- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 19 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture’s Ministerial Statement on Creative Scotland and Cultural Policy on 7 November 2007 (Official Report, c. 3072-88), what resources will be provided to voluntary organisations in the arts and crafts sectors to enable them to engage with community planning partnerships.
Answer
Community planningalready entails local engagement with individuals and organisations in the areaof each partnership, including the voluntary sector. As I mentioned in my parliamentarystatement, the Scottish Government will provide community planning partnershipswith advice and encouragement to help all sectors to play their part in culturaldelivery, and to add value through cultural activity.
Local authoritiesprovide financial resources to voluntary arts and crafts sector bodies in theirarea in relation to a range of activity. In 2005-06 (the latest figures available) the total amountof local authority grant aid to the voluntary arts sector amounted to about £11.3million.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing’s statement on housing on 31 October 2007 that she would “encourage Fife Council—as I will any other council in the country—to increase the supply of land” (Official Report, c. 2842), whether Fife Council’s Structure Plan will be approved even if the housing land reappraisal proposes a reduction in the land available for housing compared with the original proposals submitted to the Executive in 2006
Answer
The Fife StructurePlan was submitted to ministers in June 2006. Their consideration of the planhas been delayed whilst Fife Council re-appraise the housing allocations. It isexpected that the council will submit proposed housing amendments to the plan atthe end of this year, at which point, ministers will recommence their considerationof the whole plan. When deciding whether to approve a structure plan, ministerstake account of all relevant factors including objections and representations, aswell as national policy guidance such as Scottish Planning Policy 3: Planningfor Housing. This requires structure plans to provide sufficient housing landto meet the assessed requirement for new dwellings.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S3W-4700 which received a holding reply on 25 October 2007.
Answer
A substantive answerwas given to question S3W-4700 on 21 November 2007.All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it is undertaking with external bodies regarding ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth.
Answer
The Scottish Governmenthas discussed, with both Forth Ports plc and Scottish Natural Heritage, the completionof an appropriate assessment of proposals for ship-to-ship oil transfer in the Firthof Forth, including implications of the proposals for three Natura sites.
In particular, I metwith Forth Ports’ representatives on 5 June 2007, when I was updated on their considerationof the proposals, and the First Minister met with Forth Ports’ representatives on31 July 2007, when he was informed of progress made bythe on-going appropriate assessment.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what the financial costs and savings will be from the networks, VisitScotland and other organisations sharing back-office functions and other activities such as marketing in (a) Fife and (b) Scotland.
Answer
Work is currentlyunderway between the enterprise networks and VisitScotland to identifyopportunities for shared services. It is therefore not possible to quantifycosts or savings at present.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, whether existing Scottish Enterprise Fife staff will remain based in Fife, whether they will be given any decision-making responsibility and, if so, what decisions these will be.
Answer
These are operationalmatters for Scottish Enterprise. However, as now, decisions affecting Fife willreflect local Fife priorities and be informed by a continued Scottish Enterprisepresence in Fife.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what status and function the Fife Economic Forum will have under the new Scottish Enterprise structure.
Answer
The formal requirementfor Local Economic Forum structures matching Local Enterprise Company boundarieswill cease at the end of this financial year with the winding up of the localenterprise companies. However, Iam aware that in areas such as Fife there may be excellent examples of effectivelocal collaboration between local offices of the enterprise networks, local authorities,the business community and others. Where such strong local partnerships exist, thesewill be able to continue to operate within the regional model.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, how it will ensure that aligning VisitScotland with the six new regional enterprise bodies will not lead to a reduction in focus on Fife’s tourist industry.
Answer
This is an operationalmatter for VisitScotland. The aim of re-aligning VisitScotland areas to match thoseof the new enterprise network regions is to increase the effectiveness of partnershipworking with the enterprise network alongside tourism businesses with the potentialto grow, and thus to release resources to deliver more locally. VisitScotland willcontinue to promote Scotland and areas such as Fife – as a must-visit, must-return destinations.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many VisitScotland full-time equivalent staff are employed in the Fife area and whether the Executive will ensure that these levels do not fall following restructuring of VisitScotland.
Answer
VisitScotland has18.63 full-time equivalent staff in the Fifearea.
The future allocationof staff is an operational matter for VisitScotland, who will ensure that appropriateresources are provided to continue to promote Scotland and its constituent parts – as quality must visit, must-return destinations.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 8 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what assurances it can give that under the new Scottish Enterprise structure funding for enterprise and economic development in Fife will not fall below current levels.
Answer
This will be an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise.
