- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27995 by Mr Jack McConnell on 2 September 2002, whether ministerial parliamentary aides deal directly with civil servants by (a) attending meetings with them, (b) communicating with them via telephone or any other means, and what the cost has been to date of any such time spent by civil servants with ministerial parliamentary aides.
Answer
Civil servants' contact with ministerial parliamentary aides is limited to occasions when the aide is supporting a minister in the minister's official capacity. This can be contact at meetings or by telephone or e-mail. No central record is kept of the amount of time or occasions where contact has been made.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, following the letter issued to me by the Auditor General of 5 September 2002, whether documents that relate to the contract with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Limited (FCAM), previously withheld from publication, will now be published in full including (a) the recommendation by Bovis Lend Lease that FCAM be engaged for the works package for the MSP block in the new Parliament building at Holyrood, (b) all documents relating to the financial appraisal of FCAM, (c) the pre-tender questionnaire completed by FCAM, (d) the first and second letters of intent and (e) the references that were obtained in respect of FCAM and Flour City International Inc.
Answer
The Parliament has received legal advice that the documents requested should not be made public, while the SPCB's rights and entitlements are still being evaluated, as they may form part of the productions in any litigation which may follow.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer how much in total has now been incurred in respect of legal costs and expenses in connection with Flour City Architectural (Metals) UK, including costs involved in examining and preparing the case for action under the Parent Company Guarantee, giving details of the invoices issued and the dates when they were paid and those which remain outstanding; what the estimated amount of legal costs and expenses is which have not yet been invoiced, and whether Shepherd and Wedderburn or any other legal firm has been providing advice on this matter.
Answer
Shepherd and Wedderburn has provided and continues to provide legal advice on contractual and other issues in connection with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) and Flour City International. This includes instructing an agent to make inquiries in the USA. The corporate body is expecting a further report from Shepherd and Wedderburn and the agent, after which I shall write further to the member. No other firm has been providing advice to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on this matter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer what the prospect is of the recovery of losses from Flour City International Inc. and whether any further expenditure on legal expenses to attempt such recovery would be financially worthwhile, detailing the reasons for the position on this matter.
Answer
The legal directorate has instructed Shepherd and Wedderburn to examine the issues and report on the prospects of recovery against Flour City International. A report is expected to be considered by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) within the next two months. The SPCB considers that it has a duty, in the public interest, to examine carefully the prospects of recovery, and to obtain expert opinion, before reaching a final decision on legal action.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether a performance bond was required for each of the works packages let as part of the Holyrood Project; whether such a bond was provided, and whether any claim under any such bond has been made or is under consideration.
Answer
There are a number of mechanisms adopted within the workings of all trade packages, which ensure that the client's interests are suitably protected. The purpose of a performance bond is to provide a limited indemnity for the client from a surety in extreme cases of non-performance. Performance bonds provide, in the event of non-performance, for a recovery of 10% of the contract sum in return for a premium of 1%. The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body sought performance bonds for 33 works packages, on the recommendation of the construction manager. Seventeen bonds were obtained, and of the 16 outstanding, at least eight are no longer required since the perceived risk has passed. No claims have yet been made and none are presently under consideration. Performance bonds are not provided readily by contractors and are usually the subject of prolonged negotiation of terms with a third party surety. To delay a contract due to lack of agreement on the wording of a bond could expose the client to a far greater risk in terms of cost and time than the risk that the bond is trying to protect.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 26 September 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-28270 on 4 September 2002, on how many days during each year for which figures were given the total number of visitors to the public gallery in the chamber exceeded 234.
Answer
The information requested broken down by year is:
| Year | Number of days where visitor numbers exceeded 234 |
| 05/99-04/00 | 511 |
| 05/00-04/01 | 47 |
| 05/01-04/02 | 54 |
| 05/02-07/02 | 11 |
Notes:1. From 1 September; records were not kept before that date.2. The figures show the number of visitors who accessed the public gallery of the chamber but, because access and egress of visitors is a continuous process, it is not possible to identify total numbers in the gallery at any one time.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are dependent upon scallop fishing for their livelihood.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not hold details of people dependent on scallop fishing. However, of the 202 Scottish boats licensed to fish for scallops in 2001, 62 caught no other species.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 25 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the proposals of the Food Standards Agency on a tiered scallop testing regime will have on the future existence of the scallop industry and what steps it will take to ensure that the proposals do not have any adverse effect.
Answer
The Food Standards Agency is preparing a Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will provide a clear assessment of the likely effect of these proposals. Relative to the alternative options of a system based on whole animal testing, the tiered approach should result in larger areas of the scallop fishery remaining open for longer periods, albeit with tight controls on those products which can be placed on the market.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities benefit from a special allowance for rural and island transport needs under their capital funding allocations and how much was paid to each such local authority in each of the last five years.
Answer
The single allocation formula contains special allowances to recognise the special transport circumstance of remote/rural areas. A top-slice (10%) of the roads and transport element of the formula is distributed to island authorities or those authorities containing large island areas to reflect the needs in relation to ferry services, and to rural local authorities to reflect increased needs for bridge strengthening and forest roads. The amount for special transport needs is built into the authority's unhypothecated single allocation. It is not specifically identified for special transport needs. It is entirely up to the local authorities to determine how they spend their allocation across the range of their capital programmes (excluding council housing).The top slice is distributed as follows:
| Council | Percentage |
| Argyll and Bute | 1.25 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 1.5 |
| Eilean Siar | 2.75 |
| Highland | 3.0 |
| Orkney | 0.5 |
| Scottish Borders | 1.0 |
| Total | 10.0 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 24 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the formula for calculating the special allowance for rural and island transport needs gives sufficient recognition of the costs of providing transport services in these areas and what plans it has to increase the allowance for rural and island local authorities in future years or to review the funding formula.
Answer
The single capital allocation formula measures the relative need to spend of each local authority based on statistical indicators for the main capital programmes (excluding council-owned housing) and the total resources made available for local authority capital spending. It is up to each local authority how it spends its total capital resources including any locally-raised resources for example the proceeds of asset sales. There are no plans to review the special transport needs element of the formula. Rural and islands authorities also benefit from revenue grant from the Rural Transport Fund and have received additional capital allocations from the Public Transport Fund. The final round of such allocations will be made in October. Future arrangements for supporting local transport infrastructure projects will be announced in the autumn.
