- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 28 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is in favour of establishing Business Improvement Districts.
Answer
We said in Partnership for a Better Scotland that we would work with local authorities to establish Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). We have done that. Following extensive consultation with business and local authorities, we announced in June 2005 that all the recommendations of a working group set up to consider the way forward for BIDs had been accepted. One of those recommendations was to establish pilot BID areas, and work on that front is now well underway.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite representatives from the Mallaig and North-West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers’ Organisation to act as informal advisers to assist it in impending negotiations in Brussels in respect of next year’s west of Scotland nephrops Total Allowable Catch.
Answer
I met with Mallaig and North West Fishermens Association on 10 August 2005 to discuss this year’s December Council. The association was also represented at my meeting with stakeholders in Inverness on 1 September 2005 and at a number of preparatory meetings held at official level. If the association is in Brussels for the December Council then I will be happy to speak to them alongside the other representatives who will be there.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in its review of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, it will consider whether the Act can be extended to cover charities such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), insofar as the RSPB receives public funding in respect of some of its activities.
Answer
The review, and associated public consultation, will consider a number of aspects of the operation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, including the criteria that should be applied in order to designate Scottish public authorities under section 5 of the act. It would not be appropriate for me to prejudge the outcome of the consultation and the review by commenting now on the position of specific organisations.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its earlier refusal, as reported to me, to classify the Inverness Southern Distributor Road as part of the trunk road network and whether it will confirm its support for an Inverness city bypass, connecting the A82 from the west, the A9 from the south and the A96 from the east.
Answer
While Scottish ministers keep the strategic road network under review, there are no current plans to classify the Inverness Southern Distributor Road as part of the trunk road network.
The Inverness Southern Distributor Road is a local road and therefore the responsibility of Highland Council. The Executive has indicated its support to Highland Council in respect of their proposed transport modelling appraisal of the corridor between the A82 and A9 and on to the A96.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is required to meet efficiency targets and, if so, what these targets are and what savings will be achieved by meeting such targets.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is required to deliver efficiency savings as part of the Scottish Executive’s Efficient Government programme. SEPA is required to achieve £2 million of annually recurring cash releasing savings and annually recurring time releasing savings worth £2 million by 2007-08. This represents 6% of SEPAs projected 2007-08 budget.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) can save money by its approach to raising legal actions and whether SEPA believes that all such actions have been necessary.
Answer
SEPA has a duty to consider the costs and benefits of its activities, including the pursuit of enforcement against any breach of an environmental licence. In considering the appropriate enforcement action to pursue, SEPA takes account of the scale of environmental impact, the attitude and response of the person responsible and the history of the activity or site. This approach to enforcement is in line with the principles of the Cabinet Office’s Enforcement Concordat, published in 1998.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to provide a breakdown of the computation of its costs, if SEPA considers that the need to recover its costs is the reason for its proposal to increase the cost of sheep dip permits from £180 to £542.
Answer
The Executive has already received SEPA’s costings which form the basis of the agency’s proposal to increase application charges for authorisations under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake a study into the impact of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and its operations on the rural economy.
Answer
The Scottish Executive undertook a Policy and Financial Management Review of SEPA, which reported in 2003. That study investigated the impact of SEPA’s operations and specifically sought the views of organisations regulated by SEPA, including those in rural areas.
The Executive has no plans to undertake any further study into the impact of SEPA’s operations on the rural economy.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has a policy of seeking an award of its legal expenses in successful legal actions or whether it forfeits or forgoes such expenses.
Answer
This is an operational matter for SEPA. I have asked Dr Campbell Gemmell, Chief Executive of SEPA, to respond to the question direct.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's proposal to increase the cost of sheep dip permits from £180 to £542 is justified and, if not, what action it will take on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has put forward proposals for a charging scheme in relation to authorisations under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005. These proposals are intended to enable the agency to recover its regulatory costs in line with the “polluter pays” principle.
The proposed charging scheme is currently out to public consultation. The Executive will review all responses to the consultation before deciding whether to approve the proposed charges.
