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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S2W-01851

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2003
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 2 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will maintain the present year's Less Favoured Area Support Scheme payments at the total of #63 million paid out last year; what representations it has received on this issue, and whether it will make an announcement on the matter.

The current budget of theLess Favoured Area Support Scheme is £61 million per year. An additional £2million was made available in 2003 only, in recognition both of the importanceof the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme to farmers and crofters, and of thedifficulties that they had experienced as a result of foot-and-mouth disease.

No formal representationshave been made about the budget for the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme,although some members of the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme Industry WorkingGroup have indicated that retaining the existing level of expenditure would betheir preference.

An announcement about thechanges required to adapt the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme to anexpenditure level of £61 million will be made in due course.

Question reference: S2W-01924

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 2 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to reform licensing laws and, in particular, whether it will simplify the number and types of licence and alter the frequency of meetings of licensing boards from quarterly to a less frequent schedule.

Question reference: S2W-02072

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2003
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 1 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Ministry of Defence to ensure the continued existence of all six Scottish regiments in view of the social and economic implications of the disbandment of any of these regiments.

Question reference: S2W-02089

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2003
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations from Highland Council requesting that the headquarters of Forest Enterprise Scotland be located in Inverness; what procedures it will employ when arriving at a decision on this matter, and what the timetable is for such procedures.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-2059 on 19 August 2003,announcing details of the outcome of the review for the location of theheadquarters of Forest Enterprise Scotland. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Representations were made byHighland Council during the time of the review.

Question reference: S2W-02052

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2003
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the headquarters of Forest Enterprise Scotland will be located in Inverness.

Question reference: S2W-02051

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2003
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the location for the headquarters of Forest Enterprise Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-01768

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 29 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support establishment of a special EU designation for regions that are characterised by being mountainous, peripheral and sparsely populated and, if so, what steps it will take to campaign for such a designation.

The Scottish Executive supports reform of the Structural Funds post-2006 to ensure they are targeted where they are most needed following enlargement of the European Union. While mountains, peripherality and sparse population are not in themselves justification for funding, recognition of the challenges faced by such communities will be important for future EU regional policy. The debate on reform still has some way to go and we remain fully engaged both at UK and Europe level to ensure that Scottish interests are taken into account.

Question reference: S2W-01767

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in implementing its commitment in A Partnership for a Better Scotland to ensure that the transport system meets the needs of business, transport users and the environment by extending public transport concessionary fare schemes, including a national free off-peak bus scheme for older people and people with disabilities; what meetings it has had, or plans to have, with key stakeholders, including bus operators and transport authorities, on this matter, and when such meetings will be concluded.

Question reference: S2W-01655

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received regarding ground maintenance on the trunk road network in the Highland Council area under the trunk road maintenance contract and what action it has taken, or will take, in response to any such representations.

Question reference: S2W-01693

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 August 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the minutes of any meetings of its Cabinet at which the relocation of the Scottish Natural Heritage headquarters was discussed and any Cabinet memoranda and papers that explain the reasoning behind the decision to relocate the headquarters to Inverness.