- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 14 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the whisky industry is not faced with any additional costs arising from the water framework directive; what advice it has sought from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on this matter; whether it will publish any correspondence with SEPA on this matter, and, if there has been any communication on the matter between the Executive and SEPA other than by correspondence, whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre copies of all documents constituting the communication.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has stated that the regulatory regimes introduced under the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 will be selective, proportionate and streamlined and SEPA will be required to recover the costs incurred by its new duties by means of charging schemes. Safeguards have been built into the Water Framework Directive and the Water Environment and Water Services Scotland (Act) 2003 to ensure that economic and social issues are taken into account alongside environmental factors in the river basin management planning process. Section 2(4)(a) of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 requires Scottish ministers, SEPA, and responsible authorities to exercise their functions with regard to the social and economic impact of that exercise.The new regulatory regimes will be subject to full consultation and will be accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment. Representatives from the whisky industry will have the opportunity to take part in that consultation. Furthermore, the industry will continue to have opportunities to influence a wide range of Water Framework Directive implementation issues through the Water Framework Directive National Stakeholder Forum, on which whisky industry representatives will sit.The Scottish Executive has consulted widely on issues relating to implementing the water framework directive on a number of occasions. The whisky industry has responded to all consultations and representatives of the Malt Distillers Association and the Scotch Whisky Association attended a national Water Framework Directive conference in March. All responses to consultation, and future consultation are published on the Executive website, unless recipients request that their contribution is treated in confidence.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Keepers of the Quaich and when it will next do so.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has not met the Keepers of the Quaich and no such meetings are planned.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 14 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any documents or papers to which the investigation into the cost of the Holyrood building project, lead by Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, will be denied access and, in particular, whether it will have access to all (a) government papers, (b) of Her Majesty's Government's Cabinet papers and (c) Scottish Executive Cabinet papers on the matter.
Answer
I made clear in my statement on 19 June that Lord Fraser must have access to relevant papers. I am confident that the inquiry will have access to relevant papers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been in contact with (a) Her Majesty's Government and (b) the European Commission in relation to (i) any future possible measure that would have an impact on the competitiveness of the whisky industry and (ii) the taxation regime of the industry in comparison with other forms of alcohol and, in particular, wine.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-928 on 14 July 2003. 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.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government that the level of excise duty on whisky should be reduced.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues affecting the Scotch whisky industry including duty rates, tax differentials and EU minimum rates.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make to (a) Her Majesty's Government and (b) the European Commission that the regulatory burden should take account of the specific needs of the whisky industry.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues including regulations as they affect the Scotch whisky industry. The Executive works to support Scottish businesses where EU and UK policies have an effect on competitiveness, and seeks to ensure that the regulatory burden is kept to a sensible minimum.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by George Reid on 9 July 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S1W-21898 by Sir David Steel on 24 January 2002, on what date the construction managers obtained each document referred to in the answer; from whom they were obtained, and from whom, and on what dates, the construction managers sought credit reference information in respect of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.
Answer
The Construction Managers for the Holyrood project, Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Ltd, have informed the Project Team that all the documents listed in the answer to parliamentary question S1W-21898 on 24 January 2002, were received from Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd, during the prequalification process for the bid list for the MSP Building Cladding package. That process took place in May 2000.Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Ltd have also advised that, as Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd had only been operating in the UK for a short period of time, no published credit references were available.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 2 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost will be of the strategic transport authority referred to by the Minister for Transport during the debate on public transport on 12 June 2003 (Official Report, c 744), broken down by year in respect of which an estimate has been made; how many employees the authority is likely to employ; whether it will be an entirely new body creating new jobs and, if not, which existing body it would replace, either in whole or in part; whether the authority will be located in accordance with the policy on the dispersal of public sector jobs, and what the reasons are for the position on the matter.
Answer
The Scottish Executive will open consultation on our proposals for a strategic transport authority during the summer.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 30 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-571 by Allan Wilson on 18 June 2003, whether it has issued any directions to Scottish Natural Heritage under section 11 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 and, if so, on what occasions and what the directions were.
Answer
No such directions have been issued to Scottish Natural Heritage.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 26 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether cost efficiency has been achieved in the expenditure plans of non-departmental government bodies such as Scottish Water and, if not, what economies will be made.
Answer
Scottish Water is the only public corporation in Scotland. I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-164 on 9 June 2003. 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.All non-departmental public bodies are required to ensure that resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively.
