- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to recommend to the Scottish Law Commission that it incorporates the issue of long leases of residential property into its seventh programme of law reform.
Answer
I refer Mr Ewing to the reply I gave on 19 July 1999 to his question S1W-00275.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what assurances it has sought and what response it has received from Lloyds TSB regarding the continued presence of Scottish Widows headquarters in Scotland and the continued employment in Scotland of all Scottish Widows employees.
Answer
The First Minister and I met with Scottish Widows to discuss the proposed deal with Lloyds TSB. It is a matter of public record that both Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows, through their press releases, gave assurances that their combined workforce in Scotland of more than 6,000 will be maintained should the deal between the 2 companies be completed. They have also made clear their expectation that further employment would be created in Scotland over time.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 July 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 in so far as it relates to matters within its responsibility.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no plans to review the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 in so far as it relates to devolved matters.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make available details of which local authorities are currently providing free school milk, including details of the extent of this provision and the annual cost in each case.
Answer
Under the Education (Scotland) Act, as amended, all authorities are obliged to provide free school meals, milk or other refreshments for children whose parents receive income support or other income based job seekers allowance. Information on the cost of providing free school milk in schools and the extent of the provision is not collected centrally.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to encourage local authorities to make free milk available to primary school children.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is not intending to do so. Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, as amended, local authorities must provide free milk, meals and other refreshments to children whose parents are entitled to income support or income based job seekers allowance. They have a discretionary power to provide the same to other children.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reform the law relating to long leasehold tenure
Answer
This is an area on which the Scottish Executive would prefer to await recommendations from the Scottish Law Commission before legislating.The Commission has given some attention to leasehold tenure in its 1998 report on Leasehold Casualties (Scot Law Com No 165) and it has recommended in its 1999 report on Abolition of the Feudal System (Scot Law Com No 168) that a maximum length be fixed for long leases of land. New residential leases are already limited to 20 years. However a major review by the Commission of leasehold tenure has been deferred until the Commission could complete reports on the Law of the Tenement (Scot Law Com 162), Abolition of the Feudal System and Real Burdens. Only the last of these is outstanding and a report is expected by early next year.The Commission is currently preparing recommendations to Ministers on its sixth programme of law reform and this is likely to include a review of long residential leases.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 19 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make representations to British Airways with regard to the restoration of a direct air service between Inverness and London Heathrow and whether it intends to ask Her Majesty's Government and the European Commission to make similar representations.
Answer
The Scottish Executive in conjunction with the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions have commissioned a study which is looking at the economic impact of the withdrawal of the air service between Inverness and Heathrow. The study is expected to report later in the summer. We shall consider its findings very carefully before determining our response.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive when it envisages that the proposed bill to abolish the feudal system of land tenure will receive Royal Assent.
Answer
I announced on 30 June that the Scottish Law Commission's draft Bill on the Abolition of the Feudal System would form the basis of legislation to be put to Parliament after the summer recess. It is a matter for the Parliament how the Bill should progress thereafter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 19 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to consult the Federation of Small Businesses in connection with the impending revaluation of non-domestic rates, and the rules and principles to be applied in that revaluation.
Answer
The GB-wide non-domestic rates revaluation, which is to take effect from 1 April 2000, will be carried out by the Assessors in Scotland, in liaison with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in England and Wales. They are statutorily independent of Central and Local Government. Regulations will be required to effect certain elements of the revaluation and all interested parties will be consulted in due course.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted by Her Majesty's Government about the appointment of a new National Governor for Scotland of the BBC and, if so, whether its response referred to candidates' acknowledged political affiliations as a reason to (a) prefer or (b) reject them.
Answer
Scottish Ministers have been consulted about the appointment of the BBC Scottish Governor. The political activities of candidates are declared during the appointments process. The criterion for recommending candidates is their suitability for the particular appointment.
