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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S1W-06546

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 18 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered compensating sufferers of organophosphate poisoning who became ill after complying with compulsory dipping orders.

Question reference: S1W-06610

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 18 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the reduced availability of private sector housing grants within Highland Council area has had upon the quantity of stock in that sector and how many houses it estimates would have received grants had the total sum spent been maintained in real terms at the 1995-96 level in each subsequent year.

The vast majority of private sector grants are for the improvement or repair of existing houses. It is therefore unlikely that their availability has much bearing on the quantity of stock in the private sector. The amount of grant payable depends on the nature of the works and so can vary considerably between cases. It is therefore not possible to make an estimate of grants which Highland Council might have awarded since 1 April 1996 had the budget for the years concerned been as described.

Question reference: S1W-06609

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 18 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how much non-domestic rating income it estimates each local authority is due to receive in financial year 2000-01.

The amount of non-domestic rate income expected to be distributed to each local authority in 2000-01 is shown in the following table.

Council	Distributable Amount of Non-Domestic Rate Income
	£ million
Aberdeen City	69.193
Aberdeenshire	73.477
Angus	35.745
Argyll & Bute	29.221
Clackmannanshire	15.770
Dumfries & Galloway	47.835
Dundee City	47.637
East Ayrshire	39.391
East Dunbartonshire	35.582
East Lothian	29.087
East Renfrewshire	28.571
Edinburgh, City of	146.193
Eilean Siar	9.073
Falkirk	46.799
Fife	113.303
Glasgow City	201.238
Highland	67.644
Inverclyde	27.733
Midlothian	26.259
Moray	27.886
North Ayrshire	45.354
North Lanarkshire	106.100
Orkney	6.349
Perth & Kinross	43.204
Renfrewshire	57.749
Scottish Borders	34.520
Shetland	7.440
South Ayrshire	37.164
South Lanarkshire	99.651
Stirling	26.996
West Dunbartonshire	30.812
West Lothian	49.715

Question reference: S1W-06608

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will (a) consider introducing any measures to regulate the ownership of land, in particular large landed estates owned by non-residents and (b) consider a requirement on such non-resident landowners based in a foreign jurisdiction to appoint a mandatory to represent their interests locally.

The matter of principal importance as regards ownership of land by non-residents, as for resident owners, is that ownership should be exercised responsibly. Rather than regulate the ownership of land, we think it better to set out the standards we expect in the Code of Good Practice on Rural Landownership which we intend to publish later in the year. The matter of local representation will also be addressed in the code.

Question reference: S1W-05900

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2000
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 17 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail in what circumstances it believes referenda should be held.

Question reference: S1W-06467

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration was given to the consequences for the economy of Badenoch and Strathspey in the decision not to include the area in the assisted area status map, bearing in mind the current state of the local oil fabrication sector, and whether it will make specific representations to The Scotland Office to ensure that these factors are given full consideration.

Question reference: S1W-06466

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration was given to the consequences for the economy of Nairn in the decision not to include the area in the assisted area status map, bearing in mind the current state of the local oil fabrication sector, and whether it will make specific representations to The Scotland Office to ensure that these factors are given full consideration.

Question reference: S1W-06461

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many extra jobs will be (a) created and (b) sustained if Moray is excluded from the assisted area status map and what its estimate is of the impact on the local economy if the area is excluded from the map.

Question reference: S1W-06455

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive on what grounds most of Inverness is being excluded from the assisted area status map and what specific representations it will be making to The Scotland Office on this matter.

I will refer, in answering this question, to the fact that it has also been raised in relation to the areas of Nairn (S1W-6456), Moray (S1W-6457) and Badenoch and Strathspey (S1W-6458) which, along with Inverness, are contained within the Inverness NUTS 3 area.

The Assisted Area map is a reserved matter.

The July 1999 Assisted Areas map proposals put forward the Highlands and Islands NUTS 2 area as a whole, for inclusion on the basis of its population sparsity. However, I understand that the European Commission would not accept this, on the basis the Inverness NUTS 3 area does not on its own meet the sparsity criterion.

Question reference: S1W-06456

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive on what grounds Nairn is being excluded from the assisted area status map and what specific representations it will be making to The Scotland Office on this matter.