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Highland Council wrote in December 1998 to the Scottish Office Minister for Housing, Transport and European Affairs requesting permission to erect road signs in Gaelic and English throughout its area.

No decision had been reached on the request prior to 1 July 1999, when the Scottish Executive assumed its full powers. I considered the matter and instructed my Private Secretary to write to Highland Council indicating that I was not minded at that time to grant this permission. That letter issued on 20 August.Following representations from and useful discussions with Highland Council on 4 October I decided to permit the Council to erect bilingual directional traffic signs on local roads throughout its area. I wrote to the Council to that effect on 6 October.

There are no plans to introduce such legislation. In addition to the powers to appoint curators ad litem in specific circumstances provided for in primary and secondary legislation including the Rules of Court, Judges and Sheriffs have an inherent common law power to make such an appointment where it appears to them that the litigant is incapable of conducting litigation on his or her own behalf.

At September 1998, a total of 2,672 people were employed in quarrying in Scotland. The table indicates how this figure is broken down in respect of the Regions.

Area	Total Employed
Borders	66
Central	109
Dumfries and Galloway	250
Fife	217
Grampian	338
Highland	434
Lothian	195
Strathclyde	749
Tayside	150
Orkney Islands	36
Shetlands Islands	60
Western Isles	68
Scotland	2,672

Notes

1. The above Figures are compiled from 1998 data prepared by the Office for National Statistics (Primary Production Mineral - Extraction in Great Britain - PA1007). The figures show the number of persons employed directly and indirectly during the week ended 5 September 1998 (or in the nearest normal working week) who were subject to the provisions of the Mines and Quarries Acts 1954 and 1969.
2. The table includes a Scottish total of 76 employed in Peat extraction, 34 employed in Ore and other minerals extraction, and 53 in extraction of clays and shale. The totals employed include drivers of internal and external haulage and other vehicles, and contractors employed in drilling, blasting and plant installation. The figures do not include employment associated with the coal industry.

While the above figures relate to employment in all types of quarrying, not all material quarried will be subject to a potential aggregates tax.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.