David Mundell

1 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken or intends to take in conjunction with the retail industry in carrying forward the recommendations contained in the report The Retail Revolution: from a Nation of Shopkeepers to a World of Opportunities by the Retail and Consumer Services Panel of the Foresight D…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Foresight Forum, co-ordinated by the Executive, oversees the implementation of the Foresight programme in Scotland. The forum is happy to work with all key stakeholders to establish how to take forward the recommendations arising from this report.

1 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in response to the report @ Your Home: New Market for Customer Service and Delivery by the Retail Logistics Task Force of the Foresight Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Foresight Forum, co-ordinated by the Executive, oversees the implementation of the Foresight programme in Scotland. The forum is happy to work with all key stakeholders to establish how to take forward the recommendations arising from this report.

1 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in response to the report Destination Retail: A Survey of Young People's Attitudes Towards a Career in Retailing by the Retail E-Commerce Task Force of the Foresight Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Foresight Forum, co-ordinated by the Executive, oversees the implementation of the Foresight programme in Scotland. The forum is happy to work with all key stakeholders to establish how to take forward the recommendations arising from this report.

31 Oct 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to mitigate any job losses in the south of Scotland following the proposed creation of Scottish Water.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The implementation of efficiency measures by the water authorities, necessary to minimise future charge rises will mean a reduction in the number of people employed by the water authorities. I expect these reductions to be managed carefully with consideration…

29 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what parts of A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism relate to the retail sector.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: All of the actions contained in <I>A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism</I>, which relate to better marketing, improvement in quality and skills, and increased useage of IT will encourage additional visitors to come to Scotland. Additional visitors will benefi…

29 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to complete its review of A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism and whether, as part of that review, any current specific lack of reference to the retail sector will be addressed.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: The review will be completed by the end of the year. The Scottish Retail Consortium has contributed to the review. The outcome will highlight the central role that tourism businesses, including retail businesses, have in the continuing development of tourism.

29 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received about any difficulties encountered in recruiting staff when major new retail developments are opened.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has received one piece of correspondence on this issue.

29 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken, or intends to undertake, into the particular problems of delivering goods purchased using e-retailing, particularly in rural areas.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: E-retailing offers significant opportunities to rural residents, who will have increased choice of goods for purchase. Mail-order shopping, which faces the same delivery situation as e-retailing, is and has always been very popular in rural Scotland. There is…

29 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the economic impact of spending on retail products by tourists.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Latest available figures on the economic impact of tourist expenditure on retail products are from the 1998 Scottish Input-Output Tables, published by the Scottish Executive in June 2001.<P>The total direct expenditure on retail products by tourists was £140 …

24 Oct 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it will issue to the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Councils following the publication of the report of the South of Scotland University Steering Group Higher Education in the South of Scotland.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: I intend to include guidance on stimulating uptake of higher education and continuing professional development in the rural south in my letters of guidance to the Funding Councils for 2002-03. I have already asked the Chief Executive of the Funding Councils t…

11 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government on supplementing the sums paid to farmers in the current financial year under the sheep annual premium scheme.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I have discussed the financial impact of foot-and-mouth disease and loss of export markets on the sheep industry with other UK Agriculture Ministers on many occasions over the last six months. These discussions have covered a number of options, including the …

8 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the Scottish Enterprise budget in the current financial year will be spent on a recovery programme following the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise plans to spend up to £9.5 million during 2001-02 in support of recovery programmes designed to combat the impact of foot-and-mouth disease. This represents 2.4% of Scottish Enterprise's current grant-in-aid allocation of £395 million.<P>As…

4 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it plans to provide to British Nuclear Fuels plc and its workforce at Chapelcross Nuclear Power Station in the preparation of proposals for a next generation nuclear power station on the Chapelcross site.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: We understand that British Nuclear Fuels plc expect that Chapelcross Power Station will remain operational until around 2010. Any proposal for a replacement nuclear power station at the site would rest entirely with the company. If such a proposal was forthco…

27 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to local authorities on the production of schools option appraisals and whether the Appendices to the Schools Option Appraisal by Dumfries and Galloway Council complies with any such guidance or is in a format appropriate for public consultation on school closures.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Advice on option appraisal for potential Public/Private Partnership projects is contained in the HM Treasury publication <I>Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government</I>. I understand that Dumfries and Galloway Council has taken that advice into account …

25 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3704 by Mr Jack McConnell on 6 September 2001, when it expects CoSLA to complete its consultation on a code for rural school closures.

