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The Scottish Executive's policy is outlined in A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture; the aim is to introduce Land Management Contracts in two to three years' time. As part of that policy, a steering group to assist in the development of Land Management Contracts will be announced in due course.Officials have also been in contact with the European Commission and with the French Ministry of Agriculture. A further fact-finding visit to France will take place over the next few months.

The Scottish Executive has made no representations to the UK Government or the Office of Fair Trading regarding the supply of prescription-only medicines. The control of medicines is a matter reserved to the Westminster Parliament and any representations will be taken into account by them whilst developing the UK position.

Although the euro is not legal tender in the UK, some retailers have indicated that they are prepared to accept it as a method of payment. This reflects the commercial choices of businesses. VisitScotland are distributing material, on request, regarding the euro. In conjunction with the Treasury, Scotland Europa have implemented a detailed programme to provide advice and raise awareness of the need by all businesses - including in the tourist industry - to make appropriate preparations for the introduction of the currency. This includes the Trading in Euro symbol which indicates that an organisation is willing and able to deal with the euro currency. The Executive has undertaken two surveys of businesses in Scotland, assessing usage and expected usage of the euro. The first survey took place in the summer of 2000 and was repeated in 2001. The surveys did not include specific results from the tourism sector.

Assessment of economic impacts of UK taxation measures is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Treasury. No separate assessment has been undertaken by the Scottish Executive of the impact in Shetland.

The current review is a negotiation between the Crown Estate, as landlord, and the farmed salmon industry as their tenants. It would not be appropriate for any third party to be involved.

In Rivers, Lochs, Coasts: The Future for Scotland's Waters (Parliament's Reference Centre Bib. number 14576), our consultation paper on the proposed Water Environment and Water Services Bill, which will give effect to the Directive in Scots Law, we said that we believed that the key to tackling diffuse pollution was to ensure the implementation of good practice across the board. We envisaged that this might be done by means of statutory codes of good practice, backed up by powers for a regulator to enforce specific pollution control measures where necessary. We also said that non-regulatory approaches such as voluntary and educational initiatives would have an important role to play.The issue of timing will be discussed in our second consultation paper on our legislative intentions for the bill. We will publish that paper shortly.

I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-21848 and S1W-21851.

Negotiations on the management of the blue whiting stock involve the European Community, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Russia. The most recent meeting was held last month immediately prior to the December Fisheries Council. Discussions failed to resolve the level of the Total Allowable Catch to be fished in 2002, or the allocation of the stock between Coastal States. Frans Fischler, the European Commissioner with responsibility for fisheries, intends to meet from Coastal States in February to press for a multilateral agreement to regulate the stock.In the absence of an international consensus, the European Council of Ministers agreed to reduce quotas in European waters by 280,000 tonnes in line with scientific advice. Blue whiting transfers to Norway were also reduced substantially and were discontinued with the Faroe Islands. These arrangements will be reviewed in the light of any future international management agreement.

The Scottish Executive has funded research looking at the impact of various mesh sizes on the catch of a single seine net fishing vessel. The work was conducted by the North Atlantic Fisheries College in Shetland as part of the £1 million science/industry partnership that the Scottish Executive announced in March 2001. The trial looked at catches from a variety of mesh types, including 120mm cod ends.

None, as the change in ownership of the land relates only to the landowner's interest. The individual crofters will continue to be croft tenants and thus their eligibility for crofting grants will be unaffected.