Chamber and committees

The Executive does not at present offer grants or training to groups or organisations to participate actively in the European legislative process.

Results from an activity analysis carried out by the Scottish Police Service in spring 2001 were used by a working group (involving representatives from the Executive, COSLA and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland) which has been reviewing the distribution of police GAE between forces. An account of the working group's recommendations, including the use of relevant information from the activity analysis, is due to be published later this year.

The information requested is not held centrally.Information is available on the numbers of local authority owned dwellings, in each local authority area, that are within the following five age bands: (a) pre-1919, (b) 1919-44, (c) 1945-64, (d) 1965-82 and (e) post-1982.The latest information - the position as at 31 March 2002 - was published in table 17 of the Scottish Executive Quarterly Housing Trends Bulletin HSG/2002/3, which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 23303).

As stated in A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture, we are in favour of rewarding farmers according to the wide range of benefits they provide in economic, social and environmental terms. This would not rule out use of employment-related criteria, although the Executive has no plans at present to introduce or propose such criteria. Support arrangements under the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are largely production-based but the Mid-term Review of the CAP, which is currently in its preliminary stages, offers an opportunity to consider payments to farmers for the provision of a wider range of benefits.

Twenty-six responses were received to the consultation on technical measures for scallops. All responses except those marked as confidential were made available in the Scottish Executive Library in early October 2002. Most of the respondents broadly supported the Executive's proposals, although opinions obviously varied on the many points of detail included in the consultation paper.

A draft Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared. It will be published when the SI is laid before parliament, in accordance with normal practice.

Ministerial and official bilaterals are taking place with the Danish Presidency, the European Commission, and various member states as we move towards this year's decisions on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, the cod and hake recovery plan, and next year's quotas. I am involved in this series of meetings, as are my officials. Our clear aim is to establish common positions and negotiating stances in support of our own aims and objectives.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30540 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

No. The Executive does not support arrangements which discriminate between producers on the basis of scale of subsidy payments or scale of operation more generally.

When we were discussing multi-annual management plans at the September Council, we said that effort control should be one of the instruments available to fisheries managers under a reformed Common Fisheries Policy. When we were discussing the European Commission's draft Cod and Hake Recovery Plan at the October Council, we said that effort control may need to be used alongside other measures necessary to secure the recovery of the cod stocks. The recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is clear on the need for urgent and effective measures to ensure sustainable Scottish fisheries. Closure of the mixed demersal fisheries would be disastrous. So we need to identify and promote credible, defensible and effective alternatives. Discussions are under way with the industry to that end. We cannot rule out effort controls as one ingredient in any solution.