Answer · Jack McConnell: CoSLA has been giving consideration to preparing a code of practice on school closures in response to a recommendation by the Parliament's Education, Culture and Sport Committee. This has been a matter for CoSLA, and the Executive has not been engaged with th…

25 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Minister for Environment and Rural Development learned about the provision of services to remote and rural communities during his visit to Canada in July.

Answer · Ross Finnie: My visit to Canada was designed to enable me to hear about and see many of the rural development activities under way in Canada, and in particular activities related to the delivery of services in rural areas. The visit was a very useful one, and I brought ba…

20 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the (a) sheep, (b) cattle, (c) pigs and (d) other animals slaughtered in Scotland under the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease were on farms (i) subject and (ii) not subject to Form A or D notices.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme is run, on behalf of UK Agriculture Ministers, by the Intervention Board Executive Agency. The Intervention Board advise me that they carry out checks on the disease status of holdings at several stages of applications …

20 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) sheep, (b) cattle, (c) pigs and (d) other animals in (i) Scotland, (ii) Dumfries and Galloway and (iii) Scottish Borders have been slaughtered under the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Intervention Board Executive Agency operates the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme on behalf of all UK Agriculture Ministers. The Intervention Board advise me that (a) 40,808 sheep, (b) 10,558 cattle, (c) 45,972 pigs and (d) nine other animals have been…

11 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its strategy is for the development of the retail sector.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Executive recognises the importance the retail sector makes to the economy. We are committed to maintaining an efficient, competitive and innovative retail sector within a planning framework that supports the vitality and viability of town centres. This i…

29 Aug 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received from the Highways Agency about a start date for construction of the M6 Carlisle to Guardsmill extension.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Highways Agency have provided the Scottish Executive with an outline programme. Subject to the continuing availability of funding and successful completion of statutory procedures, they expect construction to start in 2004-05.

21 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will respond to my letter of 15 June 2001 regarding Mr & Mrs Hutchison of Moffat.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I replied to the member on 25 August and am sorry I was unable to do so sooner.

21 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will respond to my letter of 31 May 2001 regarding Mr Rennie of Stockholm Farm, Beattock.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am sorry about the delay in replying to your letter, the subject matter of which is being investigated at present.<P>I will write to you as soon as I can.

21 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will respond to my letter of 23 May 2001 regarding Mr Sloan of Woodend Farm, Johnstonebridge.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am sorry that I have not yet been able to reply to your letter of 23 May before now. I hope to be in a position to write to you soon.

21 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will respond to my letter of 11 May 2001 regarding Mr Halliday of Caplefoot, Tundergarth.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am sorry that I have not been able to reply to your letter of 11 May, but will do so as soon as the results of enquiries which are under way are known.

21 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Environment and Rural Development will respond to my letter of 13 June 2001 regarding the slaughter of feral goats near Moffat.

Answer · Ross Finnie: With apologies for the delay, I replied on 1 October 2001.

6 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the funding allocated to VisitScotland prior to 2 August 2001 in connection with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has had to date on (a) the number of tourists visiting and (b) the level of tourist spending in (i) Dumfries and Galloway and (ii) Scotland, compared in particu…

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: The Executive is working with VisitScotland to monitor the effectiveness of the actions put in place to assist the tourism industry to recover from the effects of foot-and-mouth disease. It is not, however, possible at this time to make the assessment request…

6 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales on how best to support rural areas to recover from outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.

Answer · Ross Finnie: There have been a number of discussions with ministers from the National Assembly for Wales about foot-and-mouth disease recovery. These include my regular meetings with the three UK Agriculture Ministers, which have recently focused on various aspects of foo…

6 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15199 by Ross Finnie on 18 June 2001, what the current status is of the Dumfries and Galloway economic recovery plan.

Answer · Ross Finnie: A working group comprised of officials from the local council and agencies as well as the Scottish Executive has met on several occasions to provide strategic co-ordination of the recovery plan. The announcements of extra Scottish Executive resources to allev…

6 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities require authorisation from it to lease out heritable property for a period of 99 years to any organisation for either a nominal or a full rent and, if so, what rules and conditions apply in relation to such authorisations.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Local authorities only require ministers consent under section 12(7) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 if they wish to dispose of housing or housing land from their Housing Revenue Account at a full rent. For the criteria and disposals at less than best pric…

6 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what authorisation local authorities require from it in order to transfer a heritable asset to a not for profit organisation for no or a nominal consideration and what rules and conditions apply in relation to such transfers.

Answer · Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-7981 on 31 July 2000.