- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 10 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the availability of tourist information following the closure of tourist information offices across Perthshire and Kinross-shire.
Answer
Since the closure of Kinross Visitor Information Centre in 2008, the last such closure in the region, VisitScotland, and Perth and Kinross Council, have continued to review the provision of visitor information services across the region. Both are in agreement that the current provision meets demand within the resources available.
Current provision of visitor information services in the area is provided through VisitScotland Information Centres, Information Points and Partnerships. Together these provide a variety of local knowledge and regional publications; as well as various eMedia solutions such as the VisitPerthshire website and the new national iPhone app.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the principles set out by European Parliament resolution INI/2008/2210, Wilderness in Europe, which was approved by 538 votes to 19 on 3 February 2009.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the discussion and debate in the European Parliament about the contribution that Europe''s wild areas make to safeguarding biodiversity. In contrast to Scotland''s wilder landscapes, some of which show the imprint of past generations, some continental areas are wilderness in the true sense of the word “ including relatively pristine forests in Eastern Europe. A Scottish approach to the issues raised by the resolution is therefore appropriate.
We have commissioned research exploring approaches to the management of wild land elsewhere in Europe and are considering the results of this study. In the meantime Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is currently undertaking further work on the definition and mapping of wildness and wild land areas. We will consider the results of this when it is completed.
The Scottish Government will keep under review progress on the resolution in discussion with SNH.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the findings of the final report, commissioned by it, Review of Status and Conservation of Wild Land, by the University of Leeds’ Wildland Research Institute.
Answer
The Leeds University, Wildland Research Institute report
Review of the Status and Conservation of Wild Land in Europe is a useful contribution to the debate on wild land following on from the European Parliament resolution of February 2009 calling for special status and stricter protection for wilderness zones in Europe and the Natura 2000 network. The research examined approaches to the management of wild land elsewhere in Europe comparable to that found in Scotland with a view to identifying lesson from their experiences relevant to the future care of wild land in Scotland.
A key recommendation of the report is for the identification of wild land areas so that these may be safeguarded. Scottish Natural Heritage''s (SNH) wildness mapping project will give a more detailed view of the extent and location of relative wildness than the current indicative search areas of wild land. The new maps will inform revisions to SNH''s guidance and advice regarding wild land in Scotland.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics are available regarding the contribution made to the economy by the natural heritage sector.
Answer
There are no annual statistics produced specifically for the natural heritage sector. However, some analysis has been undertaken in reports commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Government, although each report looks at different aspects of the natural heritage contribution. The details are as follows:
| Report name | Published | Estimated Contribution | Number of Jobs |
| SNH Commissioned Report 72: The role of the natural heritage in generating and supporting employment opportunities in Scotland | 2004 | £2.2 billion | 93,000 |
| Valuing our Environment - The Economic Impact of Scotland''s Natural Environment (SNH) | 2008 | £17.2 billion | 242,000 |
| SNH Commissioned Report 398: Assessing the value of nature based tourism in Scotland | 2010 | £1.4 billion | 39,000 |
| The Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism in Scotland (Scottish Govt) | 2010 | £64 million | 2,760 |
Copies of the reports can be found on the following web links:
http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=489
http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=1035
http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=1548
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/05/12164456/0.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 1 February 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will update the information on the visual influence of built development and land use change recorded in the August 2008 edition of Scottish Natural Heritage’s Natural Heritage Indicator, which stated that, between 2002 and 2008, “the extent of Scotland unaffected by any form of visual influence declined from 41% to 31%.”
Answer
I understand that Scottish Natural Heritage plans to publish an update on its Natural Heritage Indicator, Visual influence of built development and land use change by the end of January 2011. This will confirm that the area of Scotland from which no built development is visible reduced from 31% in January 2008 to 28% in December 2009. This is in the main caused by wind turbine development and its associated visual influence which is greater than development at ground level.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 27 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to merge the strategic and support functions of Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the Scottish Education Quality and Improvement Agency
Answer
As we made clear in 2007, the Scottish Government is determined to simplify and streamline the public bodies'' landscape in Scotland, reducing costs and bureaucracy, while improving service delivery. We continue to consider all of our public bodies in this context.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the views expressed in the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Advice Paper (11-01): The Teaching of History in Scottish Schools that there should be a review of the teaching and learning resources for history in schools.
Answer
The Scottish Government rejects that view. Learners in Scotland have benefitted from a wide range of high-quality resources to support the learning and teaching of history which have been developed and approved in consultation with the history profession. The History in Curriculum for Excellence Group, established in 2008, informed the development of the excellent Scotland''s History online resource launched in October 2009 and resources on the new Higher History have been welcomed. Support from the Heritage Education Forum, Scran, Glow and other developments in recent years have made available resources and exciting learning experiences in and out of school across Scotland.
Resources are kept under constant review and the History Excellence Group is developing further guidance for teachers and schools to provide learners with a more coherent experience of history from early years to senior phase as part of Curriculum for Excellence.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on concerns expressed in the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Advice Paper (11-01): The Teaching of History in Scottish Schools that there is an insufficient balance of subject knowledge taught in some schools.
Answer
The Scottish Government rejects that conclusion. Curriculum for Excellence aims to raise standards for all young people through a more flexible, coherent and enriched curriculum. It is for schools and local authorities to ensure they get the right balance of subject knowledge within broad curricular guidance and drawing on available resources.
Practitioners are empowered to make teaching of history relevant and engaging drawing on local, national and international contexts while maintaining a focus on changes that have shaped Scotland. The curriculum encourages deeper learning which may involve a smaller number of topics and the History Excellence Group is working to produce further guidance for teachers and schools to provide learners with a coherent experience of history from early years to senior phase.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the decrease in the number of principal teachers of history in state-funded secondary schools.
Answer
The organisation of schools is a matter for local authorities and head teachers. As more schools organise on a faculty basis, there has been a decrease in the number of principal teachers of history. This is not unique to history and advice from HM Inspectorate of Education suggests that principal teachers are seeking appropriate advice and collaborating with colleagues to plan courses that are coherent, relevant and engaging, with an appropriate place for history in the curriculum.
In Scottish education we encourage leadership at all levels. There may not be a principal teacher in history but that does not mean that there is nobody leading the subject.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provided to farmers during the recent severe weather.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have been in daily contact with farmers and key stakeholders to understand industry priorities during the severe winter weather.
The Scottish Government secured the case for an emergency relaxation of the EU drivers'' hours enforcement, to help inward and outward distribution of urgent feed and fuel supplies.
Over 18,000 farmers and crofters have already been paid their single farm payment (SFP) this year, over £463 million which represents 98% of the total SFP net budget. The payments made on the earliest possible date, 1 December 2010, were a record since the scheme began.
