Parliamentary questions

Jamie McGrigor

1,122 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

4 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans it has for the transport of livestock between Orkney and Shetland and the mainland, if the proposed cassette system is not operational by 1 October 2002.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We share the livestock industry's interest in contingency plans. We plan to work with NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Limited, the local authorities and farming interests to ensure that adequate fallback arrangements are in place.

4 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the new system of cassettes for the transport of livestock will be operational following its #100,000 grant to NorthLink Ferries Ltd.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The grant that has been provided will enable NorthLink to finalise the design of the cassette system. NorthLink is currently developing proposals for the purchase and operation of cassettes involving a third party, including arrangements for the lease of cass…

4 Feb 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what ferry service arrangements for passengers, freight and livestock between Orkney and Shetland and the mainland will be in place between 1 March and 1 October 2002.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: P&O Scottish Ferries have stated publicly their willingness to continue operating the existing service for the extension period from 1 April to 30 September 2002 and I welcome that commitment.We have had extensive discussions with P&O Scottish Ferries on t…

31 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of how any monies from the modulation of farmers' subsidies will be spent in 2002-03.

Answer · Ross Finnie: All the receipts raised in Scotland will be used in Scotland in ways which are of benefit to the Scottish farming industry. We forecast that around £3.97 million of the receipts raised through modulation will be used to fund agri-environment schemes (the Rura…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs have been created by community buy-outs since 1994.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Details of jobs created by community buy-outs since 1994 are not available. It should be recognised that for many community land initiatives, job creation is not necessarily the primary objective. Priorities can vary, and include security and control of la…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs created by community buy-outs since 1994 have been subsidised.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Jobs created by community buy-outs have not been subsidised using the definition of subsidised as "long-term on-going recurrent contribution toward salary and other employment related costs". However, Highlands and Islands Enterprise Community Land …

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual costs of funding community buy-outs have been since 1994.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The annual costs of funding community buy-outs is not held centrally as funding is available from various sources. I have, however, detailed in the table, the annual costs of funding community buy-outs administered through Highlands and Islands Enterprise Com…

30 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the capital cost of each community buy-out has been since 1994, including the cost of the community buy-out of Assynt.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Public funding awarded to community buy-outs is available from various sources, details of overall funding are not held centrally. The capital cost of community buy-outs administered through Highlands and Islands Enterprise Community Land Unit which was estab…

30 Jan 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in respect of road accident rates in rural areas.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive reviews annually accidents on trunk roads and investigates clusters of accidents at particular locations and routes with high accident rates. The Executive undertakes annually a programme of road safety remedial measures on the trunk ro…

22 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when checks are made on emissions from telecommunications masts, consideration is given to the amalgam of cumulative emissions at peak times from a single telecommunication mast equipped with multiple antennae.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The audit of mobile phone base stations set up in response to the recommendations of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (the Stewart Group) is being carried out by the Radiocommunications Agency (RA).The RA, when conducting its initial audit of …

22 Jan 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to protect and promote coarse fish species and coarse fishing.

Answer · Allan Wilson: I am currently considering responses to the Green Paper, Scotland's Freshwater Fish and Fisheries: Securing their Future. This contained a number of proposed initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting both Scotland's game and coarse fish and fisheri…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Article 3 of the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revision) will have any implications for independent historical and archaeological associations in Scotland and what steps it will take to ensure that such associations do not suffer any advers…

Answer · Mike Watson: Article 3 of the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revision) recently signed by the UK Government seeks to ensure that archaeological excavations and prospecting are undertaken in a scientific manner by qualified, specially…

22 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the European Commission's recent proposal to make all medicines for livestock and horses available only on prescription will have on agricultural merchant businesses.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This proposal forms part of a much wider set of proposals to amend and update the procedures for the authorisation and control of both human and veterinary medicines in the EU. In its present form this particular proposal could prevent agricultural merchants …

13 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many alternative sites were considered when the future of the landfill site at Lingerton, Argyll was discussed and whether the Lingerton site satisfies the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's guidelines on landfill.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The question of alternative sites is a matter for the developer before an application is submitted to the planning authority. The Scottish Ministers would not take this into account in their consideration of a planning application notified to them by a local …

13 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the residents of the travellers' site at Duncholgan were not consulted over the future of the nearby landfill site at Lingerton, Argyll.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Halcrow Crouch, the agents acting for the applicant, Shanks Waste Services confirmed to Argyll and Bute Council in a letter dated 1 December 2000 that neighbour notifications and plans had been issued to all the residents at Duncholgan. They were not required…

3 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to alleviate any financial difficulties being experienced by the network of privately owned hostels in the Highlands and Islands as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Tourism businesses received substantial aid from the £13.5 million package of emergency relief announced on 28 March. We hope to make an announcement shortly about a strategy for addressing the medium and longer term effects of foot-and-mouth disease on touri…

29 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposals for the purchase of salmon fishing rights in the draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will result in a loss of revenue raised by fisheries trusts in crofting areas for salmon and sea trout conservation and, if so, how that revenue will be replaced.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Trusts are funded by Fishery Boards and fishing proprietors and their revenues will be determined in future as they are now by decisions made by those who provide the funding. The proposals in the draft Bill do not alter that.

