Bruce Crawford

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be made available to St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane for the period 6 January to 31 March 2003 and when the school's board of management will be informed of this funding level.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Over the period specified, the school will be paid the last three monthly payments of the annual recurrent grant for the financial year 2002-03 and the balance of any other funds due.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that current teacher to pupil ratios at St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane are maintained in future years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The teacher to pupil ratios will, as with all local authority schools in the area, be a matter for the school and for Stirling Council.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guarantees it can give regarding the future funding of St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The future funding of the school will, as with all other local authority schools in the area, be a matter for Stirling Council.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any concerns that St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane will not have sufficient funds to continue with the current level of teachers following its full transfer to Stirling Council and what plans it has to tackle any such concerns.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is aware of the concerns and of the fact that the school's board of management has increased teacher numbers. The implications of the board's actions are still under consideration.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider postponing the arrangements for transferring St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane to full local authority control until the end of the financial year on 31 March 2003.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: We decided last December to postpone the transfer date until 1 April 2003. The board of management was notified of this decision on 10 December.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it had during 2002 with the board of management of St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane about future funding arrangements at the school and what plans there are for any such future discussions.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive had no such discussions with the board of management of the school in 2002, but had meetings with representatives of the board in February and March 2003, at which future funding arrangements were discussed.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Education and Young People has any plans to visit St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane in order to meet teachers and parents to discuss the future funding of the school.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The funding of the school from 1 April 2003 will be in accordance with Stirling Council's funding and devolved school management policies. The Minister for Education and Young People has no current plans to visit the school.

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why there has been a delay in informing the board of management at St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane about the level of its annual recurring grant.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive indicated last October that it would be willing to re-examine the calculation of the current year's annual recurrent grant in the light of any further information that the school wished to supply. This reassessment has now been complete…

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will inform the board of management at St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane about the level of its annual recurring grant.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The board of management was first informed of the level of the annual recurrent grant for 2002-03 last September and received a revised figure on 30 January 2003.

17 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has given to (a) each local authority and (b) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in each of the last three years to develop kerbside recycling schemes.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive has allocated funding specifically for waste management through the Strategic Waste Fund to assist local authorities to implement the Area Waste Plans, including developing kerbside recycling schemes. In March 2001, £3 million was distributed be…

15 Jan 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for Scottish Water.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive expects that Scottish Water will deliver a £1.8 billion modernisation programme aimed at improving drinking water quality, creating a cleaner environment and improving services at least cost to its customers.

5 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what increase in funding levels will be allocated to the Scottish Assigned Budget in each of the next four years as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's recent announcement regarding the landfill tax.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the landfill tax. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced the UK Government's intention to consult on a proposal to increase the landfill tax escalator. He also announced changes to the landfil…

5 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the European Union has initiated infraction proceedings in respect of the Executive regarding waste management matters; if so, why such proceedings have been brought; when they commenced; what stage they are at, and when the results of the proceedings are expected to be announced.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Five infraction cases against the UK are relevant to management of waste in Scotland:<P>Waste Framework Directive (1975/442/EEC &amp; 1991/156/EC). A Reasoned Opinion under Article 226 of the EC Treaty was received in July 2001 and the Commission took the dec…

5 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any difficulties exist with the future provision of waste management facilities and what plans it has to overcome any such difficulties.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The National Waste Strategy sets out the framework for making a significant change in the way that Scotland deals with its waste. Making this change will not be easy. The Executive has allocated over £230 million to the Strategic Waste Fund to assist local au…

3 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its reasons are for not including highland Perthshire in the proposed Cairngorms National Park and what scores were accorded by Scottish Natural Heritage to each of the sub-units in each local authority area in respect of the extent to which they met the criteria for designation as a…

Answer · Allan Wilson: It was necessary to strike a balance between the desirability of including certain areas for their natural heritage importance and the need to establish a park with a coherent identity.<P>Information on the scores accorded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) a…

3 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many responses it received to its consultation on the Cairngorms National Park draft designation order (a) in total and (b) in favour of the (i) inclusion and (ii) exclusion of highland Perthshire.

