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The Trunk Road Maintenance Contracts require all gritters to be calibrated to ensure that they disperse the necessary quantities of salt. The Performance Audit Group has carried out audits on BEAR's winter operations, including winter maintenance vehicles, and these audits have confirmed that their vehicles have been calibrated to disperse the required quantities of salt.

The Executive expects to receive the Scottish Law Commission's report by the end of March. We will then consider whether any legislation is necessary in the light of the commission's recommendations.

The Standing Orders stipulate that an Official Report shall be provided for all meetings of the Parliament. The question and answer sessions held by the Holyrood Progress Group are not formal meetings of the Parliament and it would not be appropriate, therefore, for an Official Report to be published.A summary of these sessions is provided in the Progress Group's Newsletters, which are issued to all Members and are available on the web. The next Newsletter is due to be published in February. I am also advised by the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that it is the Group's intention to provide a live webcast of future events.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is not party to sub-contracts let by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and does not hold the information requested. This type of information is held by the official receiver.

There have been no losses to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body as a result of "force majeure", following the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Limited.

As with all other trade package contractors taking occupation of the accommodation at the Holyrood site, Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd used the site address for business relating to the Holyrood Project.

Upon wind-up the two Scottish Transport Group pension fund schemes are liable to taxation which is payable to the Inland Revenue. As I announced in Parliament on 29 November agreement has been reached between the Scottish Executive and UK Government that up to £118 million of any sums remaining should now be paid out to members of the Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes by means of ex-gratia payments. These are sums, payable as a lump sum rather than as an addition to pensions, which members of the schemes would not have otherwise been due under the rules which govern the pension schemes. Scottish ministers will distribute the ex-gratia payments as soon as possible after the pension schemes' trustees have discharged their obligation to wind-up the pension schemes. There is no intention that any part of sums paid to the Inland Revenue or HM Treasury, or retained by Scottish ministers to be used in making ex-gratia payments, will be used for a contingency fund against potential legal action.

Generally, the Executive does not provide assistance to MSPs in respect of the drafting of amendments on Private Members Bills. In this instance, the Executive is providing limited assistance on technical matters. All MSPs are free to seek assistance from the Committee Clerk in preparing amendments to the Bill.In response to a question from the Convenor of the Rural Development Committee, (Official Report, 4 December, Col 2576) I said that the Executive would work with you to agree an amendment which defined pest species covered by the Bill. That offer remains available to you.

We recognise the important contribution made by commercial businesses based on outdoor activities to the Scottish economy as a whole and the rural economy in particular. There is no reason why such businesses should not continue to operate as at present following enactment of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. The bill will not diminish any existing rights nor will the fact that an activity is not included within the new access rights mean that it cannot continue as at present. In principle we do not consider it appropriate to provide commercial businesses with a statutory right to use another persons land for their own profit. It is for that reason that we have included section 9 (2)(a) in the bill. The effect of this provision is that the position of commercial businesses in relation to access is unchanged by the bill. In other words, they can continue to have access to land for the purpose of their business, as now, with the consent of the landowner (whether express or implied).Guidance on access by commercial businesses will be set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code following consultation with all interested parties.

Default notices have been issued to BEAR Scotland Ltd in respect of management and operational issues relating to trunk roads. Default notices may impinge on contractual and commercial obligations. Consequently it would not be appropriate to place them in the Parliament's Reference Centre.BEAR's winter maintenance operations on the A9 on the evening of 4 December and early morning of 5 December 2001 have been investigated. There is nothing to suggest that the Operating Company did not meet its contractual obligations and consequently there are no plans to issue a default notice in this regard.