Fergus Ewing

25 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any research entitled "The Conflicting Government 1959 and 1967 Statements on Trespass" from Alan Blackshaw, OBE, VRD of Newtonmore, Inverness-shire, and what its position is on this research and Mr Blackshaw's conclusions and, in particular, on whether there is a …

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am aware of the research conducted by Mr Blackshaw relating to the current legal position in respect of access by the public to land. The conflicting evidence on this subject to the Justice 2 Committee from Mr Blackshaw and others, including the Law Society…

21 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which roads are part of the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T); whether the A82 is included; whether the trans-European character of this route renders it eligible for EU funding and, if so, what maximum funding can be sought, and whether it is considering making an application …

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Trans-European Transport Network aims to ensure the sustainable mobility of persons and goods across the EU. It includes all transport links within the EU that are considered to be of common interest, including the Scottish motorway network and a number o…

20 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact will be on the Lochaber economy of the decision to reject plans for the #4.5 million Castle Tioram project.

Answer · Elaine Murray: In his report on the public local inquiry into the application for scheduled monument consent to conserve Castle Tioram, the Reporter stated that the realisation of the project would not make the castle a national tourist attraction and the economic impact of…

18 Feb 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S1W-22708 by Sir David Steel on 15 February 2002, which design services were not completed by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and what the cost of completing these services (a) would have been and (b) will now be.

Answer · David Steel: The design services not completed by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd mainly comprised detailing of interfaces between complex cladding elements and the cost of completing that work would have been £117,500. I understand from the Convener of the Holyr…

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will require the Scottish Agricultural College to reconsider its proposals in regard to Auchincruive.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Scottish Agricultural College is currently still developing its proposals. No decisions have been taken and their final plans have yet to be submitted to ministers. When they are we will give them full and careful consideration.

11 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that BEAR Scotland Ltd meets representatives of the community in Mallaig in relation to the complaints from Mallaig Community Council in regard to the condition of the A830, and whether it will require BEAR Scotland Ltd to produce an action plan for the community o…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: BEAR Scotland Ltd. met with representatives of Mallaig Community Council on 20 February 2002 to discuss their concerns regarding the condition of the A830, in particular the section of the road east of Arisaig.<P>To address those concerns, a structural mainte…

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will reply to my letter of 27 December 2001, to the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning in respect of the Scottish Transport Group.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: A reply to your letter was issued on 6 March 2002.

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any additional element of surplus in the Scottish Transport Group pension funds which accrues in the current financial year will be made over in full to the members of the funds or whether any such sum will be paid to other persons or bodies.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The audited report and accounts for the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes in respect of the final accounting period are due to be received by the Executive shortly. The position as regards distribution of the surplus remains as I announced to Parliamen…

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning will visit Aviemore and travel along the A95 in order to observe the condition of the road and what assessment it has made of the importance of the road to the whisky industry and the local economy as a whole.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I visited Aviemore and travelled along the A95 on 11 February 2002.<P>Trunk roads are defined as nationally important routes that serve destinations of importance to industry, commerce, agriculture and tourism. As such the 1996 <I>Shaping the Trunk Road Netwo…

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any headquarters functions of Scottish Natural Heritage that are carried out (a) at Hope Terrace, Edinburgh, (b) at Bonnington Bond, Leith, (c) in Inverness, (d) in Aberdeen, (e) in Battleby and (f) in Clydebank.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Scottish Natural Heritage carries out a range of headquarters functions at its Hope Terrace, Bonnington, Battleby, Inverness, Aberdeen and Clydebank locations.<P>The following table gives details of the HQ functions carried by out by one or more staff at each…

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any deadline has been fixed for the submission by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) of a report costing the options for relocating its headquarters from Edinburgh; which locations are being considered for such a relocation; whether SNH staff will have access to the full report prior…

Answer · Allan Wilson: It was announced on 19 November 2001 that Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) would undertake a relocation review, as there is a property lease break in one of its Edinburgh offices in 2005. The review will access issues such as costs, quality and efficiency of s…

8 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will obtain a valuation of the land and buildings occupied by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) at Hope Terrace, Edinburgh; whether, should the SNH head office be relocated from Edinburgh, the capital receipt from the sale of the premises at Hope Terrace would be available (a) in…

Answer · Allan Wilson: In accordance with the general principles in undertaking a relocation review, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will consider issues such as costs, social issues, personnel issues, transport and environmental considerations. A valuation of Hope Terrace, Edinbur…

7 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20422 by Nicol Stephen on 11 December 2001, whether it will take urgent action in order to bring forward the publication of the Review of Educational Psychologists; on what date the report will be published; whether it is impossible for the negotiati…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive will publish the report of the Review of Educational Psychology Services by the end of February.<P>The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) is currently considering the issue of pay and conditions for educational psycholog…

6 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the 10% reduction in the total allocated catch for nephrops in 2001 will be re-instated for 2002.

Answer · Ross Finnie: At last December's Fisheries Council, the commission proposed reductions in various Nephrops total allocated catch (TAC). In line with the scientific advice, the UK argued successfully for increases on these commission proposals. The outcome for 2002 was a Ne…

6 Feb 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when a minister will visit Nairn to promote its golf tourism strategy and what steps it is taking to promote Nairn's golf clubs as part of this strategy.

