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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: S4W-04956

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the aggregate (a) tonnage and (b) engine power of the pelagic fishing fleet was in (i) 1990-91 and (ii) 2010-11.

Question reference: S4W-05346

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 15 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all egg producers in Scotland are compliant with the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive and, if not, how many producers are non-compliant and what action is being taken to ensure compliance.

Question reference: S4O-00556

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what action the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy is taking to reduce the health impact of air pollution in cities.

Question reference: S4W-04398

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what impacts on benthic invertebrates have been recorded in the areas assessed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT, since they were published.

There have been no surveys of benthic invertebrate populations undertaken in the six weeks since the publication of these reports. SEPA has however a range of data on the benthic invertebrates in the relevant waterbodies. The available data on benthic invertebrates are from surveys undertaken both by SEPA and by marine biologists commissioned by fish farm operators to meet licence condition requirements on self-monitoring.

Question reference: S4W-04394

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the allowable concentration is for sediments of chemicals used in sea lice treatment and what powers are available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency should this be breached.

There is a range of allowable concentrations for the various medicines used as sea louse treatments. Some of these are formal Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), others Probable No Effects Concentrations (PNEC). The standards are as set out in the following table:

Substance	Standard	Comments
Emamectin benzoate	0.763 µg/kg wet weight	Sediment standard, applicable out with the allowable zone of effects of the fish farm
Emamectin benzoate	7.63 µg/kg wet weight	Sediment management trigger-level, applicable within the allowable zone of effects of the fish farm
Emamectin benzoate	2.2 x 10^-4 µg.l^-1.	Water column standard
Teflubenzuron	2.0 µg/kg dry weight	Sediment standard, applicable out with the allowable zone of effects of the fish farm
Teflubenzuron	10.0 mg/kg dry weight	Sediment management trigger-level, applicable within the allowable zone of effects of the fish farm
Teflubenzuron	6.0 ng/l	Water column standard
Cypermethrin	0.41ng/l	Water column standard
Cypermethrin	16ng/l	Water column standard, used as a short term (6hour) regulatory standard.
Cypermethrin	2.2 µg/kg dry weight	Sediment standard
Azamethiphos	250 ng/l	Water column standard, used as a 3 hour regulatory standard.
Azamethiphos	150 ng/l	Water column standard used as a 24 hour regulatory standard
Azamethiphos	40 ng/l	Water column standard used as a 72 hour regulatory standard
Deltamethrin	6 ng/l	Water column standard, used as a 6 hour regulatory standard.
Deltamethrin	330 ng/kg dry weight	Sediment standard

Should an EQS or a PNEC for sea louse chemical be breached following the use and discharge of the substances to treat sea lice at fish farms, SEPA would take various steps to rectify the situation - for example, through a variation of licence conditions limiting the further release of these substances until residue levels reduced to below those identified safe levels.

Question reference: S4W-04400

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the penalty is for non-conformance with the (a) aquaculture industry’s code of good practice and (b) Scottish Environmental Protection Agency's licences for discharge.

The question of any penalties for non-compliance with the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture is not a matter for the Scottish Government. The code is non-statutory and auditing of compliance with its terms, as appropriate, is a matter for industry.

Non-compliance with the conditions in licences issued by SEPA under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 can lead to a number of steps being taken by SEPA. These can include negotiations with the operator to agree remedial actions, the issue of formal warnings, the serving of Enforcement Notices, undertaking variations of the site licence and, if necessary making reports to the Procurator Fiscal with a view to bringing a prosecution.

Question reference: S4W-04395

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations (a) have taken place and (b) are planned regarding the potential terrestrial sources of the chemicals identified in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT.

Prior to publication of the reports, informal investigations took place into other potential sources of the chemicals identified in the reports published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (including forestry agriculture and horticulture uses). No plans for further investigations into these possible sources have been finalised at present. However, SEPA is progressing with plans to investigate the results of the surveys further and any future investigations will be planned with a view to providing evidence of the source of any contamination to facilitate further enquiries and enforcement should that be necessary.

Question reference: S4W-04399

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the aquaculture developments in the areas assessed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT, comply with the aquaculture industry’s code of good practice.

Question reference: S4W-04397

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the 2010 data on the occurrence of chemicals used in sea lice treatments in sediments adjacent to marine fish farms.

Question reference: S4W-04393

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has on the use of unlicensed chemicals to treat sea lice.

Reports recently published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) show residues of various chemical substances in sediments. Some, although not all, of these substances are legitimately licensed as sea louse treatments but the nature of sampling in this case means the analytical results are not sufficient to identify the source of those chemicals nor to link these residues to the unlicensed use of the chemicals for the treatment of sea lice.

Year	Tonnage	Power
1991	18,120	82,850
2011	46,518	116,115