- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that funding for energy crops should be provided only when a positive energy and environmental balance can be demonstrated.
Answer
The Scotland Rural Development Programme under Rural Priorities offers farm businesses funding to diversify into alternative forms of agricultural production including energy crops, and a specific option to plant short rotation coppice crops for similar purpose.
This is to help them develop more sustainable businesses by responding to changing market demands and taking advantage of new market opportunities.
To attract support, a farmer has to show that the project will contribute towards agreed regional priorities established to aid delivery of key strategic outcomes, including adaptation to mitigate climate change and protection of biodiversity.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports an increase in EU funding for plant and animal genetic resources.
Answer
The Scottish Government would welcome an increase in EU funding for plant and animal genetic resources in areas where this reflects our current policies on plant and animal improvement.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how it supports voluntary producer supply management in the milk industry.
Answer
In a deregulated dairy industry producers are free to make their own business decisions, including the volume of milk produced.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scotland Rural Development Programme includes measures for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in agriculture.
Answer
There are a range of measures to support conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in agriculture in a number of Scotland Rural Development Programme schemes, including Rural Priorities and Land Managers'' Options. More information is available on the SRDP website at
www.scotland.gov.uk/SRDP.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the withdrawal of the beef special premium scheme for bulls that are used in lethal bull fighting.
Answer
Entitlement to beef special premium payments for stock destined for bull fighting is a matter for the European Commission and those member states where such practices are permitted.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many post-mortem examinations were carried out at the veterinary laboratory in Thurso in each year since 2000 and what the equivalent numbers were for each of the other veterinary laboratories in Scotland over the same period.
Answer
The Scottish Government commissions a programme of veterinary surveillance from the Scottish Agricultural College who report their activities on a quarterly basis. Our interest is to ensure that suitable geographical coverage is provided by the programme as a whole and not in the specific delivery of those services from individual investigation centres, therefore data on post-mortem numbers is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the Scottish Agricultural College’s disease surveillance budget is spent on work carried out at the veterinary laboratory in Thurso.
Answer
The Scottish Government commissions a programme of veterinary surveillance from the Scottish Agricultural College who hold responsibility for distributing the budget appropriately between veterinary investigation centres across Scotland. The veterinary surveillance element of the support provided to SAC Veterinary Services is just over £3 million in the current financial year.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the provision of a Kirkwall-based aircraft providing air ambulance cover as well as inter-island transport for other health services.
Answer
This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0917-01.htm
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 16 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to establish more sustainable relations between rural and urban economies, addressing issues such as demographic change and migration, energy saving and efficiency, low-carbon emission and short distance food chains and biological and cultural diversity.
Answer
As set out in the Government Economic Strategy we are focussed on giving greater priority to achieving more balanced growth across Scotland, in order to reduce regional disparities. As part of this we are ensuring a more strategic approach to the growth of Scotland''s cities, towns and rural areas across transport, planning, housing and economic development.
Our actions include: working to help address demographic challenges; taking forward the Climate Change agenda; introducing the Scotland Rural Development Programme; implementing the national developments and spatial strategy set out in the second National Planning Framework and delivering planning reform; implementing Scotland''s biodiversity strategy; working to improve access and participation in cultural activities, and we will shortly be publishing a consultation on the Energy Efficiency Action Plan. We are also focusing government and the wider public sector around our national outcomes, including those on the environmental impacts of consumption and production; the built and natural environment, and realising our full economic potential.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 16 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the withdrawal of EU funding for the growing of raw tobacco.
Answer
The government supports the decision taken by the EU in 2004 to remove all subsidies linked to the cultivation of tobacco from 2010.
