- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) raven, (b) bu''ard and (c) dotterell population was in each of the past five years and what the predicted populations are for each of the next five years.
Answer
The information sought is either unavailable or not available in the requested format, and is not held centrally by the Executive. The following estimates and commentary have been supplied by Scottish Natural Heritage or derived from published sources.Raven and Buzzard:There is no national population census for ravens or buzzards either on a Scottish or UK basis. However, both species are monitored through the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) published by the British Trust for Ornithology, Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which provides population trends for a range of common and widespread birds. The latest available data is derived from the 1999 BBS which covers the period 1994-99. During this period the abundance of buzzards in Scotland increased by 44%, with ravens showing a 19% rise. The BBS analysis records only the increase in buzzards as a statistically significant change.Dotterel:The latest UK population estimate for the dotterel, which is based on a 1999 survey, was 630 breeding males, of which all but one was in Scotland and only two outwith the Highlands. Such estimates are not prepared annually and no census data is available for the period requested.General:Estimates of future population levels of birds are not normally made. This is because of the impracticality of predicting the influence of external factors, such as the weather, on breeding success.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what methods Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) proposes to use to eradicate mink from the Western Isles; what alternative methods were considered; why these alternatives were discounted; whether the methods chosen will be adequate and, if not, what plans it has to enhance them; how it will ensure value for money in the #1.65 million public funding for the Hebridean Mink Project, and whether it has any plans to consider combining the proposed methods of SNH with those used by the Icelandic Government to remove mink from the vicinity of their eider farms whereby dogs are used to locate individual animals at which point they are removed by either shooting or digging out.
Answer
This is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage and I have asked that they respond to you accordingly.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 12 December 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-19154 on 14 November 2001, what the name was of the parent company who provided the guarantee; whether the guarantee was to have been given by a particular time or date; what obligations the guarantee covered, and whether the guarantee included a provision in respect of a liability for any monetary sum, and, if so, what that sum was.
Answer
The Parent Company Guarantee was provided by Flour City International Inc and was requested due to the failure of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd to provide a Performance Bond. No deadline was given for the provision of a Parent Company Guarantee. The Parent Company Guarantee covered any breach of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd's obligations or duties under the contract. The guarantor would then, without delay, procure the remedying of any breach of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd's obligations, failing which, the guarantor would pay to the employer and/or assign the amount of losses, damages, costs and expenses which may be incurred by the employer, by reason of any default on the part of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd. No monetary sum can yet be attributed to any breach of contract by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 12 December 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer whether accelerated weathering tests will be carried out on the laminated wood and completed window units which were to be supplied by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd; which company will conduct any such tests, and whether any unsatisfactory test result will reduce the sum paid to Flour City for the units and, if so, by how much.
Answer
Following liquidation, Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd will not supply laminated wood and completed window units for the new Parliament building. The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has confirmed that the successful supplier of the windows element of the cladding package will be responsible for the provision of materials and units, weather tested to approved standards, however they are constructed. If laminated wood were to be selected, accelerated weather testing would be required.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 12 December 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-18872 on 12 October 2001, whether all the timber supplied by the businesses named in that answer has been received and whether all this timber was supplied to the required quality and specification.
Answer
The timber is being held by the suppliers ready for collection for kiln drying. The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that the timber was procured in accordance with the specification.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what savings will result from the establishment of NHS Highland to replace Highland NHS Board, Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Highland Primary Care NHS Trust in the current and in each of the next two budgetary years and whether it will place a breakdown of such savings in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
The establishment of Highland NHS Board as a single forum for strategic leadership is intended to provide for the efficient, effective and accountable governance of health services in the Highlands. It is about encouraging the local NHS to spend better by focusing more on health outcomes and people's experience of the service.It will be for Highland NHS Board to determine how best to realise the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the services it provides. Further details of how it plans to do this should be sought from the NHS Board.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there was any delay by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in sending past examination papers for Standard Grade and Higher Still examinations to the publishers of past papers; what steps it took to address any such delay, and how many (a) schools and (b) school pupils were affected by any such delay.
Answer
The production of past examination papers is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority and we will ask the chair to write to you responding in detail to the points raised.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 26 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 10 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any legal rulings in respect of double taxation which are applicable to the Scottish Bus Group employee pension fund.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is not aware of any such ruling.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 7 December 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-19252 on 14 November 2001, what concerns were expressed and by whom, and in particular what matter the Design Team expressed concern about in May 2001.
Answer
Concerns were expressed by EMBT/RMJM in May 2001 that receipt of certain technical information from Flour City was "considerably overdue".
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 7 December 2001
To ask the Presiding Officer whether an independent inquiry will be carried out into the appointment of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.
Answer
I am aware of no grounds for, or plans to carry out, an independent inquiry into the appointment of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.
