- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 9 August 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any outstanding requirements that may be delaying the consent process for the Farr wind farm development.
Answer
My department is still discussing with the applicant possible measures to avoid, mitigate or compensate for possible adverse impacts on the local environment and on the ecology of the area arising from the development.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 9 August 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when revised guidance on the Integrated Transport Fund will be published.
Answer
There is no immediate intention to publish guidance on the Integrated Transport Fund (ITF), since substantial resources have already been allocated to delivering our Partnership commitments such as Edinburgh trams, the redevelopment of Waverley rail station and re-opening the Stirling to Alloa to Kincardine rail line. However, additional resources may be identified in the future, and the provision of guidance will be considered at that time.
Executive officials are always available to discuss at an early stage proposals from local authorities and others for public transport projects. Officials can provide an initial view on what detailed information might be required and the likelihood of funding being made available, whether from the ITF or some other funding stream.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 9 August 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what conditions will be placed on the new ScotRail franchise regarding charges for the carriage of bicycles.
Answer
The operator of the new ScotRail franchise will be required to carry bicycles free of charge.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 9 August 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities it has been informed are preparing to submit Integrated Transport Fund bids for major cycling infrastructure projects.
Answer
We are not aware of any local authorities preparing to submit Integrated Transport Fund (ITF) bids for such projects. Since substantial resources from the ITF are already committed to the delivery of our Partnership commitments, we would not encourage local authorities to work up detailed proposals for any transport project until these have been first discussed with their usual contacts in the Executive.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 9 August 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when the consent process for the proposed Farr wind farm development will be concluded.
Answer
My department is still discussing with the applicant possible measures to avoid, mitigate or compensate for possible adverse impacts on the local environment and on the ecology of the area arising from the development. No decision will be made until these matters are satisfactorily resolved.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, for each clinical trial of non-pharmaceutical substances involving human volunteers approved or reviewed by the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research at Inveresk, what substance was involved, how many volunteers participated and what the trial entailed.
Answer
The Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee is a private committee. The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions there are to ensure that the activities of independent private sector ethics committees, including the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research, are regulated.
Answer
From 1 May 2005, all committees awarded type (i) recognition to review clinical trials in healthy volunteers will be required to comply with the conditions set out in The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 (S. I. 2004 No. 1031).
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions there are to ensure that the activities of independent private sector ethics committees, including the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research, are made public.
Answer
From 1 May 2005, when committees reviewing trials in healthy volunteers are required to comply with the conditions in The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 (S. I. 2004, No. 1031), the committees will be required to produce a report on the committee’s activities in relation to clinical trials of medicines, by financial year.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any conflict of interest in respect of consideration of applications to carry out human clinical trials on healthy volunteers at Inveresk research laboratories by the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research.
Answer
Schedule 2 of the Regulations requires ethics committees to make standing orders and to adopt standard operating procedures, subject to approval by the United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority. Standard operating procedures would normally include issues such as conduct of meetings, membership requirements includingdeclaration of interest and conflict of interest.
I refer to my replies to S2W-9594 and S2W-9595 given on 29 July in which I stated that the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee have until 1 May 2005 to comply with Schedule 2 of The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical trials) Regulations 2004 (S. I. 2004, No. 1031).
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research was required to meet in order to receive recognition from the United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority and what information it has on whether these criteria were applied to all ethics committees so recognised.
Answer
Before the implementation of the Clinical Trials Directive, studies in healthy volunteers did not require regulatory approval. The Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee was awarded type (i) recognition by UKECA. This recognition covers the committee to review Phase 1 trials in healthy volunteers.
As with most committees recognised to review Phase 1 trials, this is not an NHS committee and therefore is not subject to NHS governance arrangements.
For an interim period, non NHS committees reviewing trials in healthy volunteers are exempt from the detailed requirements laid down in the regulations. They have until 1 May 2005 to comply with these requirements.