Answer · Allan Wilson: We received 463 responses to the draft consultation document. An analysis of these responses is contained in the annex to the report submitted to the Parliament in accordance with the provisions of section 6 (6) of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000. A co…

19 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake a programme of health monitoring of people that live around current GM crop trial sites.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: There are no scientific grounds to suggest that the GM crops grown in farm trials in Scotland pose a different health risk to local populations than that posed by conventional crops. However, we maintain a watching brief in this area and, should emerging scie…

19 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in view of the British Medical Association's submission to the Health and Community Care Committee of 20 November 2002 on the health impact of GM crops, it is following the precautionary principle in relation to GM crop trials.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The precautionary principle is applied where a scientific assessment has identified the possibility of harmful effects from a particular action or where there is ambiguity.<P>The GM crops that have been released in field trials in Scotland have been subjected…

19 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake an immediate review of its policy on GM crop trials following the publication of the British Medical Association's submission to the Health and Community Care Committee of 20 November 2002 on the health impact of GM crop trials.

Answer · Ross Finnie: No. The farm-scale evaluations offer an opportunity to collect valuable ecological information that will better inform future decision taking. The expert advice is clear that these evaluations can be conducted without threatening human health or the environme…

13 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make to Her Majesty's Government in the light of comments made by Professor Malcolm Grant that there will not be enough government funding available to carry out a full public consultation on GM crops.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Professor Grant and the steering board that is leading this element of the public debate are currently preparing a detailed programme deploying the considerable amount of public funding that has been made available for this purpose. <P>The Scottish Executive …

6 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of debt for non-payment of water charges by (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic customers was owed to Scottish Water at 30 September 2002.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of Scottish Water. His response is as follows:<P>Total debt excluding unearned debt (i.e. the debt associated with annual bills being issued in advance of service usage) for water and wastewater services totalled £284 …

6 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of debt for non-payment of water charges by (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic customers was owed to the former three water authorities at 31 March 2002.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of Scottish Water. His response is as follows:<P>Total debt inherited by Scottish Water on 1 April 2002 for water and wastewater services totalled £260 million, with £155 million being owed by household customers and £…

6 Nov 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce a moratorium on GM crop trials.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce a moratorium on GM crop trials. Ministers and the Executive have made clear that autumn 2002 is the final round of the farm scale evaluation (FSE) programme and that there will be no commercial growing of GM cr…

5 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what scientific research has been carried out regarding any links between HIV/AIDS and exposure to radioactivity.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. <P>The CSO is not aware of any recent research having been carried out …

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what security measures are in place at the storage locations for rendered cattle carcasses in storage following BSE outbreaks and who the contractor is for, and what the costs are of, such measures.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The security of the stores is primarily the responsibility of the storekeeper and is covered in the contract. A strict control regime is also in place. The stores and vehicles travelling to and from them are sealed and operated on a dedicated basis. All loads…

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated total costs are for dealing with BSE-infected cattle, broken down by costs of (a) slaughter, (b) transportation to storage, (c) storage, (d) transportation to final disposal and (e) final disposal.

Answer · Ross Finnie: As of 31 March 2002 the cumulative cost - for the UK - of slaughter, transportation to incineration and incineration of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) carcases (including a small proportion of scrapie-infected sheep) was £52.7 million. This f…

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what date rendered cattle carcasses remaining in storage following BSE outbreaks will have been through final disposal and what the projected cost is of such disposal.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is responsible on behalf of all UK Agriculture Ministers for the operation of the Over Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme (OTMS), including disposal. RPA is committed to reducing meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow stocks to very lo…

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many tonnes of BSE-infected cattle carcasses have been through final disposal; what disposal method was used; who the contractors were, and what the cost of disposal was.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Nine thousand nine hundred and twenty-six carcases, which equate to approximately 5,000 tonnes, have been incinerated in Scotland out of a total of 179,608 in the UK. The carcases of bovines identified on-farm as showing clinical signs of BSE are incinerated …

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the contract arrangements will be for the final disposal of the rendered cattle carcasses that remain in storage following BSE outbreaks and which contractors have been employed so far.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The material is incinerated with energy recovery. The Rural Payments Agency has contracts in place for this work with three companies.

4 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place for the final disposal of the rendered cattle carcasses that remain in storage following BSE outbreaks and what methods of disposal will be used.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Rural Payments Agency is responsible on behalf of all UK Agriculture Ministers for the operation of the Over Thirty Months Slaughter Scheme (OTMS), including disposal. The two products of OTMS rendering, meat and bonemeal (MBM) and tallow, are incinerated…