Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive is continuing to implement the recommendations in the Scottish Transplant Group’s Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland, published in July 2002, which set out a range of initiatives to help increaseorgan donation rates.The Executive has no plans at present to move to a system of organ donation basedon "opting out".

The establishment of Regional Advisory Councils requires a decision from the Council of Ministers. We understand that the European Commission are likely to publish a formal proposal for a Council Regulation in the near future. Unless this proposal meets with unexpected opposition, we can expect a Council decision establishing the first Rural Affairs Committees in the course of 2004. We are pressing for decisions to be taken as soon as possible.

We expect that the European Commission's Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, due at the end of 2003, will give an indication of its thinking ahead of it publishing formal proposals for regulations in early 2004. Commission officials have given informal indications of their thinking on Structural Funds post-2006 at a number of recent events, including the possibility of transitional funding for current Objective 1 regions. Scotland currently has no Objective 1 regions. The Scottish Executive has been fully engaged with the European Commission and others in the debate on the future of EU regional policy to ensure that Scottish interests are taken into account.

Within EU waters, sandeel fishing for commercial purposes is specifically prohibited at all times by the Wee Bankie (Firth of Forth) area closure, required by Paragraph 10 of Annex V of EU Regulation (EC) 2341/2002. This closure expires on 31 December 2003 unless - as is expected - a continuation of it is otherwise agreed. In order for scientists to monitor the effects of the Wee Bankie restriction, a limited sandeel fishery is allowed. The fishery is managed at the discretion of a scientific monitoring team, which comprises both Scottish and Danish scientists. The Scottish Executive does not hold administrative details of the monitoring programme centrally.As a requirement of the Total Allowable Catches and Quota regulation , which lasts for only one year, the Wee Bankie closure needs annual re-agreement in Council. The Commission has proposed to include the Wee Bankie fishing restrictions in a new technical conservation regulation, intended to replace Regulation (EC) 850/98 (as amended). This inclusion would allow for an extended period of closure at Wee Bankie. The Scottish Executive supports the Commission's proposal.There are other sea areas where fishing for sandeels is indirectly prohibited. The Scottish Executive does not hold details of such closures centrally.

The letter was sent by UKRep to the Commission on behalf of the UK authorities. It was not intended as a public document: and it is not for the Executive unilaterally to decide whether to release it.

We made clear that further support measures, in addition to those funded from our own £50 million package for the industry and possibly part-funded by structural funds, may be necessary; but that because of public expenditure management arrangements in the UK the Executive would not gain any direct benefit from the availability of additional EU funding and would need to reprioritise existing expenditure commitments to fund any such measures.That position is reflected in the letter sent to the Commission on behalf of the UK authorities.

No. The Commission's request was directed to member states. A reply was sent on behalf of the UK, in accordance with constitutional arrangements within the UK.

Scotland's allocations under European Structural Fund Programmes were set with reference to criteria set out in the EU Structural Fund regulations. Such criteria relate to per capita economic and social indicators, including employment, social exclusion, training and education levels.The information requested in relation to funding allocated in each year since 1998-99 and funding disbursed to organisations under each allocation is provided in a table available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 28711).

Structural fund spending is determined by strategies drawn up by partnerships involving key public and voluntary sector agencies. These establish objectives, priorities and measures for each of the EU programmes, and therefore reflect the funding priorities of the Scottish Executive, regional and local partners.The structural funds regulations govern how EU funding can be used in the member states. These regulations cover a variety of expenditure issues, notably cost eligibility, timing of payments, and audit requirements and procedures.

Most public expenditure inthe UK is managed within fixed departmental expenditure limit (DEL) plans,within which fisheries and other requirements are prioritised. Under thesearrangements, the Executive would not gain any direct benefit from theavailability of additional EU funding in this case. Any further fisheriessupport measures would need to be funded through re-prioritising existingexpenditure commitments.

These arrangements apply todirectly funded EU spending - mainly under financial instrument for fisheriesguidance and other EU structural fund programmes. Different arrangementsoperate in respect of spending on annual common agricultural policy marketsupport subsidies and EU rural development measures where domestic expenditurecover for EU funding is classed as annually managed expenditure and provided bythe UK Treasury, outside the block and formula arrangements.