- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 14 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30423 by Ross Finnie on 1 November 2002, whether it will give a brief analysis of each response to its consultation on technical conservation measures for the scallop industry, showing (a) the name of the individual or body responding to the consultation, (b) the date of the submission, (c) a short synopsis of the content of the points made in the submission and (d) whether the respondent supported or opposed a weekend ban; if so, whether it will do so before any statutory instrument on this matter is laid before the Parliament, and whether it will ensure that the Rural Development Committee has an opportunity to consider fully such an analysis before any such instrument is laid.
Answer
No; the responses, except those which are confidential, are publicly available in the Scottish Executive Library, K-Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 13 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what follow-up action is taken to encourage and assist the return of application forms in respect of ex-gratia payments from the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes.
Answer
We will be making a further effort to trace all the individuals who have not replied using the Department of Works and Pensions tracing service.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 13 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider the decision to restrict ex-gratia payments to widows or widowers of members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes that died before 18 December 2002 to 50% of the amount that their spouse or partner would have received in order to extend to such widows and widowers the entitlement to 100% of such amounts, currently available to the widows and widowers of members of the schemes that died on or after 18 December 2002, and, if it will not reconsider the decision, what the rationale is for making payment of the whole amount to some widows and widowers and 50% of the payment to others.
Answer
I refer the member to my letter of 9 August 2002 to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee (PE500). I understand that a copy of my letter has been passed to the member by the convener for his information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 13 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5716 by Lewis Macdonald on 10 October 2002, whether there were any significant differences between the Scottish Transport Group (STG) and National Bus Company (NBC) pension schemes and, in particular, whether (a) the STG scheme members (i) worked for more years and (ii) made more contributions than NBC scheme members and (b) the surplus of the STG schemes was larger pro rata than that of the NBC schemes and, if this is not the case, what conclusions it has reached in respect of each of these matters.
Answer
I refer the member to my letter of 12 June 2002 to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee (PE500). I understand that a copy of my letter was passed to the member by the convener for his information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 13 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5716 by Lewis Macdonald on 10 October 2002, whether it will make any further representations to Her Majesty's Government for the granting of a concession by the Inland Revenue to allow ex-gratia payments in respect of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes to be made as tax-free lump sum payments, given that the Inland Revenue has allowed tax-free lump sum payments to members of the National Bus Company pension scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to my letter of 1 November 2002 to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee (PE500). I understand that a copy of my letter has been passed to the member by the convener for his information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 12 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will list, for each works package under the Holyrood project where no performance bond was obtained, (a) the name of the company awarded the contract, (b) details of the work involved, (c) the total value of the contract as awarded and (d) whether there was any other form of protection other than a performance bond required from the party awarded the contract such as a parent company guarantee; if so, whether it will detail what protection was to be obtained and whether it was obtained and, where no form of protection was required, on what basis that decision was reached.
Answer
My answer to question S1W-30170 on 16 October 2002, explained that negotiations on trade contracts for the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood are carried out on a commercially confidential basis, and that it would not be appropriate to name publicly those contractors who have yet to provide a performance bond. The same principle applies to all contractors and I am therefore unable to list those contractors, or provide any of the associated information requested, on this occasion.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it stands by the statement in its announcement on 22 August 2002 by the Minister for Environment and Rural Development on proposals for the protection of the scallop industry that a majority of the scallop industry supports its proposals
Answer
In my statement of 22 August, I did not say that a majority of the scallop industry supported our proposals for scallop conservation. I said that a majority of the industry supported our proposals. That reflected the fact that our consultation exercises were addressed to the Scottish fishing industry as a whole, not just to scallop fishermen, and that the responses showed the Scottish fishing industry as a whole to be supportive of our proposals. I stand by this interpretation of the responses to our consultation exercises, and by the need for additional conservation measures. However, what has since become clear is the strength of opposition from parts of the scallop sector in particular. That is something on which I am reflecting in my continuing discussions with the Rural Development Committee.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 11 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received on why no submission was made to the European Commission from the UK to receive a share of its financial package to fight transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) and other animal diseases in the EU in 2003.
Answer
EU legislation requires member states to submit applications for such funding by 1 June. The Executive is aware that due to an administrative oversight a submission from the UK was not submitted by that deadline. Administrative procedures have been amended to avoid a repetition in the future. Discussions are currently under way with Commission officials to establish whether there is any scope to consider an EU contribution to the 2003 TSE surveillance programme costs.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 11 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to alter the current rule that registration of children for dentistry services under the NHS lasts for only 15 months and whether it will amend the rule so that a child remains registered as a patient with a dental practice until he or she reaches adulthood.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no current plans to alter the 15-month NHS registration period with a dentist.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 7 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body considers that there is scope for savings in the expenditure of the Office of the Presiding Officer and, if so, whether any such savings can be made in respect of the expenses relating to the (a) Presiding and Deputy Presiding Officers and (b) staff of the Office of the Presiding Officer.
Answer
No.
