Parliamentary questions
Helen Eadie
919 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Marine Scotland carries out acoustic tagging of salmon and, if so, for how many years it has done so.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Marine Scotland does not carry out routine acoustic tagging of salmon in Scottish waters. As part of our research programmes in the Cromarty Firth acoustic tags were implanted into: adult salmon during the summer in 2004 and 2005; salmon smolts during the spr…
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the returns of sockeye salmon to the Fraser River in Canada have on the Scottish salmon industry.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: While Scottish Ministers are aware of the Justice Bruce Cohen's investigation of British Columbia's Fraser river Sockeye salmon and its 75 recommendations, The Scottish Government has undertaken no analysis on the impact of the returns of sockeye salmon to th…
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether salmon production has recently been at, or near, record highs in the North Pacific.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government does not hold information on recent salmon production levels in the North Pacific.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue monitoring the use of chemicals in salmon farming and whether it is required by legislation to do so.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: SEPA is responsible for monitoring the discharge of chemicals in salmon farming under the controlled activities regulation (CAR) licensing regime in order to meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the retail value of the Scottish salmon industry is over £1 billion.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Information published in 2012 by the Scottish Salmon Producer’s Organisation (SSPO) states that the worldwide retail value of Scottish farmed salmon is over £1 billion.
30 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment there has been of any increased costs to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) arising from proposed changes to the legislation on aquaculture and fisheries and whether SEPA will be awarded increased financial support.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Financial Memorandum accompanying the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill sets out the anticipated costs associated with the measures in the Bill, including any anticipated costs to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. http://www.scottish.pa…
29 Oct 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers children with Meares-Irlen syndrome.
Answer · Michael Russell: As a visual perception disorder affecting reading and writing, Meares-Irlen syndrome can act as a barrier to a pupil accessing learning. Under the Additional Support for Learning Act, it is the responsibility of local authorities to identify this barrier and …
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Outdoor Access Code was prepared by Scottish Natural Heritage and agreed by Parliament in 2004. Scottish Natural Heritage continues to keep the Code under review, but there are no proposals to modify it. Where topics covered by the Code have req…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made a submission to the European Commission's review of the air quality directive.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government submitted a response to the European Commission’s Committee of the Regions questionnaire on the review of the air quality directive in November 2011.
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many anaerobic digesters have been (a) given planning approval and (b) built since May 2010.
Answer · Derek Mackay: This information is not held centrally.
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason butchers are required to register with organic control bodies in order to sell organic meat and which bodies they are required to register with to sell non-organic meat.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: For any butcher handling (cutting, repacking, labelling, relabelling, or making) any organic meat or meat product they must be registered with one of the UK organic certification bodies. This requirement derives from the rigorous regulatory EU framework that …
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effect of changes in food prices on families.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government supports access to affordable and healthy food for all. We acknowledge that with increasing food prices this is becoming a greater concern. In order to assess the impact we monitor the percentage of Scottish household expenditure on fo…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the average income of hill farmers was in each of the last three years.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The specific information requested is not held centrally. However, The Scottish Government produces estimates of Farm Business Income (FBI) which are derived from the Farm Accounts Survey (FAS); an annual survey of approximately 500 farm businesses in Scotlan…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the new code of practice for milk processors and dairy farmers will be enforced through the proposed Groceries Code Adjudicator.
Answer · John Swinney: The Voluntary Code of Practice between milk processors and dairy farmers was agreed in September this year. The Voluntary Code does not have a Statutory basis, therefore the Groceries Code Adjudicator which is reserved to the UK Government will not have a rol…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has used enforcement action in relation to the illegal importation of eggs from countries not compliant with the European Welfare of Laying Hens Directive introduced on 1 January 2012.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: No enforcement action has been required as no eggs from illegal systems have been identified. Scottish Government inspectors are remaining vigilant and maintaining proportionate checks on the wholesale and import markets.
