- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out the programme for the work of the group which will undertake the development of the Scottish Scallop Management Strategy, showing when the group will consult outside bodies and when it will submit recommendations to ministers.
Answer
Work on the strategy is at anearly stage and will be taken forward as part of the work of the Scottish FisheriesCouncil. My officials are currently discussing membership of the group that willsteer the strategy development process. As part of that process the group will beexpected to engage with the wider sector. The group will report to the ScottishFisheries Council which I chair. Formal consultation arrangements can only be confirmedonce the strategy is determined.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out the programme for the work of the group which will take forward a crab and lobster strategy for Scotland, showing when the group will consult outside bodies and when it will submit recommendations to ministers.
Answer
Work on a crab and lobsterstrategy is at an early stage. My officials are currently discussing with stakeholdersthe membership for the steering group to lead development of the strategy. Shortlyafter its inception, the steering group will outline its programme of work, indicatingamongst other things how it intends to engage with the sector in general. Formalconsultation requirements can only be determined once the strategy is developed.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which organisation or organisations will be involved in the group which will undertake the development of the Scottish Scallop Management Strategy.
Answer
Work on the Scottish ScallopManagement Strategy is at an early stage and will proceed as part of the work takenforward by the Scottish Fisheries Council. My officials are currently discussingthe membership of the group which will steer the development of the strategy. Itis envisaged that the group will represent a wide range of sectoral interests reflectingindustry structure, geographical distribution of interests and the need to takeinto account scientific and technical expertise as well as economic and sustainabilityissues.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the fisheries and aquaculture sectors that will be able to apply for grants from the European Fisheries Fund, showing the specific share allocated to each sector.
Answer
Eligible applicants under theEuropean Fisheries Fund will include all individuals, companies, trade and publicbodies that have a direct interest in commercial fisheries. Sectoral allocationswill be subject to industry input to the forthcoming public consultation on theproposed UK Operational Programme and accompanying arrangements for delivery of the programme in Scotland.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used when assessing applications to the European Fisheries Fund.
Answer
The criteria for assessing applicationswill be finalised following full public consultation on the European Fisheries FundOperational Programme. It is anticipated that assessment in Scotland will remainalong similar lines to that employed under the successful predecessor FinancialInstrument for Fisheries Guidance programme.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding from the European Fisheries Fund will be available to Scottish businesses in each year from 2007-08 to 2012-13 and how such funding will be shared between the highlands and islands and the rest of Scotland.
Answer
Approximately €17.62 millionwill be available to the Scottish Highlands and Islands area, with the rest of Scotland allocatedapproximately €37.52 million during the European Fisheries Fund programming period.Annual allocations will be subject to industry input to the forthcoming public consultationon the draft UK Operational Plan.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to initiate a full review of the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme; what the remit for the review will be, and when it expects the review to be completed and its results announced.
Answer
The EU designationproposals for less favoured area (LFA) are due to be published in 2008, with implementationin 2010. Once these are known, proposals for a new Less Favoured Area Support Scheme(LFASS) will be developed and will be subject to a full consultation exercise. Bothremit and timing of a new LFASS are dependent on the publication and content of the EU proposals.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Bruce Crawford on 20 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) reviews and (b) consultations have been initiated in each cabinet secretary’s portfolio area since May 2007.
Answer
The information requestedis shown in the following table.
| Portfolio Area | Reviews | Consultations |
| First Minister | 2 | 2 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth | 12 | 26 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning | 8 | 4 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment | 10 | 22 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing | 14 | 11 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Justice | 8 | 14 |
| Total | 54 | 79 |
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 13 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of any freeze in council tax on the numbers of people eligible for council tax benefit.
Answer
The council tax freezewill not itself affect anyone’s entitlement to council tax benefit.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it expects to prioritise the acceleration of the full implementation of reductions in business rates for small businesses announced in the budget on 14 November 2007 if additional resources become available.
Answer
We will seek toact prudently and responsibly in the management of the resources at ourdisposal and in honouring the commitments we have made as part of the ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007. Decisions on future spending plans and theirprioritisation can only be made if additional resources become available.
