- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence will be made available to the Standards Committee in relation to the Observer reports of 26 September 1999 and whether it will seek to exclude, restrict or otherwise limit the production of such evidence by virtue of reliance on the Code of Freedom of Information and, if so, whether it will specify which provisions of the Code are being relied upon and for what reasons.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to S1W-1727.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will specify the criteria which are used to determine in what circumstances Ministers will agree to a meeting with (a) MSPs of the Labour Party (b) MSPs of the Liberal Democrat Party (c) MSPs of other parties (d) special interest groups and (e) lobbyists of clients, and state whether there is any guideline as to the time within which such meetings can be arranged.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to S1W-1727.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what contact there has been between members of the Executive and Beattie Media, including its employees, in relation to (i) freight shipment rights at Prestwick Airport, (ii) development on the Lomond Shores Centre at Loch Lomond, (iii) any development within the constituency of Brian Wilson MP and (iv) youth soccer academies.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer I gave to Dennis Canavan (S1W-1708).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will, pending the outcome of any investigation by the Standards Committee into the reports by the Observer newspaper of 26 September 1999 regarding Beattie Media, (a) instruct the company that they may not enter any Scottish Executive office, (b) give an undertaking that it will not meet with Beattie Media and (c) request Beattie Media that it will not seek to influence the Executive on any matter.
Answer
In their statement of Sunday 26 September Beattie Media indicated that they had no, and would wish no, influence over ministers. I would expect the company to maintain that stance.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that public funds should be used by public bodies for which it is responsible in the engagement of the services of lobbyist organisations or companies and, if so, for what purpose or purposes and why such services cannot be carried out by others already in the employ of the public sector.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to S1W-1727.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what contact members and staff of the Executive have had with the Observer newspaper regarding the reports of 26 September 1999 and in particular whether there was any such contact with the newspaper before 26 September and, if so, whether it will specify the dates such contact took place.
Answer
I refer the Member to my statement to Parliament today concerning Beattie Media and professional lobbying firms.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will instruct or request that all public bodies for which it is responsible, including Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies, make available to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of any monies which have been paid, are due, or may become due to any lobbyist organisations or company.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to S1W-1727.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 30 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that self-regulation by lobbyist organisations is adequate and if so, whether it will make a statement justifying its position.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to S1W-1727.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take steps which would permit salmon farmers to obtain insurance cover for stocks destroyed by the Diseases of Fish (Control) Regulations 1994 (S1 1994/1447).
Answer
The insurance industry has indicated that it is not prepared to provide cover for Infectious Salmon Anaemia so long as EU legislation dictates immediate intervention by Government and compulsory slaughter of all fish when disease is confirmed.We are exploring the possibility of greater flexibility in the rules which might, over time, provide the incentive for involvement by the insurance industry.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the total annual value of the Scottish salmon farming industry's output and also the export value.
Answer
The turnover of the Scottish salmon farming industry in 1997 was estimated to be £265m by farmers and £243m by processors. Around 40 per cent of production is exported.
