- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average levy paid by farmers to the Meat and Livestock Commission is.
Answer
Levy is collected at the point of slaughter and paid by abattoir operators to the MLC. Abattoir operators deduct the farmer portion of the MLC levy from the payments they make to farmers for animals purchased. It is therefore not possible for the MLC to calculate the average levy paid by farmers as these records are not held by the Commission.For information, the levy charged per animal is:
| | General | Promotion |
| CATTLE | £2.05 | £2.30 |
| Farmers portion | £1.025 | £2.30 |
| SHEEP | £0.31 | £0.32 |
| Farmers portion | £0.155 | £0.32 |
| PIGS | £0.40 | £0.65 |
| Farmers portion | £0.20 | £0.65 |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of Quality Meat Scotland's performance since its establishment.
Answer
I am encouraged by the progress made by QMS and look forward to the publication of its Strategic Plan. It should be noted that QMS is an industry body which is not directly accountable to the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make representations to the Meat and Livestock Commission on its proposals to increase its levies.
Answer
It is the views of the levy payers which are of paramount importance in any decision to increase levies. I understand that the MLC's consultation process is not yet complete.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a standing committee or forum involving representatives from each of the major supermarket chains in Scotland to discuss matters relating to the food and agriculture sectors.
Answer
I see no need for such a body as I have regular contact with the major retailers over a range of issues impacting on the food and agriculture sectors.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make available funding for child-care or creche facilities to assist in the recruitment of female retained fire fighters.
Answer
It is for fire boards and authorities to determine their own priorities for use of the funding available to them. The strategies referred to in the answer to question S1W-11661 will include means to assist in the recruitment of female retained firefighters.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why the Minister for Rural Affairs was renamed the Minister for Rural Development.
Answer
The portfolio was renamed to emphasise the Executive's commitment to the development of rural areas.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many sea cage fish farming operators have been taken to court by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and what percentage of these cases resulted in a conviction, broken down for each year since the establishment of the agency.
Answer
Information about the number of cases taken to court by the Procurator Fiscal after referral by the agency is not held centrally. However, the agency publishes details of successful prosecutions on its website at:http://www.sepa.org.uk/envdata/prosecutions/
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce compulsory registration for bed and breakfast establishments.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial assistance was made available in each of the last three years for road improvements in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Dundee, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Glasgow and (e) each Scottish parliamentary region and what percentage of the total transport budget for the relevant year each of these figures represents.
Answer
Central government funding for expenditure on local roads forms part of the annual local government settlement. It is for each local authority to decide how much to allocate to local roads. Spending on motorway and trunk road schemes is recorded by individual project and by network management area, not by city or council boundaries. Similarly, data is not held centrally on roads budgets and expenditure by parliamentary region.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the communications received from Aberdeen City Council since 1 January 2001 in connection with current traffic problems in Aberdeen, specifying the date each such communication was sent.
Answer
The Scottish Executive received communications from Aberdeen City Council on this issue on the 3 and 15 January.
