Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Executive is not aware of any proposals to reduce the number of staff employed by CalMac. The Company is currently negotiating with representatives of employees about the convergence of terms and conditions of Caledonian MacBrayne's sea-going staff, as part of negotiations in relation to their 1999-2000 pay round. Also the company reviews, from time to time, aspects of its operations with a view to improving efficiency. The CalMac Board is currently considering options for the future delivery of its catering services, including retaining the status quo. No final decisions have yet been taken.

A wide range of funding schemes are currently available to small businesses through both the Scottish Executive and the wider Enterprise Network, including the new £12 million Business Growth Fund launched earlier this year. We keep these schemes, and the need for any new initiatives, under regular review as part of our wider policy of support for the small business community.

I met representatives of Highland Council on 4 October 1999 when the issue of bilingual road signs was discussed.

The Scottish Executive continues to work and make announcements about its work throughout the year including during recess. Some announcements are timed to take advantage of topical and high profile events such as Scotland Week in Brussels. Members have the opportunity to engage Ministers on any announcement through Parliamentary Questions and at Question Time every week when Parliament is in session.

I will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) Highland Council's letter to the Scottish Office Minister for Housing, Transport and European Affairs, received in December 1998, my Private Secretary's letter of 20 August 1999 to Highland Council and my letter of 6 October 1999 to the Council conveying my decision on the Council's request to permit the erection of road signs in Gaelic and English.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with H.M. Government on a wide range of issues including the Aggregates Tax.

Historic Scotland submitted a Notification of Proposed Development (NOPD) for the proposed visitor centre to Highland Council in May 1997. The NOPD contained details of the proposed method of disposal of treated waste water including the location of the proposed outfall. Following a public local inquiry approval was given for the project in February 1999. A consultant design team was appointed in April and a formal application was made to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency in August at the earliest opportunity after the necessary design work had been completed.

The estimated average cost of answering Scottish Parliamentary Questions which was provided in previous answers was calculated by asking Departments of the Scottish Executive to take a sample of such questions and to make an assessment of the time spent at each grade on preparing an answer. The standard costs for each grade were then applied, giving an average figure of £100 per question in the sample. Not surprisingly, and for a range of reasons, there were significant variations in the cost per individual question. As has been explained in my responses to previous questions on this issue, this was a preliminary exercise, based upon a relatively small sample and was intended specifically to provide a broad indication of costs quickly to members who had asked for that information. That is why we have undertaken to provide a better and more comprehensive assessment of the costs of answering Scottish Parliamentary Questions, based on a larger sample.

On 4 November I announced to Parliament that, after extensive consultation, the Executive would not legislate in the forthcoming Transport Bill to permit motorway or trunk road charging on existing roads. Our proposals to allow local authorities, subject to the consent of the Executive in each case, to introduce local road user charges and workplace parking levies will still feature in that legislation, and this is entirely consistent with the original announcement which stated that we would undertake road user charging only where it was sensible to do so.

The Scottish Executive is unable to confirm the estimate of the cost to the pig industry of compliance with the regulations to eradicate BSE. Any such estimates depend on a range of assumptions relating to costs and market returns.

A number of research projects on BSE and pigs have been carried out. Whilst not all of these experiments are complete, there is no evidence that BSE can be transmitted orally to pigs.The Scottish Executive remains of the view that it is in Scotland's interests to maintain vigorous and effective controls to eradicate BSE.