- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what its budgetary projections are for financial support to sea fisheries for each of the next two years, showing the percentage allocated to (a) enforcement, (b) decommissioning schemes, (c) Fisheries Research Services and (d) other purposes.
Answer
The information requested is set out in the following table. In compiling the data, "enforcement" has been taken to mean spending by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. A detailed breakdown of figures on "sea fisheries" is not readily available: data will include some expenditure which may not be related to that. To allow proper year-on-year comparisons, all numbers are on a cash basis.
| 2003-04Budget(£ Million) | 2004-05Plans(£ Million) |
Enforcement | 13.4(14.3%) | 14.2(32.5%) |
Decommissioning and Transitional Aid | 50.0*(53.4%) | Nil |
Fisheries Research Services | 16.9(18.1%) | 16.4(37.5%) |
Other | 13.3(14.2%) | 13.1(30%) |
Total | 93.6 | 43.7 |
Note:*The 2003-04 Budget presented to the Parliament makes no provision for this spending, which will be made during 2003-04 in a Revised Budget, but the planned spending on the schemes is included here for completeness.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of track record was decommissioned during previous decommissioning schemes and whether this level was equal to the total level accounted for by the vessels included in such schemes prior to being decommissioned.
Answer
Departmental records are only available for the last decommissioning scheme in 2001. At the end of this scheme, 98 vessels had been decommissioned and the licences associated with these vessels contained 317,151 FQA units.However, these FQA units were not decommissioned along with the vessel. Once these licences had been surrendered, the licence-holder was given up to three years to transfer these FQA units to other vessels.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of track record has been allocated to former fishing vessels whose owners surrendered their fishing licences under the 2001 decommissioning scheme and how much this track record is currently worth on the open market.
Answer
At the end of the 2001 decommissioning scheme, 98 vessels had been decommissioned and the licences associated with these vessels contained 317,151 FQA units.The department does not maintain records of the value of FQA units.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what European funding programmes are available to organisations in Scotland.
Answer
There are four Structural Funds available in Scotland:The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) primarily supports productive investment, infrastructure and SME development. The Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF-Guidance section) supports measures for the adjustment of agricultural structures and rural development. The European Social Fund (ESF) supports measures to promote employment (education systems, vocational training and recruitment aids). The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) supports measures for the adjustment of structures in this sector, and the "accompanying measures" of the common fisheries policy. These are made available through geographically defined programmes - the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme, the three Objective 2 programmes (East, West and South of Scotland) and Objective 3 which supports training activities outwith the Highlands and Islands area.In addition to these there are four community initiatives, which are worth around 5% of the 2000-06 Structural Fund budget and are pilot projects/test beds for activity which, if effective is then mainstreamed into the larger funds:Interreg III: Cross-border, transnational and interregional co-operation.Urban II: Regeneration of urban areas in crisis. (Port Glasgow and Clydebank South)LEADER+ : Rural development through innovative local projects.EQUAL : Combating discrimination and inequalities in connection with the labour market.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the take-up level is of European Union (EU) grants, expressed as a percentage of total EU grants available and what information it holds on take-up of such grants by (a) other regions and nations within the United Kingdom and (b) EU member states.
Answer
The extent of take up of European Structural Funds by other UK regions is a matter for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Trade and Industry and the European Commission. Take-up by other member states is a matter for the European Commission. The Commission monitors progress and reports to member states through the Committee for the Development and Conversion of the Regions, which is attended by Scottish Executive officials.Take-up is measured by the so-called "N+2" regulation, under which money has to be spent within two years of allocation by the Commission. So far as the 1994-99 programmes are concerned, where project activity finished at the end of 2001, final reports will be considered by the Commission over the coming months. For the 2000-06 programmes, the first test of take-up was at the end of last year, where the majority of Objective 1 and Objective 3 Programmes had to report financial performance against allocations. Again, the information is currently being considered by the Commission.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of how much funding would be required to purchase all track record and entitlement currently allocated to vessels known to have been decommissioned and, if so, how much it estimates this figure to be.
Answer
The department does not maintain records of the value of FQA units. Consequently, no assessment has been made.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 25 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the new arrangements for prisoner escort duties will be in place and what level of resources this will free up in the prison service.
Answer
A tendering exercise is currently under way. Subject to the progress of discussions with tenderers, a decision is expected in the summer of 2003. The resources freed up for the criminal justice system will depend on the outcome of the tender process.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to the rates relief scheme for the white fish industry announced on 11 March 2003.
Answer
The maximum cost to the Executive is estimated at £1.8 million. The actual costs will depend on decisions made by local authorities on the applications for hardship relief.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 21 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any representatives from the fish processing sector on the Seafish Industry Authority and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.
Answer
The processing sector is currently represented on the board of the Sea Fish Industry Authority by Mr Iain MacSween and Mr Jeff Evans. The eight industry members of the board are appointed to represent interests across the sea fish industry, striking a careful balance of geographical and sectoral representation. Mr Danny Couper of the Scottish Fish Merchants Federation was appointed for a three-year term on 1 April 2000, but resigned on 21 May 2001. Fisheries ministers appointed Mr MacSween as his replacement.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 March 2003
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 21 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to the latest proposals regarding the future of the Scottish Agricultural College's Aberdeen campus at Craibstone and, in particular, whether it plans to allow the proposals to proceed unchallenged.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34655 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.