- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 12 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many road schemes in Scotland are being considered as part of the strategic roads review and whether it will list the schemes.
Answer
Seventeen major road schemes are being considered in the Strategic Roads Review. They are:
A1 Haddington - Dunbar
A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass
A78 Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston Bypass
A8000 Forth Road Bridge to M9
A830 Arisaig - Kinsadel
A876 Kincardine Bridge
A9 Helmsdale to Ord of Caithness
A90 Balmedie - Tipperty
A92 Preston - Balfarg
A96 Fochabers - Mosstodloch Bypass
A96 Keith Bypass
A985 Rosyth Bypass
M74 Northern Extension
M77 Fenwick - Malletsheugh
M8 Baillieston - Newhouse
M8/M6 FastlinkM80 Stepps - Haggs
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 12 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the level of profits made by the following companies which operate in Scotland: Railtrack; rolling stock companies; train operators and freight operators, and if so, what representations it will make.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with Her Majesty's Government, The Office of the Rail Regulator and the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, on issues affecting the operation of the railways in Scotland.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 12 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to publish a map of the European Union showing those areas in respect of which valid derogations have been granted from the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) as areas of high natural dispersion.
Answer
The Scottish Office published a map showing high natural dispersion areas around Scotland in October 1998 and I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Scottish Parliamentary Information Centre. There are no derogations from the requirement for secondary treatment in place for the UK at present. I understand the European Commission has published a map of the European Union showing high natural dispersion areas. There are no derogations shown.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 12 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to seek information from Her Majesty's Government on any derogations from the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) which were sought for areas of high natural dispersion and, if so, whether it will make this information available.
Answer
I understand that Her Majesty's Government submitted an application to the European Commission for a derogation under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive for the discharge from Aberdeen in February 1998. The UK withdrew the application after discussions with the European Commission and other Member States who indicated that they would not support such a proposal.Ireland also sought derogation for more time to implement treatment for two of their discharges although these applications did not relate to areas of high natural dispersion. It also withdrew its proposal following similar discussions.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 11 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to prohibit the use of "upward only" provisions in rent review clauses in commercial leases and, if it has no immediate plans to do so, whether it will consult as to the present and future impact of "upward only" provisions in rent review clauses in commercial leases, in particular with regard to secondary retail locations whose business is affected by the growth in modern shopping centres.
Answer
There are no plans at present to seek to prohibit the use of "upward only" provisions in rent review clauses in commercial leases nor is there an intention to consult on this matter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 11 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend the law relating to the expiry of commercial leases to give tenants the opportunity to continue trading from premises on a new lease after expiry and, if it has no immediate plans to do so, whether it will consult regarding the factors involved in providing more opportunity for tenants of commercial premises to have continuity of trading from the premises they rent.
Answer
There are currently no plans to amend the law relating to security of tenure on the expiry of commercial leases in Scotland, nor do we intend to consult on such matters as these are primarily for individual tenants and their landlords to negotiate when drawing up leasehold contracts.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 8 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will re-examine the scientific or other evidence on which the present biological limits of amnesic shellfish poisoning are based in order to determine whether these limits may safely be lowered.
Answer
The action limit for ASP is set by the EU. The maximum permitted toxin level is set out in EU Directive (97/61/EC) which came into force on 29 October 1997. There are currently no proposals to change the limit.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 7 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-140 by Donald Dewar on 6 July, whether it will define, describe and elucidate the circumstances in which it may be appropriate for the Westminster Parliament to consider legislation about devolved matters.
Answer
The approach taken for a particular piece of legislation will depend on the circumstances of that legislation. The normal expectation is that legislation about devolved matters will be enacted by the Scottish Parliament. Before agreeing to the inclusion of provisions about devolved matters in a UK Bill, the Scottish Executive will wish to be convinced that the advantages of proceeding with a UK Bill justify such an approach. Where necessary the consent of the Scottish Parliament will be sought.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 7 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement the recommendations by Professor Crick and David Millar in "To make the Parliament of Scotland a model for democracy", prepared for the John Wheatley Centre, with regard to the procedures applicable to public appointments.
Answer
Scottish Ministers are committed to ensuring that appointments to public bodies conform to the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Guidance. The Guidance took into account all the recommendations on public appointments made by Lord Nolan and his Committee, and in particular, those referring to independent scrutiny. The Commissioner keeps the Guidance under constant review.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 5 October 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide increased assistance for scientists in charge of monitoring amnesic shellfish poisoning, particularly at this time of year and for increased efforts to identify the root cause of the problem.
Answer
The monitoring programme is undertaken by the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen. The necessary resources to undertake this work are provided by the Scottish Executive. There are no proposals to change the monitoring or research funding arrangements as a result of this incident.The Monitoring and Research programme is routinely reviewed each year, and any necessary changes made to reflect shifts in priorities.
