- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive who will appoint the board members of the planned single skills body encompassing Careers Scotland, learndirect Scotland and other skills functions of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise; when it expects the new body to be in place; what budget will be allocated to it annually; whether its board members will be remunerated, and to whom the board will report.
Answer
Scottish ministerswill appoint the chair and board members of the new skills body.
I expect to havea shell organisation set up by the start of 2008, with a more formalised bodyin place by the end of this financial year.
The annual budgetto be allocated to the new skills body has not yet been decided.
The chair andboard members will report to Scottish ministers.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 26 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with the position adopted by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate on the licensing of Alfamax for use on fish farm sites.
Answer
The VeterinaryMedicines Directorate has not yet had an application for licensing of Alphamax.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 26 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is with regard to the planning consents and association planning conditions that apply to existing fish farming sites.
Answer
Scottish ministersare currently undertaking a review of existing marine fish farms to determinewhether or not to grant permanent planning permission to individual farms. Therelevant provisions were included in section 4 of Part 3 of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006. Conditions attached to existingdevelopment consents or works licences will be looked at as part of the reviewand, where appropriate, relevant planning conditions will be attached to anygrant of planning permission.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 26 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the review group, chaired by an official of the Executive and involving all major aquaculture stakeholders, which is looking into the future of aquaculture planning controls and regulations and when the group is expected to report on the outcome of its work.
Answer
The remit of thereview panel is to provide views on individual cases to assist ScottishMinisters in reaching a decision on whether or not to grant planning permissionto a particular farm, either conditionally or unconditionally. There are around900 existing farms in Scotland. Due to the number of farms involved, each farmis being assessed according to the expiry date of its existing developmentconsent from the Crown Estate or where applicable works licence from Shetlandor Orkney Islands Councils. A farm has generally been given a 15 year consent.It will therefore take a number of years to complete this work although we areconsidering whether the process could be completed in a shorter timescale.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will maintain accountability over the delivery of the skills and training elements of the enterprise network in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area when they are passed to the new skills body.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentwill maintain accountability over the new skills body:
By appointing thechair and board and through contact with the chair and board members.
Through frameworkdocumentation (Management Statement, Financial Memorandum and Accounts Direction).
Through ensuring thatthe annual accounts are reported to Parliament.
By giving the bodyguidance and setting objectives for its work.
By ensuring it reportsto Scottish ministers.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current Shetland-based staff delivering the services provided by Careers Scotland and those delivering the skills and training elements of the work of HIE Shetland will transfer to the new skills body; whether all the work that they carry out will continue to be carried out by Shetland-based staff, and what changes there will be in their working relationships with Shetland employers, Shetland College, the NAFC Marine Centre and Shetland Islands Council.
Answer
CareersScotland will be part of the new skillsbody and therefore current HIE Careers Scotland staff will transfer to the new body.This will include those based in Shetland. In terms of those staff involved in deliveringskills and training, discussions continue about how best to develop skills at thelocal level. Local delivery options and discussions with key partners will now takeplace and it is my intention to consider the continuation of local delivery by Highlandsand Islands Enterprise as one of the options for skills and training in the Highlandsand Islands area.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the skills and training work currently delivered by HIE Shetland and detail how it will be delivered in Shetland after the skills and training elements of the enterprise network are passed to the new skills body.
Answer
The skillsand training work currently delivered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise Shetlandis:
Managementand Leadership Training
FirstSteps into Business courses
FirstSteps into Community Enterprise Training
Shortcourses on general business topics including: Marketing and Promotion, Selling,Basic book-keeping etc
ModernApprenticeships
Skillseekers
Get Readyfor Work
Workforcedevelopment grants to support businesses.
Thoseaspects of the enterprise networks skills and training activity related to individualsand their employability skills and training will be the responsibility of the newskills body. This relates to National Training Programmes including Get Ready forWork, Skillseekers, modern apprenticeships and Training for Work. They will be theresponsibility of the new skills body. At this stage it is not possible to be specificas to how these will be delivered in Shetland. Local delivery options and discussionswith key partners will now take place and it is my intention to consider the continuationof local delivery by Highlands and Islands Enterprise as one of the options forskills and training in the Highlands and Islands area.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is for the use of Alfamax on fish farm sites and whether it proposes to amend the policy in light of the treatment having successfully passed the requirements of the EU’s mutual recognition system for medicines used in EU waters.
Answer
The regulation ofveterinary medicines is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of theVeterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).
ScottishGovernment policy is supportive of the use of the sea lice medicine Alphamaxonce marketing authorisation in the UK has been granted.The treatment has recently been granted a full marketing authorisation in Norway, which is an essential first step in applying formutual recognition in the UK.
It is up to thecompany concerned to submit an application for mutual recognition to the VMDand we have encouraged them to do so.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 23 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive who will appoint members of the business-led boards of the regional operations that will replace the local enterprise companies; what budget will be allocated annually to running each operation; how that overall budget will compare with the current local enterprise company budget; whether members of the boards of regional operations will receive remuneration for their duties, and to whom the boards will report.
Answer
These will beoperational matters for the enterprise networks.
- Asked by: Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 23 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what plans it has to establish industry sector advisory bodies; when any such bodies are expected to be in place; which industry sectors such bodies will serve; who will appoint the boards of any such bodies; to whom such bodies will report, and what budget it intends to assign such bodies.
Answer
These will beoperational matters for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and IslandsEnterprise.