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the likely increase in emissions of isoprene were there to be an increase in short rotation coppice willow for use in biomass boilers or biomass power plants of (a) 5%, (b) 10%, (c) 25% and (d) 50%.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The planning and permitting processes in Scotland are designed to ensure that emissions from biomass installations are minimised as far as is practically possible and that emissions remain within safe limits in relation to health. On-going compliance is also …
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the average reduction in life expectancy due to exposure to fine particulate matter arising from biomass plants.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: It is difficult to attribute reductions in life expectancy directly to air pollution as, in practice, there will be a number of interacting factors influencing premature death including underlying medical conditions not directly related to air quality and lif…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Water and the emergency planning services are jointly reviewing (a) their responses and (b) the lessons learned from the October 2012 flooding in Fife.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The response to the October 2012 flooding in Fife was managed effectively by the local authority and other local responders. The Scottish Government monitored the situation and was ready to provide support if requested. However, given the localised nature of …
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the adequacy of flood defences in Fife.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: In 2007, all the existing flood defences in Scotland were assessed as part of the establishment of the Scottish Government’s Flood Defence Asset Database. Since then, a new National Flood Risk Assessment has been undertaken by the Scottish Environment Protect…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will offer guaranteed insurance for properties at risk of flooding.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Financial service matters such as insurance are reserved to the UK Government, and the provision of insurance is a matter for the commercial market. The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government, the other devolved administrations and the Associa…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on the (a) development and (b) deployment of a vaccination for Schmallenberg virus.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Veterinary medicines are normally developed by commercial enterprises, which must (as the licensing of veterinary medicines is a reserved matter) seek a licence from the UK Government. No vaccine for the Schmallenberg virus has yet been approved for use in th…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many bovine tuberculosis tests have resulted in false (a) positives and (b) negatives in each of the last three years.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The information is not available. Animals that test positive are slaughtered and usually subjected to a post mortem, samples may also be taken to see if Mycobacterium bovis can be grown in a laboratory. However, neither of those approaches can conclusively p…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the closure of the National Equine Database will have on its management and control of equine disease and abandoned horses.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The National Equine Database (NED) does not support equine disease control strategies. It does not contain horse location data, nor does it record animal movement data, and is therefore of very limited use in the event of disease incursion. NED is also of lim…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government on the case for EU-level legislation to exclude bank holidays from the seven day requirement for notification of cattle deaths.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: There has been no discussions with the UK Government to exclude bank holidays from the seven day requirement for the notification of cattle deaths. The British Cattle Movement Service, who operate the Cattle Tracing System on behalf of Ministers in Scotland, …
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what international comparisons it has undertaken that have found examples of successful programmes for the eradication of tuberculosis in wildlife without culling.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10520 on 9 November 2012. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to discuss the development of bovine tuberculosis diagnostic tools with the UK Government and other administrations.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10520 on 9 November 2012. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to recent developments in the Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) test in formulating its plans to control bovine tuberculosis.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10520 on 9 November 2012. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the research article, Estimating the Hidden Burden of Bovine Tuberculosis in Great Britain.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: In recognition of the efforts of the Scottish Government and livestock industry to control and eradicate bovine tuberculosis Scotland has been accorded Officially Tuberculosis Free (OTF) status by the European Union. To help maintain that status, the Scottis…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many adults in (a) the Cowdenbeath constituency, (b) NHS Fife area, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK have died from rheumatoid arthritis in each year since 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information that is available is given in the following table. Statistics of deaths in other parts of the United Kingdom are produced by the Office for National Statistics (for England and Wales) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. B…
24 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with severe rheumatoid arthritis who would benefit from anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy do not receive it, and whether it will ensure that anti-TNF treatment will be made available on prescription to all patients where the clinical diagnosis supports such t…
Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government is committed to patients in Scotland receiving medicines of established cost-effectiveness and therapeutic value. NHS boards and clinicians are expected to take full account of advice from the …