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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: S2W-21548

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that employees of the Crofters Commission can be required to surrender their civil service status; whether any reservations or doubts have been expressed in the legal or other advice received on this issue and, if so, whether it will provide details of such reservations or doubts.

Legislation is underway to change the status of the Crofters Commission. Once this legislation is introduced, staff of the Crofters Commission will be given the choice to transfer to the new non-departmental public body, or to retain their status as civil servants. Those staff based at the commission who do not accept an appointment with the new body will remain Scottish Executive staff and we will endeavour to find posts for them elsewhere within the Scottish Executive or in other parts of the civil service.

The issue of staff being required to surrender their status as civil servants does not arise.

Question reference: S2W-21210

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sequestrations of individuals have been awarded following petitions raised by (a) HM Customs and Excise, (b) the Inland Revenue and (c) HM Revenue and Customs, since it was established in April 2005, in each year since the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 came into force.

I have asked Gillian Thompson,Chief Executive of Accountant in Bankruptcy to respond. Her response is asfollows:

The following table shows thenumber of sequestrations awarded annually for each petitioning creditor from theintroduction of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 on 1 April 1986.The number of HM Revenue and Customs petitions awarded is from 1 April 2005 to 30September 2005. The agency is awaiting the decision of the court hearings in respectof petitions lodged by HM Revenue and Customs since 1 October 2005. Therefore, I amunable to determine whether the sequestrations have been awarded or the petitionshave been dismissed in these cases.

Number of Awardsof Sequestration

Year	Inland Revenue	HM Customs and Excise	HM Revenue and Customs
1986	4	32
1987	12	36
1988	28	25
1989	25	49
1990	38	49
1991	31	97
1992	66	121
1993	114	223
1994	186	249
1995	195	227
1996	192	301
1997	230	189
1998	225	188
1999	189	230
2000	193	228
2001	163	116
2002	389	130
2003	430	293
2004	521	206
2005	202	92	458

Source: Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Question reference: S2W-20787

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 5 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek approval from the European Union for a 20% harvest ratio in its negotiations in respect of next year’s west of Scotland nephrops Total Allowable Catch, based on advice from the Fisheries Research Services Marine Laboratory that this ratio is more appropriate than the 15% previously envisaged by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and the Advisory Committee on Fishery Management, and whether the Executive will discuss this issue with the Mallaig and North-West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers’ Organisation.

I have argued for some time that there is a strong case for an increase in the west coast nephrops TAC. I am pleased to see that the Commission’s proposals for this TAC reflect the advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) that there should be a 39% increase. My officials, and I, have already discussed this issue with Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers Organisation and would be happy to do so again.

Question reference: S2W-20820

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 28 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is in favour of establishing Business Improvement Districts.

We said in Partnership for a Better Scotland that we would work with local authorities to establish Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). We have done that. Following extensive consultation with business and local authorities, we announced in June 2005 that all the recommendations of a working group set up to consider the way forward for BIDs had been accepted. One of those recommendations was to establish pilot BID areas, and work on that front is now well underway.

Question reference: S2W-20788

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite representatives from the Mallaig and North-West Fishermen’s Association and the West of Scotland Fish Producers’ Organisation to act as informal advisers to assist it in impending negotiations in Brussels in respect of next year’s west of Scotland nephrops Total Allowable Catch.

I met with Mallaig and North West Fishermens Association on 10 August 2005 to discuss this year’s December Council. The association was also represented at my meeting with stakeholders in Inverness on 1 September 2005 and at a number of preparatory meetings held at official level. If the association is in Brussels for the December Council then I will be happy to speak to them alongside the other representatives who will be there.

Question reference: S2W-20371

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in its review of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, it will consider whether the Act can be extended to cover charities such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), insofar as the RSPB receives public funding in respect of some of its activities.

The review, and associated public consultation, will consider a number of aspects of the operation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, including the criteria that should be applied in order to designate Scottish public authorities under section 5 of the act. It would not be appropriate for me to prejudge the outcome of the consultation and the review by commenting now on the position of specific organisations.

Question reference: S2W-20465

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its earlier refusal, as reported to me, to classify the Inverness Southern Distributor Road as part of the trunk road network and whether it will confirm its support for an Inverness city bypass, connecting the A82 from the west, the A9 from the south and the A96 from the east.

While Scottish ministers keep the strategic road network under review, there are no current plans to classify the Inverness Southern Distributor Road as part of the trunk road network.

The Inverness Southern Distributor Road is a local road and therefore the responsibility of Highland Council. The Executive has indicated its support to Highland Council in respect of their proposed transport modelling appraisal of the corridor between the A82 and A9 and on to the A96.

Question reference: S2W-20461

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is required to meet efficiency targets and, if so, what these targets are and what savings will be achieved by meeting such targets.

Question reference: S2W-20462

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) can save money by its approach to raising legal actions and whether SEPA believes that all such actions have been necessary.

SEPA has a duty to consider the costs and benefits of its activities, including the pursuit of enforcement against any breach of an environmental licence. In considering the appropriate enforcement action to pursue, SEPA takes account of the scale of environmental impact, the attitude and response of the person responsible and the history of the activity or site. This approach to enforcement is in line with the principles of the Cabinet Office’s Enforcement Concordat, published in 1998.

Question reference: S2W-20460

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to provide a breakdown of the computation of its costs, if SEPA considers that the need to recover its costs is the reason for its proposal to increase the cost of sheep dip permits from £180 to £542.