- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 11 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the Scottish National Rural Partnership are, what its remit is and on what dates it has met.
Answer
The Scottish National Rural Partnership is an advisory body to ministers on rural policy, and exists to promote effective liaison between public, private and voluntary sector interests on rural matters.The partnership, which currently has 17 members, is chaired by a Scottish Executive official. Members, appointed for their own expertise and knowledge of rural issues, are nominated by the following organisations:Confederation of British Industry ScotlandCommunities ScotlandConvention of Scottish Local AuthoritiesFederation of Small BusinessesForestry CommissionHighlands & Islands EnterpriseNational Farmers Union ScotlandScottish Council of Voluntary OrganisationsScottish Crofting FoundationScottish EnterpriseScottish Environment LINKScottish Landowners FederationScottish Natural HeritageScottish Trades Union CongressThe Scottish Agricultural CollegeVisitScotlandThe partnership has met a total of 29 times since 1996. In 2002, it has met twice, on 29 January and 3 May, and a third meeting will take place in early September.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 1 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify under what circumstances it considers it justified not to make a minister available to participate in a Members' Business debate.
Answer
Ministers make every effort to participate in Members' Business debates on subjects for which the Executive is responsible. The Executive may exceptionally conclude that it would not be appropriate in the particular circumstances for a minister to participate. In those cases, ministers would explain clearly why such a decision had been taken.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) provided all relevant scientific evidence to the community of Barra in relation to the proposed designation of the Sound of Barra as a special area of conservation; whether, in determining whether SNH made full disclosure in such a case, it relies solely on information obtained from that body; whether it has established, or will establish, an inquiry into this matter involving the local community in Barra and elected representatives; if no such inquiry will be held, what action will be taken in order to address concerns expressed by the community to the Parliament's Public Petitions Committee on 26 February 2002, and what steps it will take in order to ensure that SNH fully discloses relevant evidence to communities in respect of any proposed designation of an area as being in any way of scientific or environmental interest.
Answer
As is its standard practice, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) provided consultees, including community representatives, with all the scientific evidence relevant to the selection of the Sound of Barra as a possible Special Area of Conservation during it's consultation between September and December 2000.I have no evidence that SNH has withheld any of the relevant information. SNH has also firmly refuted the allegation in its submission to the Petitions Committee.Information in support of site designation was provided on request by the Sea Mammal Research Unit. Additional information on SMRU's 2000 seal count was made freely accessible by SNH to interested parties on request as it became available. I understand that there was one such request and that the information was provided by SNH in response to this request.The Scottish Executive has responded to the Public Petitions Committee's request for information, and has no plans to instigate an inquiry into this matter.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 27 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it carried out any performance assessment process prior to the reappointment of the Chairman of Caledonian MacBrayne; who was consulted in connection with the performance of the current Chairman; whether users of Caledonian MacBrayne or workers of the company were consulted in any way and, if so, whether it will provide details, and whether it will place a copy of any performance assessment record in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
I can confirm that the Scottish Executive carried out a performance assessment of the Chairman of Caledonian MacBrayne before the recent announcement of his reappointment. This was based on significant contact between ministers and the chairman and very frequent contact between senior officials of the Development Department and the chairman over almost three years. A senior Executive official attends every Caledonian MacBrayne Board meeting and, in addition to this, there are further contacts through regular dialogue, meetings and correspondence. The Executive did not consult users or the company's staff prior to re-appointing the chairman nor is that a statutory requirement or a requirement of the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. As with other similar papers associated with any public appointment, details of the performance assessment are confidential.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 27 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any evidence that wind turbines pose any threat to birds and what research it has commissioned into this matter.
Answer
We have no such evidence. Under existing legislation, it is mandatory for developers to detail the environmental impact of their proposals, especially for environmentally significant sites, and propose mitigation measures as part of their accompanying environmental statement. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is of the opinion that studies are helpful at a local level, but it is difficult to apply their conclusions more generally. However, one local five-year study on the Novar windfarm at Inverness registered no significant impact on the bird population.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26523 by Ross Finnie on 7 June 2002, on what evidence the designation of each of the nitrate vulnerable 'ones was based and whether it will publish such evidence in full.
Answer
The monitoring data and scientific evidence on which the nitrate vulnerable zone designations are based can be found in the British Geological Survey Report (BGS) Groundwater nitrate vulnerable zones for Scotland which is available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. Number 18567). It is also available from the BGS website (http://www.bgs.ac.uk/scottishexec) along with a Geographical Information System (GIS) containing individual monitoring site data. A further BGS report on collection of additional monitoring data, Additional groundwater nitrate monitoring sites for Scotland, is also available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 21922).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 25 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received about any proposed meeting between representatives of Highlands and Islands Airport Limited (HIAL) and Ryanair on 19 June 2002; what assistance it will provide to HIAL in order to ensure that there is a successful outcome to any such negotiations on the establishment of new routes from Highlands and Islands airports; in particular, whether it will provide any assistance in respect of landing charges, and what steps it will take to see the growth of air routes and passenger numbers within areas served by HIAL.
Answer
The meeting between Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) and Ryanair on 19 June follows on from a meeting on 25 April about the possibility of the Irish carrier operating from HIAL airports. Meetings between HIAL and its users and potential users are a commercial matter for the airport operator.The Scottish Executive is providing record levels of support to HIAL to maintain the airport infrastructure for essential air services in the Highlands and Islands. This support also allows HIAL to offer substantial discounts on landing charges for new services or increased frequencies which would lead to increased passenger numbers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend the rules governing the safer routes to school fund so that buses in normal service can be diverted from their route in order to transport children to school.
Answer
The Executive has provided financial support to local authorities to assist them to develop Safer Routes to School and Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets projects. Guidance on How to run Safer Routes to School was published by the Scottish Executive in December 1999. There are no plans to amend it.Local authorities receive funding from the Executive through the Rural Public Passenger Transport Grant to subsidise non-commercial rural public passenger transport services.Under section 51 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 education authorities have a duty to make such arrangements as they consider necessary for the provision of free transport or for the provision of other transport facilities for the conveyance of pupils between their homes and their designated schools.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 May 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 21 June 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the statement made by a Parliament spokesman on 10 September 2001 that "we have been aware for a number of weeks through our construction managers (Bovis Lend Lease) of some difficulties within Flour City relating to worldwide financial and management restructuring", on what date the construction managers first provided information of such difficulties; to whom this information was given; what information was provided, and whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will arrange for any relevant details to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
In late July 2001, Bovis Lend Lease advised the Project Team, of financial difficulties emanating from Flour City projects within the far east, and consequential management restructuring to manage the financial situation. The latest position was discussed at the Holyrood Progress Group at their next meeting at the beginning of August, and formally reported to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) at their meeting at the end of that month. The Parliament has received legal advice that documents should not mean time be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre for reasons I have repeatedly given.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any instances where information which would not normally be published for reasons of confidentiality under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information has been published on the grounds that the public interest outweighed the harm or prejudice, or risk or reasonable expectation of harm or prejudice, as specified in Part II thereof and, if so, whether it will detail such instances.
Answer
The Executive does not hold information in the form requested. Information on the operation of the Code of Practice is published annually, and the report for 2001 is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre and on the Executive's website.