Answer · Mike Watson: I have no immediate plans to visit Nairn. Nairn Golf Club is part of the Golf Highland initiative, which works closely with VisitScotland. The Nairn golf courses feature strongly in VisitScotland promotional activities.

5 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13284 by Sarah Boyack on 23 March 2001, whether it or its agents now record the number of times on which powers under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 are invoked.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive does not record this information. However, the trunk road operating companies are required to maintain records of the times that they undertake delegated functions under the powers of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.

4 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek payment of agrimonetary compensation for the sheep sector; whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government that such compensation should be made available, and how much agrimonetary compensation is estimated to be available on application by Her Majes…

Answer · Ross Finnie: The European Commission have yet to confirm whether there is any agrimonetary compensation available to the sheep sector. Although this aid relates to the second and third stages of compensation paid last year, the EU agrimonetary rules provide for these late…

4 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many responses received to its consultation on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill expressed an opinion relating to section 9(2)(a) of the bill and, of these, how many (a) supported and (b) opposed the inclusion of this provision in the bill.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The provision set out in section 9(2)(a) of the bill did not form part of the consultation draft of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. The decision to include section 9(2)(a) was taken in response to arguments advanced by 151 respondents to the consultation on …

4 Feb 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-22107 on 4 February 2002, whether Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd provided all of the design services which they were under contractual obligation to provide.

Answer · David Steel: I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress that Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd had not completed all of the design services required under contract prior to the company's insolvency.

4 Feb 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of the specification of the windows to be fitted in the new Parliament building at Holyrood and whether any independent testing such as accelerated weathering testing will be …

Answer · David Steel: Legal advice has indicated that the documents requested may form part of the productions in any litigation that may follow and therefore cannot be made available at this time. All suppliers have a duty to satisfy the client that their product is fit for purpo…

4 Feb 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answer to question S1W-22106 by Sir David Steel on 4 February 2002, who the contractor is who has been appointed to supply and install the bay window element of the MSP building at the new Parliament building at Holyrood.

Answer · David Steel: The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has confirmed that Baydale Architectural Systems Ltd is the contractor appointed to supply and install the bay window element of the MSP building.

1 Feb 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what the estimated cost is of the landscaping works for the Holyrood Project; whether this contract was put out to tender; whether less expensive plans for landscaping were considered and, if so, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will detail the costs and plans for any such…

Answer · David Steel: The estimated cost of the landscaping works must remain commercial-in-confidence at this stage since the tender documents for the works are not due to be issued until the end of February. I am informed by the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that, sinc…

29 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which learning providers based in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber were recipients of Individual Learning Account payments in each of the last two years.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The following learning providers based in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber have been recipients of Individual Learning Account payments in each of the last two years:<U><P>2000-01</U><P>Development Partners<P>Foremost IT<P>Inverness College<P>Nevis Training…

28 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations from the police in respect of any defective road surface on the A82 south of Inverarnon and, if so, when such representations were received.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No representations from the police have been received by the Scottish Executive concerning the condition of the road surface on the A82 south of Inverarnan.

25 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Transport will attend a public meeting in Badenoch and Strathspey in order to explain why BEAR Scotland Ltd was appointed to be responsible for trunk road maintenance; whether it is satisfied with the performance of BEAR Scotland Ltd to date; what action it has t…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Scottish minister were obliged to follow EU procurement rules in appointing trunk road maintenance operator, and to avoid contracts on the basis of the most economically advantageous tenders, subject to bidders being able to demonstrate a proven track record …

25 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer how many high-profile (a) visits and (b) visitors to the Parliament are anticipated for the period from January to April 2002; by how much this figure differs from the (i) anticipated and (ii) actual figures for the same period in (1) 2000 and (2) 2001, and what implications have been iden…

Answer · David Steel: The Parliament's External Liaison Unit is currently aware of 21 high-profile visits to the Parliament in the period from 1 January to 30 April 2002. It is anticipated that a further 20 or so high profile visits can be expected during the period. <P>(The term …

24 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-21899 on 23 January 2002, whether he will place copies of the Letter of Intent and formal contract in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Answer · David Steel: The convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has confirmed that legal advice is currently being sought as to whether or not it is proper to release into the public domain details of the Letter of Intent and formal contract. If it is considered that there is no…

24 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18204 by Lewis Macdonald on 24 October 2001, what response it has received to its formal request that Her Majesty's Government impose a public service obligation on the Inverness to Gatwick route and implement measures that will secure the slots requ…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is awaiting response from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions to the case for measures to protect access to Gatwick for the Inverness service.

21 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer whether any legal action against Flour City International Inc in respect of breach of contract by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd can be pursued in Scotland and, if not, whether it must be pursued in the United States of America.

Answer · David Steel: Legal advice is currently being sought which will enable the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body's position to be fully determined in due course.

21 Jan 2002 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-12273 on 25 January 2001, whether each of the works packages listed has been completed within the estimated contract duration stated and, if not, when it is estimated that the works in respect of each contract will be completed

Answer · David Steel: All of the works packages listed in the answer to question S1W-12273 on 25 January 2001 were completed within the estimated contract duration with the exception of Tower Cranes, Queensberry House Scaffolding, Lifts (whole site) and Queensberry House Demolitio…