- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in relation to the introduction of the national concessionary travel scheme for older and disabled people.
Answer
The national free bus schemefor older and disabled people is on track for introduction in April 2006.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the value of spring salmon angling is to the economy.
Answer
The report The Economic Impact of Game and Coarse Angling in Scotland estimated that salmon and sea trout anglers spend some £73.5 million per year. No figures are available to break this down further, but it is recognised that spring salmon angling forms a significant proportion of this angler spend.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports salmon netting.
Answer
We will continue to support any legal and sustainable form of fishing including salmon netting.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre all documents relating to any Statutory Instrument regarding salmon fishing and netting on the Esk rivers, including all correspondence, including enclosures and attachments, with the Esk District Salmon Fishery Board and all information relating to (a) the level of salmon stocks and (b) compensation payments.
Answer
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive which district fishery boards are seeking to introduce measures for the conservation of salmon and whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre all correspondence and associated documents with each board on that issue.
Answer
Applications for Salmon Conservation Regulations have been received from the Esk District Salmon Fishery Board and the Annan District Salmon Fishery Board. Measures for the conservation of salmon under other provisions in the legislation, such as changes to annual close time, baits and lures regulations, have been implemented in response to applications from 24 District Salmon Fishery Boards throughout Scotland since the late 1970s. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact a mandatory catch and release scheme for salmon angling would have on tourism, particularly in relation to visitors from abroad.
Answer
The proportion of the total Scottish salmon angling catch that is subsequently released has risen year on year from 8% in 1994 to 55% in 2003. The adoption of the practice is therefore growing and widely practised. The report, The Economic Impact of Game and Coarse Angling in Scotland, published in March 2004, estimated that 47% of angler days fished and 66% of angler expenditure was attributable to non-Scottish visiting anglers. It is likely, therefore, that a high proportion of visiting anglers practise catch and release.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide full details in respect of all outstanding claims from each valuer who acted for its Environment and Rural Affairs Department in respect of the foot and mouth disease outbreak.
Answer
The resolution of all outstanding claims arising from the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 is a matter for Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs with whom the valuers have a contractual relationship.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has identified £3 million in the budget for 2005-06 and £5 million for each of the following two years for the Timber Transport Fund; if so, whether criteria governing grants from the fund have been devised; whether the timber industry, in particular the private timber industry, will be consulted on such criteria and, if so, how; whether there will be any flexibility built in to the rules governing the funds; whether the rules will cover the costs of providing sea access for timber transport and, if so, what provision will be made for grants or other means of defraying the cost of lifting equipment, and whether, given the public sector's commercial involvement in the timber industry, the Forestry Commission should be the final arbiter in respect of any decision.
Answer
As announced last October, the Scottish Executive has allocated £13 million overthe next three years for the Strategic Timber Transport Fund. £3 million hasbeen allocated for 2005-06 and £5 million for each of the following two years.
Forestry Commission Scotland has been working closely with the Timber Transport Forum to produce the criteria governing the Strategic Timber Transport Fund. These have now been agreed and will be published shortly.
It is not our intention to use the fund to finance investment on items like seaaccess equipment, which could be assisted by other methods such as the FreightFacilities Grant. I would expect the fund to complement other work by forexample; providing in-forest road links to port or rail facilities that takepressure off fragile roads or reduce disruption to rural communities.
It is entirely appropriate that Forestry Commission Scotland, as the Executive’s Forestry Department, remains the final arbiter in respect of any decision. However, whilst the Commission will administer the fund and take final decisions regarding applications, the Timber Transport Forum and Regional Timber Transport Groups may also be asked for their advice on certain applications. I am delighted that the various organisations involved in the Forum agreed to help with this important work and that they managed to agree the criteria and procedures so quickly.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 28 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether it is possible for the handcuffs used by Reliance staff to be purchased, complete with keys, on the internet and whether Reliance staff are required to purchase these handcuffs.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
A wide range of security equipment used by the Scottish Prison Service and others is available on the open market including on the internet. The manner in which Reliance staff are equipped to discharge their responsibilities, is entirely a matter for the company.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 31 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Local Government and Transport Committee on 19 January 2005, what the reason is for the discrepancy between the number of Network Rail employees provided by Network Rail and the number of employees provided by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union; whether the figures can be reconciled and, if so, how that reconciliation can be achieved.
Answer
Information regarding the number of Network Rail employees is a matter for Network Rail.
