- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 27 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will instigate studies into the schemes operated in (a) Greece to assist areas outwith Athens and Thessaloniki by the imposition of price ceilings on gasoline, (b) Italy for the areas of Val D'Aosta and Gon'ia where there is a derogation in respect of fuel duty and (c) France in terms of the policies aimed at assisting areas there suffering from low population.
Answer
No. Policy on fuel duty derogations is reserved.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 25 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3743 by Mr Jack McConnell on 24 January 2000, whether it will detail and publish the statistical information referred to as "few exceptions" which would have been included in a 1999 edition of The Scottish Abstract of Statistics.
Answer
The content of The Scottish Abstract of Statistics varied from year to year and no proposals for what would be included in a 1999 edition were developed. The editorial policy for the Abstract is to publish only information which is already in the public domain. The exceptions to which I referred in my previous answer concerned material in the 1998 edition from sources outwith the Executive. We could not readily establish whether the providers of that information had previously formally published it. This would include, for example, some tables in the leisure and tourism section provided by sporting bodies.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 20 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make financial assistance available to independent rural petrol stations in respect of any additional costs in replacing their existing price display boards which may result in the event that petrol prices exceed #1 per litre.
Answer
The Rural Petrol Stations Grant Scheme helps rural petrol stations with the cost of replacing tanks and pumps, meeting groundwater protection needs and installing tanks and dispensers for the sale of Liquid Petroleum Gas. There are no proposals to extend the criteria for the scheme.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 July 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 20 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any correlation between the number of tourists visiting rural Scotland and fuel prices; if so, how many fewer tourists visit rural Scotland as a result of each one pence rise in the price of petrol and, if it does not hold this information, whether it will commission a research study on this topic.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-8565.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 18 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received the Food Standards Agency task force report into meat hygiene inspection charges and, if so, whether it contains recommendations to (a) underwrite the costs of veterinary inspection at low throughput plants and (b) place a cap on charges; what response it will make to such recommendations and others within the report, and whether it will make a ministerial statement on this issue.
Answer
I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the Meat Hygiene Inspection Charges Task Force Report was published on 26 June. The report is available on the FSA website and a copy has been placed in SPICe.
The report recommends that inspection charges for all plants should be no greater than the EU standard charge, irrespective of the actual costs of veterinary inspection in any particular plant. The Scottish Executive in conjunction with other UK Agricultural Departments and the Food Standards Agency are considering the Report of the Meat Hygiene Inspection Charges Task Force. An announcement will be made in due course.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 18 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the planned veterinary supervision levels, in conjunction with the existing Meat Hygiene Service charging arrangements, will cause any closures of small and medium-si'ed local abattoirs and cutting plants; if so, what assessment it has made of the number of any job losses, and what implications will there be for animal welfare, given that, if such abattoirs and cutting plants close, animals will have to be transported over much greater distances.
Answer
Ministers recognise that the increased levels of veterinary supervision may increase cost pressures in parts of the meat industry. No detailed assessment has been made of the additional impact of this particular factor.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 18 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has made or plans to make into the methods by which other EU states provide assistance to rural areas, including motorists and businesses in these areas, to tackle extra costs as a result of (a) higher fuel prices, (b) remoteness of location and (c) distance from market.
Answer
The Executive seeks to keep abreast of developments on rural transport across the EU and elsewhere, whether directly or through the work of others, for example the review by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on support for remote rural areas in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 18 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to reduce or eliminate any burden of extra fuel costs in rural areas upon (a) motorists, (b) hauliers, (c) businesses, (d) local authorities and other public bodies and (e) petrol retailers.
Answer
The Scottish Executive's rural transport and public transport funds are providing significant additional resources to improve transport in rural Scotland. The Executive is currently undertaking an evaluation of the effectiveness of the rural transport fund, which is due to report in October 2000. This will inform decisions on future support for rural transport in this autumn's Scottish Spending Review.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 18 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has sought or obtained on whether providing any state aid, in excess of the de minimis limit, to a proposed Highland Transport Authority for the purpose of the retail sale of petrol and diesel would contravene EU rules on competition and whether it will ensure that this issue is considered in the consultant's report on the issue of a transport authority for the Highlands.
Answer
The purpose of the consultant's study is to examine the case for establishing a Highlands and Islands Transport Authority. Considerations of the role an authority might fulfill on the distribution and sale of motoring fuel must await a decision on whether to establish such a body.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 17 July 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what share of the #280 million additional funding on roads recently announced by the Secretary of State for Transport, Environment and the Regions will accrue to Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive intend to allocate £15.9 million of additional funding to transport. This reflects a Barnett share of the comparable expenditure. This £280 million investment will provide a massive boost to the UK transport infrastructure, improving transport and reducing congestion.
