farms inspected each year. The inspection process includes checks on the physical field boundaries. These existing check processes ensured that the data were fit for use in fighting foot-and-mouth disease.The second source was the Agricultural Census, which provided a register of all agricultural holdings. Farmers are required to register their agricultural holdings with the census branch under sections 78 and 79 of the Agriculture Act 1947, and thus the details held should be complete and current. However, in reality, it is acknowledged that a small number of farmers refuse to complete census forms or confirm land movements, and thus completeness and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The census registration includes pig and poultry farms and non (or part-non) claimants, and so could be used to complement the IACS information.In addition to this, local knowledge of SEERAD agricultural staff from the local area office was used to supplement the centrally-held information. There were no significant accuracy issues identified with either data source, although there were a few instances where people owned livestock as pets and so their address was not classified as agricultural premises and not identified by the data sources.

Ministers were alerted to the current outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on Wednesday 21 February 2001. Prior to that they were not aware of any substantial risk of infection from the PanAsia Type O strain of the virus. All strains of foot-and-mouth disease are significant and are a constant threat.

It is standard practice for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) to show all draft reports to the relevant education authority, headteacher and school board chair before publication. Any additional evidence provided at this stage is taken into account by HMIE as they finalise the report. The source of the evidence is not of itself significant in that process. Based on all the evidence gathered in the course of the inspection, the published report records HMIE's professional evaluation of the standard of the school. Minor changes are common, but the final decision on every such change rests with HMIE.

The final report of sportscotland's Organisational Review recommended a revised management structure. sportscotland sought the Scottish Executive's views in October 2001 and the latter accepted the case for the changes proposed. It is for sportscotland to decide on whether to make an announcement on the restructuring and the form any such announcement should take.

The Scottish Executive have not received any complaints or comments from the police, State Veterinary Service or any other organisation concerning the accuracy of the information on the location, size, nature, and current operational status of farms.