- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct an investigation into the remuneration levels of management posts in the public sector; whether the highest level of public sector salary should be paid to the First Minister on a pyramidal structure and whether all public positions should be remunerated upon a pay structure which reflects the degree of responsibility undertaken by all other posts.
Answer
There is a very wide range of public sector organisations in Scotland, with very varied functions and responsibilities. This is reflected in a similarly broad range of pay arrangements for management, staff and other public sector appointments. It would therefore be wholly inappropriate, and indeed bad policy and management practice, to attempt to link all senior public sector pay to a single salary point.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2406 by Sarah Boyack on 26 January 2000, why details of the contact between itself and the Minister of State at the Scotland Office are "not normally released" and why it will not detail the contact between the parties on this matter.
Answer
Under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information, information will be disclosed unless the harm likely to arise from disclosure would outweigh the public interest in making the information available. In this case, the public interest in disclosure is outweighed by the harm which would be caused to the frankness and candour of internal discussion, including discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government and the Bank of England regarding the impact on the tourist industry in Scotland of (a) Her Majesty's Government's macro-economic policies and (b) the Bank of England's policies on the value of the pound sterling against (i) the Euro, (ii) the US dollar, (iii) the Japanese Yen and (iv) other currencies; whether it will place copies of such representations in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and, if not, why not.
Answer
The Scottish Executive liaises closely with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including economic conditions in Scotland.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider holding public debates on the model of the recent "Business in the Chamber" event on topics such as health, education, older people and social and economic development in the Highlands and Islands, whether it will ensure that the participants in such debates are from a wide cross-section of interested parties as well as special interest groups, and whether it will investigate the possibility of using the Parliament chamber for such events.
Answer
The Executive already has a range of consultative mechanisms in place but is willing to consider suitable mechanisms by which consultation processes can be supplemented or improved to generate the widest debate possible, involving a cross-section of interested parties. Subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, this could include the use of the Scottish Parliament chamber if considered appropriate.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, before declaring any area a National Park, it will consult the people resident within that area by holding a local referendum to ascertain whether they agree to their area being so designated and whether it will hold such a referendum once passage of the draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill is complete and any secondary legislation has been published.
Answer
The draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill does not provide for the holding of a referendum. It provides for the involvement of local communities in considering the detailed arrangements for a National Park. The consultation on the Bill ended on 3 March, and comments received are currently being considered.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the cost of (a) holding a local referendum and (b) holding a local inquiry in (i) Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and (ii) the Cairngorms and whether a local inquiry is more or less democratic than a referendum.
Answer
The cost of (a) and (b) would depend on the nature and extent of the referendum or inquiry. The purposes of each would be different: the draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill does not provide for the holding of a referendum.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why members of the National Parks Authority will be appointed by it rather than elected by local residents.
Answer
Members of National Park Authorities will need to reflect a wide range of interests. The draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill provides for an important role for local authorities in determining the membership of National Park authorities. All members will be required to have knowledge or experience relevant to the functions of the National Park authority or the National Park.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed National Parks will require to rely on loans, in whole or in part, for their finance and, if so, by what means the National Parks will raise revenue.
Answer
National Park authorities will receive their core funding from central Government. The draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill provides for the possibility of National Park authorities seeking loans, if necessary. National Park authorities will be able to raise additional money through other sources such as Lottery Funds, European Union funding and commercial activity.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed "management agreements" described in section 13 of the draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill will include payments additional to those already being paid and, if so, by how much per annum in (a) Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and (b) the Cairngorms and whether such payments will accrue to (a) tenants or (b) owners.
Answer
It will be for National Park authorities to decide with whom they wish to enter into management agreements, and what financial arrangements these will include.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has explained to the residents of Loch Lomond, the Trossachs and the Cairngorms the "Sandford Principle", as referred to in section 8 of the draft National Parks (Scotland) Bill; whether conservation will take precedence over the social and economic needs of those residents where there is a conflict; whether there has been any reference or explanation of this matter in any of its press releases on National Parks and how many press releases it has issued on National Parks since 2 July 1999.
Answer
The Sandford Principle is explained in the explanatory notes printed opposite the draft bill. Section 8(5) of the draft bill provides that where a National Park Authority considers there is a conflict between the first aim and the others, the first aim (conservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural heritage of the area) should be given greater weight. There have been two press releases on National Parks from the Scottish Executive since 2 July. They do not explicitly cover the Sandford Principle.
