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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-18476

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 5 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the removal of deer fencing and the lack of deer fencing for new forest development encourages the infection of animals from ticks; if so, what effect this may have on increasing the risk of humans catching diseases, such as Lymes Disease, from ticks, and whether the Executive will now ask the Forestry Commission to review its policy on deer fencing.

The Executive has no evidence to suggest that removal or the lack of deer fencing encourages the infection of animals from ticks or increases the risk of humans catching diseases.

The Executive has no plans to ask the Forestry Commission to review the Joint Agency Statement and Guidance on Deer fencing which has been adopted by Forestry Commission Scotland, Deer Commission for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department.

Question reference: S2W-18474

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 5 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the establishment of a long-term transport plan, including proposed major improvements to road, rail, air and sea transport, over the period of 20 to 25 years.

Work is already under way on the development of a National Transport Strategy (NTS) for Scotland which will give a long-term strategic framework for developments in all modes of transport. The NTS will be based on widespread consultation throughout the remainder of 2005 and early 2006 and will be finalised by the middle of 2006.

The NTS will provide the context for our Strategic Projects Review, which will commence before 2007, and will consider and then plan and prioritise Scotland’s major infrastructure investment requirements across all transport modes to 2020 and beyond.

Question reference: S2W-18475

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 5 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will state in any guidelines, guidance or other form of advice or direction to be issued to Regional Transport Partnerships (RTP) that the RTPs should provide, in order of priority, a list of the transport projects to be taken forward in their area.

Question reference: S2W-18607

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the state of monkfish stocks and whether monkfish quotas can be further increased.

With the agreement of the EUFisheries Council, monkfish quotas can be further increased on the basis of a proposalfrom the European Commission to do so.

The most recent scientific assessmentof monkfish stocks is presented in section 4.5.6 of the autumn 2004 Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM) report from the InternationalCouncil for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is publicly available at www.ices.dk.Neither the size of the spawning stock biomass nor the current level of fishingmortality is known.

In response to a special request,ICES’ advice for long-term management of the monkfish stock is presented in Section1.3.3.1 of the spring 2005 ACFM report, also publicly available at www.ices.dk. The long-term advice is to substantiallyimprove the quality and quantity of data collected in the fishery, whilst maintainingexploitation of the stock at its current level, in so far as that can be determined.

A further stock assessment withmanagement advice is expected in October 2005.

Question reference: S2W-18603

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received in respect of the condition of nephrops stocks in the west coast of Scotland; whether Fisheries Research Services has made any recommendation to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas or the European Union that nephrops quotas should be increased this year and, if so, what that recommendation was; whether it will support such an increase, and whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre all the background information and advice it (a) has received and (b) expects to receive on this matter in the run-up to the annual negotiations.

The most recent assessment ofNephrops stocks to the West of Scotland is presented in the October 2003 AdvisoryCommittee on Fishery Management (ACFM) report from the International Councilfor the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is publicly available at www.ices.dk. The next assessment will not be completeduntil the meeting of ICES’ Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management, meeting inCopenhagen in October. The final stock assessment is normally made publicly available,with the corresponding management advice, within seven days.

Fisheries Research Services hasnot recommended an increase in west of Scotland nephrops quotas to either ICES orto the European Union, and does not routinely recommend any quota level: quotasare normally set by managers on the basis of stock assessments and correspondingcatch forecasts, in accordance with the fisheries management objectives for thestocks concerned.

The Scottish Executive does notnormally receive details of the technical and complex components of the preliminarystages of fish stock assessments; these are presented in the final stock assessments,in the relevant ICES working group reports and in the fisheries management advicereceived – all of which are made publicly available on www.ices.dk.

The Scottish Executive does not expect to receive information on the condition of nephrops stocksto the west of Scotland in addition to that which will be made publicly available.

Question reference: S2W-17759

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify the position in respect of employees of Caledonian MacBrayne regarding their security of employment if the company registers offshore for tax purposes and, in particular, whether their (a) security of employment and (b) rights and conditions of employment would be affected by any such change.

Caledonian MacBrayne has advisedits employees that should offshore crewing proceed, the company would ensure thatthere was no financial detriment to any employee as a result of any changes andthat this guarantee would be written into employees’ terms and conditions of employment.CalMac employees would continue to be employedwithin the UK and on UK flagged vessels. As such they would continue to havethe same statutory rights they currently enjoy in relation to their employment suchas rights to redundancy consultation and payments and protection against unfairdismissal.

Question reference: S2W-17758

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft invitation to tender for Clyde and Hebridean ferry services makes any provision in respect of the successful tenderer being liable to pay UK taxes and national insurance and, if not, whether it will consider bids from companies which are registered offshore for tax purposes.

The draft service specification,published for consultation in December 2004, does not make any specific referenceto the liability of the operator of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services in relationto UK taxes and national insurance. If tendering is required, the liability of theoperator of the services to UK tax would be determined according to UK tax law.

If tendering goes ahead the Executivewould be required, by the Maritime Cabotage Regulation, to conclude the contracton a non-discriminatory basis in respect of all community shipowners (as definedby the Regulation). The Executive would not be able to take into account the placewhere a bidder is registered, providing the bidder fulfils the criteria for a communityshipowner

Question reference: S2W-17702

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 25 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recent appointments to the board of the Water Industry Commission, including the post of Chief Executive, were subject to an open and competitive selection process and if so, how many applicants were interviewed for the posts.

The chair and other ordinarymembersof the Water Industry Commission were appointed after an open competition conductedunder guidelines issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland(OCPAS) and in accordance with Schedule A1,paragraphs 3(1) and 5(1) of Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 as amended by theWater Services etc (Scotland) Act 2005. The Chief Executive was appointed by Scottish ministersafter consultation with the chair in accordance with schedule A1, paragraphs 7(2)& (3). Four applicants were interviewed for the chair post and ten for member posts fromtotal applicant numbers of 24 and 93 respectively.

Question reference: S2W-17470

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 8 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether private sector providers of outdoor education consider the level of business rates to be a significant factor in the operation of their business.

Question reference: S2W-17468

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 8 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out a survey to ascertain whether the cost to outdoor education providers of obtaining insurance cover against third party public liability risk of accidents has increased in recent years; whether information will be sought from, or a survey will be carried out of, private sector outdoor education providers on this matter and, if such a survey is to be carried out, whether it will include detailed questions seeking to elicit the amount of cover required in relation to the size and turnover of the business and the level of increase in the annual premiums payable.