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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: S1W-00859

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 31 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to study the impact of Scottish film locations as a means of promoting tourism in Scotland.

The Scottish Tourism Co-ordinating Group has issued guidelines to help the tourism industry identify business and marketing opportunities and to capitalise on the film tourism market. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Parliament's library. I will ask the Chairman of the Scottish Tourist Board to provide you with details of the Board's marketing activity associated with films and film locations and I will arrange for a copy of his reply to be placed in the library also.

Question reference: S1W-00519

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 July 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 31 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be responding to the concerns of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland relating to the transfer of lead ministerial responsibility for forestry from the Secretary of State for Scotland to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in London.

Yes, we shall respond to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland by explaining that Scotland's forestry interests receive Ministerial attention fully reflecting the relatively greater importance of forestry in Scotland. Policies on forestry in Scotland will be tailored to meet Scotland's needs.While the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has overall responsibility for forestry issues that affect Great Britain as a whole, such as the control of forest pests and negotiations in the European Union, he will be required to consult Scottish Ministers on such matters. I have already met the English and Welsh forestry Ministers to discuss areas of mutual concern, and I shall ensure that our policies on these issues take full account of Scotland's forestry interests.

Question reference: S1W-00904

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 26 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available to the Parliament copies of background papers on fisheries and related matters prepared for the Executive and, if so, whether it will make them available at the same time as they are made available to Ministers.

Question reference: S1W-00890

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 24 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-367 by Donald Dewar on 2 July, whether it has now received the draft memorandum of understanding and supporting concordats from Her Majesty's Government, whether fisheries will be the subject of a separate concordat, and when the draft memorandum and concordats will be published and presented to the Parliament for endorsement.

Question reference: S1W-00861

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 24 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to record sales of fisheries quota, fishing licences, vessels and entitlement to fishing interests outwith Scotland.

The Scottish Executive holds records of all licensed fishing vessels administered by Scottish ports. These records include any associated Fixed Quota Allocation units, details of catches of quota species and the names and addresses of licence holders, whether resident in Scotland or not. Information on fishing vessels, licences and quotas elsewhere in the UK is obtained where necessary from other UK Fisheries Departments.

There are no territorial restrictions on the transfer of fishing vessels, licences or quota within the UK. This reflects the highly mobile nature of the industry and the stocks they prosecute. The Scottish executive do not collect data on any financial transactions which may be associated with such transfers.The Scottish Executive has no plans to record additional details.

Question reference: S1W-00888

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 24 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the fisheries schemes which have been administered for each of the last ten financial years, the amounts of funds allocated to each scheme for each financial year, the total number of applications received and the total number of successful applications made for each scheme.

During the last 10 financial years fisheries aid schemes were administered under EU Regulations 355/77; 4028/86; 4042/89 and 3699/93. In addition, The Scottish Office operated "back-up" grants schemes which provided the requisite Member State contribution to trigger EU grant aid.

We are unable to provide the precise number of applications for the regulations prior to 1993 but since then 876 applications were received of which 597 were successful.

Measures assisted were vessel construction; vessel modernisation; processing and marketing of fishery produce; promotion of fishery products; fishing port facilities and aquaculture.

Assistance was also available for fishery harbour development works and details are provided separately in answer to PQ No S1W - 863.

The table shows the amounts by which the industry benefited under each Regulation in each of the last 10 years.

EXPENDITURE UNDER FISHERIES SCHEMES FROM 1989/90 - 1998/99

Regulation	89-90	90-91	91-92	92-93	93-94
355/77	849,426	730,306	1,296,606	1,720,788	266,468
4028/86	3,374,925	4,121,099	2,156,423	3,616,942	945,051
4042/89	-	-	-	73,200	2,193,217
3699/93	-	-	-	-	-
Back-up	317,373	331,932	286,206	931,412	585,178
TOTAL	4,541,724	5,183,337	3,739,235	6,342,342	3,989,914

Regulation	94-95	95-96	96-97	97-98	98-99
355/77	204,102	535,707	4,756	-	-
4028/86	1,536,070	2,221,528	839,569	195,290	-
4042/89	2,680,157	2,546,706	249,582	-	-
3699/93	-	1,450,458	3,692,247	2,247,591	2,960,687
Back-up	665,596	870,218	590,571	674,884	526,118
TOTAL	5,085,925	7,624,617	5,376,725	3,117,765 Grand Total	3,486,805 £48,388,389

Question reference: S1W-00867

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by John Home Robertson on 24 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive who represented the Scottish Executive during any discussions relating to the memorandum of understanding and any supporting concordat relating to fisheries drawn by Her Majesty's Government; when these discussions took place; what the venue was for these discussions; whether any minutes were taken, and, if so, whether these minutes will be published.

Question reference: S1W-00868

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make funds available to the universities to develop products out of recyclable waste.

We are committed to increasing recycling where it provides benefits by saving natural resources, reducing energy consumption and waste disposal, and cutting costs to business. While a number of universities are involved in projects in this area, it is a decision for them as to how they commit their resources.On 18 August, I was pleased to launch a new project, REMADE, which is aimed at demonstrating the potential value of materials from recycled waste in Scotland. The £1 million three year market development programme is to be funded jointly by The Scottish Executive, Local Authorities, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Enterprise, Valpak Ltd and landfill tax credits (from Haulwaste and Shanks Waste Solutions). It is intended that the programme will be lead by Caledonian Shanks Centre for Waste Management, a part of Glasgow Caledonian University.

Question reference: S1W-00862

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 23 August 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to increase the level of funding dedicated to research into amnesic shellfish poisoning currently affecting the scallop fishery and whether it intends to investigate the disease testing regime, in particular the time-lag between testing and issuing of results.

There are no proposals to change the research funding arrangements as a result of this incident.

The programme is routinely reviewed each year, and any necessary changes made to reflect shifts in priorities.The time between receipt of samples in the laboratory and the issuing of results is determined by the laboratory procedures required. Whilst automated procedures are used wherever possible, further reductions in testing times are not technically possible.

Question reference: S1W-00860

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 1999
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 23 August 1999

To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body intends to make available any assistance, financial or otherwise, for all-party parliamentary groups.

Clerks are currently preparing draft proposals for the establishment of a scheme to register all party parliamentary groups, to be considered by the Standards Committee. Once such a scheme is in place, the SPCB will be invited to consider what facilities might be made available to registered groups, such as access to meeting rooms in the Parliamentary buildings, and access to catering facilities. An announcement on the arrangements to be put in place will be made in the Business Bulletin in due course.