- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 22 January 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether any losses to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body following the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Limited are considered to have arisen as a result of force majeure.
Answer
There have been no losses to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body as a result of "force majeure", following the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Limited.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 22 January 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21035 on 3 January 2002, whether Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd used the Holyrood site as its business address.
Answer
As with all other trade package contractors taking occupation of the accommodation at the Holyrood site, Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd used the site address for business relating to the Holyrood Project.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 22 January 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21034 on 3 January 2002, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will provide a list of the sub-contractors of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and a list of the sums of money claimed by each sub-contractor as due to them by Flour City.
Answer
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is not party to sub-contracts let by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and does not hold the information requested. This type of information is held by the official receiver.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 December 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 21 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will not afford any assistance to MSPs, in particular with the drafting of amendments, in respect of Stage 3 of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
Generally, the Executive does not provide assistance to MSPs in respect of the drafting of amendments on Private Members Bills. In this instance, the Executive is providing limited assistance on technical matters. All MSPs are free to seek assistance from the Committee Clerk in preparing amendments to the Bill.In response to a question from the Convenor of the Rural Development Committee, (Official Report, 4 December, Col 2576) I said that the Executive would work with you to agree an amendment which defined pest species covered by the Bill. That offer remains available to you.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 August 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 21 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the justification is for the proposed distribution of the surplus of #250 million from the Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes and whether part of the distributed surplus is to be used for a contingency fund in respect of indemnities against the risk of legal action based on the actions of trustees and, if so, whether in the event that there are no successful claims against that contingency fund, it will be the subject of a subsequent distribution to Scottish Transport Group pensioners.
Answer
Upon wind-up the two Scottish Transport Group pension fund schemes are liable to taxation which is payable to the Inland Revenue. As I announced in Parliament on 29 November agreement has been reached between the Scottish Executive and UK Government that up to £118 million of any sums remaining should now be paid out to members of the Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes by means of ex-gratia payments. These are sums, payable as a lump sum rather than as an addition to pensions, which members of the schemes would not have otherwise been due under the rules which govern the pension schemes. Scottish ministers will distribute the ex-gratia payments as soon as possible after the pension schemes' trustees have discharged their obligation to wind-up the pension schemes. There is no intention that any part of sums paid to the Inland Revenue or HM Treasury, or retained by Scottish ministers to be used in making ex-gratia payments, will be used for a contingency fund against potential legal action.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations it has made into the importance to the rural economy of the continuation of commercial businesses that depend and rely on access to land, such as instructors and guides for rambling, mountaineering or other outdoor pursuits; whether exclusion from access rights under the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill in respect of the activities of such businesses would be damaging to the economy, and whether the drafting of the bill, and in particular of section 9 (2) (a), is intended to result in such exclusion.
Answer
We recognise the important contribution made by commercial businesses based on outdoor activities to the Scottish economy as a whole and the rural economy in particular. There is no reason why such businesses should not continue to operate as at present following enactment of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. The bill will not diminish any existing rights nor will the fact that an activity is not included within the new access rights mean that it cannot continue as at present. In principle we do not consider it appropriate to provide commercial businesses with a statutory right to use another persons land for their own profit. It is for that reason that we have included section 9 (2)(a) in the bill. The effect of this provision is that the position of commercial businesses in relation to access is unchanged by the bill. In other words, they can continue to have access to land for the purpose of their business, as now, with the consent of the landowner (whether express or implied).Guidance on access by commercial businesses will be set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code following consultation with all interested parties.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of section 9 (2) (a) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill; what consultation there has been with the Scottish Outdoor Recreation Network, the Ramblers Association and any other interested groups in connection with this provision; whether there was adequate consultation in respect of the provision, and whether it will delete or amend the provision in order to allow access rights for instructors and guides for rambling, mountaineering or other outdoor pursuits and to ensure that there is access to their classes and other services that they provide in respect of such activities.
Answer
The draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill was the subject of extensive consultation with a wide range of interests in the course of 2001. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-21336 on 17 January 2002, concerning the purpose of Section 9 (2)(a) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19934 by Lewis MacDonald on 19 December 2001, whether any default notices have been issued to BEAR (Scotland) Ltd; if so, whether it will give details of each such notice and place copies of them in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and whether any default notices have been or will be issued in respect of any failure of BEAR (Scotland) Ltd to maintain the A9 in a safe condition on the evening of 4 December and early morning of 5 December 2001.
Answer
Default notices have been issued to BEAR Scotland Ltd in respect of management and operational issues relating to trunk roads. Default notices may impinge on contractual and commercial obligations. Consequently it would not be appropriate to place them in the Parliament's Reference Centre.BEAR's winter maintenance operations on the A9 on the evening of 4 December and early morning of 5 December 2001 have been investigated. There is nothing to suggest that the Operating Company did not meet its contractual obligations and consequently there are no plans to issue a default notice in this regard.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 15 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to his answer to question S1W-20307 on 12 December 2001, when, or within what timescale, Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd should have provided a Performance Bond; what specific obligations the bond was to cover; what attempts were made to secure compliance with the contractual requirement to provide a bond, and when, and by whom, any such attempts were made.
Answer
The contract with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd specified that a Performance Bond should be provided within 10 working days of the contract being completed as a deed. The contract was signed on 1 August 2001 and the Performance Bond was therefore requested by 15 August 2001.The Performance Bond should have covered 10% of the full contract value in the event that Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd were unable to fulfil their contract obligations.Verbal requests to the contractor for provision of a Performance Bond were made, initially, by the Construction Managers, Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Limited, by telephone and at package meetings. This was followed by the issue of a Notice Of Failure, specifically referring to the failure to provide a Performance Bond, on 30 August 2001 by the Holyrood Project Team. Ultimately, stipulations were also made at meetings with the President and Chairman of Flour City International Inc. by the Holyrood Project Team. This activity all took place between June and October 2001.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 December 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 January 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18626 by Lewis MacDonald on 28 November 2001, on what date the value of each Scottish Transport Group pension fund at 31 March 2001 will be available; what the estimate is of the value of each fund at 31 March 2002, and whether any increases in the value of each fund following 31 March 2000 will accrue to the fund members or to Her Majesty's Government.
Answer
Publication and timing of publication of the Report and Accounts for both Scottish Transport Group pension schemes, which detail the scheme balances, are matters for the Trustees. The Scottish Transport Group Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2001, which will include a reference to the net surplus in the pension schemes, were presented to the Scottish Parliament on 14 December 2001. No estimates have been made by the Executive of the funds as at 31 March 2002.Under the rules of the schemes the sums remaining in the pension schemes on wind-up fall to the UK Exchequer. As I announced in the Parliament on 29 November, Scottish ministers have secured for distribution the full amount of the estimated increase in the net surplus between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2001, an additional £18 million, by agreement with Treasury Ministers.