29 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted any survey into the impact on employment levels and tourism revenue of its proposals in the draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill to allow crofting community bodies to purchase salmon fishing rights.

Answer · Iain Gray: We consider the consultation exercise which we have recently completed and which included responses from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Highland Council as well as landowners and crofting interests is a more effective mechanism for eliciting views on th…

29 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has carried out or plans to carry out with individuals or bodies who work on salmon and sea trout rivers on its proposals in the draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on the purchase of salmon fishing rights.

Answer · Iain Gray: The draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill was published in a consultation paper in February 2001. This consultation document was available free to members of the public and also published on the internet. A period of 18 weeks from the publication date was allowed…

28 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring the implementation of the Partnership in Practice agreements recommended in the report The same as you? and, in particular, how it will monitor how the #36 million allocated to the Challenge Fund over the next three years is spent on helping those with learning disabi…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Partnership in Practice agreements are being monitored for the extent to which they identify clear outputs and outcomes to be achieved locally over the next three years, and for effective use of new and existing resources to achieve the aims of The same as…

27 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reimburse Argyll & Bute Council and Highland Council for the costs they incurred in setting up and manning disinfectant points on the roads during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The decision by the Argyll & Bute and Highland Councils to set up disinfectant points in their areas was taken despite advice from the Scottish Executive that such measures were unlikely to prove effective in disease control terms. The Executive, therefor…

20 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure the continuation of the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme in order to provide a safety net for those farmers and crofters whose traditional markets for ewes and lambs have been closed due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme was introduced to alleviate welfare problems arising from the movement restriction imposed during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. I am concerned about the prospects for the sheep and lamb trade over the remainder o…

20 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is actively investigating the possibility of a phased lifting of the ban on meat and livestock exports to enable areas dependent on exports that have been completely free of foot-and-mouth disease to resume export trade at the earliest opportunity.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive, in conjunction with other agricultural and interested departments, is examining options for a return to export status for meat, meat products and live animals. I recognise the pressure for an early, and possibly staged, resumption of trade abro…

20 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made towards reopening auction markets in Highlands and Islands in time for the 2001 store lamb crop to be sold before the summer grass ends and what provision it is making to avoid animal welfare problems and hardship for hill farmers and crofters should these mark…

Answer · Ross Finnie: Careful consideration is being given at present to the possibility of some transactions through markets being permitted this autumn. I understand the need for this and have sympathy with the difficulties of moving large numbers of animals without some involve…

20 Jun 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with the management of fishing of deepwater species.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I remain unhappy with the Council agreement on deep-water species. I promised the Scottish Fishermen's Federation a letter to the Commission. That letter has now issued from Elliot Morley's office asking the Commission to take into account the neglected views…

9 May 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest position is regarding toxin testing of scallops.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Responsibility for sampling and monitoring scallops for toxins transferred to the Food Standards Agency in April 2000. From April this year the agency began publishing results for whole animal tests as well as the roe. However, in common with previous years, …

2 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what volume of milk was produced after adjustment for butterfat for both wholesale and direct sales in the year ending 31 March 2001 within the Southern Isles ring-fenced area.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The butterfat adjusted wholesale production figure for quota year ended 31 March 2001 was 55,378,455 litres. The direct sales figure for quota year ended 31 March 2001 is not yet available.

2 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what volume of milk quota for both wholesale and direct sales was available for use in the year ending 31 March 2001 within the Southern Isles ring-fenced area.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Wholesale quota available for use in the quota year ending 31 March 2001 was 52,856,125 litres. Direct sales quota was 417,390 litres. These figures take account of the removal of Islay from the Southern Isles ring fenced area.

21 Mar 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the proposals contained within the European Commission's Green Paper on Fisheries Reform.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive welcomes the European Commission’s Green Paper on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy as a good basis for taking the review forward. The document appears to address many of the concerns of the Scottish fishing industry and is a re…

28 Feb 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to support fishermen during the period of the cod recovery plan.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The full range of cod recovery measures has yet to be agreed: the closed areas in the North Sea and off the west coast represent initial, emergency measures to help protect cod stocks. The aim of recovery measures is of course to help ensure sustainable and v…