Peter Peacock

23 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the LEADER programme to seek the first applications for rural broadband improvements and when the first grant awards are likely to be made.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29269 on 3 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions area available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

23 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the criteria for the use of funds allocated to the LEADER programme for rural broadband.

Answer · Jim Mather: It is anticipated that Scotland''s rural communities will benefit from ‚¬2.9 million funding, allocated for broadband projects, from the European Economic Recovery Package. Funding will be made available to applicants for new or enhanced broadband infrastruct…

6 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has powers to direct Scottish Natural Heritage.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Section 11 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 provides powers for Scottish ministers to provide directions to Scottish Natural Heritage with regard to the discharge of its functions, except in relation to the functions specified in Schedule 2 of the …

30 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the European Commission can direct the Scottish Government or Scottish Natural Heritage as to what sites they should select for designation under provisions in EU law, such as special areas of conservation.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The EC Birds and Habitats Directives place obligations on member states to designate sites in accordance with the terms provided in those Directives.</p> <p >The European Commission may raise proceedings against member states in the European Court of Justice…

30 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether sites to be designated for conservation purposes under provisions in Scots or EU law are selected by the European Commission or by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has responsibility for the notification of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in accordance with the provisions of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.</p> <p >The EC Birds and Habitats Directives place obligations o…

28 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is taking steps to ensure the continuation of publicly funded countryside ranger services and, if so, what steps.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Local authorities are responsible for determining local priorities in the use of their resources including the level of funding allocated to countryside ranger services within their area. Scottish Natural Heritage and Local Access Forums are able to able prov…

28 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given guidance to Scottish Natural Heritage to ensure that reductions in its budget will not adversely affect the scope of environmental projects carried out by the voluntary sector.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28440 on 5 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

28 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has given guidance to Scottish Natural Heritage to ensure that reductions in its budget will not result in job losses in the voluntary sector and other grant-funded bodies.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage is responsible for determining best value in the allocation of its resources consistent with delivery of the objectives and priorities agreed with Scottish ministers and set out in its Corporate Plan. </p>

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it regards the swallows that reside in Scotland each summer as native species and wild creatures.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is satisfied that swallows visiting Scotland in summer fall within the definition of wild birds for the purposes of Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, since Section 27 of the Act defines a wild bird for those purposes as …

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it regards the Atlantic salmon as a wild creature for the purposes of protective legislation.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Atlantic Salmon are considered wild creatures for the purposes of protective legislation other than those raised in captivity. </p>

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it regards wild bees as having homing instincts.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Wild bees have sophisticated navigational skills that enable them to locate forage and return to their nest or burrow. There is also research evidence that bees transported further away from their nest or burrow than they would normally forage can make the re…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that improved bee husbandry has a part to play in the control of disease in honey bee populations and what steps it is taking to support bee keepers in updating and improving their husbandry skills in light of increased incidence of disease.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Bee husbandry has a major part to play in control of diseases in honey bees. The Scottish Government supports a full time apiculture specialist at the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) to provide a free of charge service of training courses in bee husbandry…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to local authorities regarding the cutting of roadside verges and their importance for biodiversity and pollinating insects.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage have provided guidance on Management of Roadside Verges for Nature Conservation <a href="http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=115">www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=115</a> .</p> <p >Case studies are also available in Best Value…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the Scottish black bee a native or non-native species and what evidence it has to support this.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: There is no definitive answer. Honeybee colonies were probably exploited by human beings as they moved north at the end of the last ice age. It is likely that humans probably provided hives to feral bees from which they could take honey. Under some circumstan…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to test for the extent of (a) American and (b) European foulbrood in the spring of 2010 and to assess the impact of any antibiotic or other treatment administered in the weeks prior to the overwintering of bees.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government will be testing for American and European Foulbrood (AFB and EFB) in spring 2010. The plans for this testing are under consideration and will take account of the distribution of AFB and EFB uncovered in 2009, the extent of antibiotic t…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it recommends the use of (a) antibiotics and (b) other treatments for (i) American and (ii) European foulbrood and in what circumstances it considers the destruction of affected bees the optimal form of intervention.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Destruction of affected bees is the only option and is mandatory in all cases of American Foulbrood (AFB), antibiotic treatment is never recommended for treatment of AFB.</p> <p >In cases of European Foulbrood (EFB) destruction is always recommended for heav…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its understanding is of the extent of (a) American and (b) European foulbrood in Scotland and what action is being taken to impact on their spread.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Between July and the end of September when inspections ceased, 2,764 hives in 289 apiaries had been inspected. European Foulbrood (EFB) had been detected in 255 hives in 56 apiaries located in many areas of the East of Scotland from Dunkeld to Montrose and fr…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-26140 by Richard Lochhead on 17 August 2009, when its bee strategy will be published.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: In view of the unprecedented scale and seriousness of the ongoing bee disease outbreaks in Scotland this summer and autumn, and the resource implications this has had, we consider that it would be valuable to take some time to learn lessons from our experienc…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what restrictions are being implemented to limit the spread of varroa mite to island bee populations.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Since Varroa mite is no longer notifiable or reportable there are no such restrictions in place.</p>

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any incidence of varroa mite among honey bees on the Isle of Lewis.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Varroa mite is considered endemic in Scotland and its presence is no longer notifiable or reportable. However, the Scottish Government is aware that in July 2009 a sample was submitted by a beekeeper on the Isle of Lewis to the free diagnostic service pro…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional legal powers it may consider to offer support and protection to the Colonsay black bee colony.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is at an early stage of considering what steps it may take to protect black bees in Scotland and cannot pre-empt the outcome of work that is in progress.</p>

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers exist to support and afford legal protection to the Colonsay black bee colony.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: No such powers exist at the present time.</p>

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be acceptable measures to protect from raptors a pheasant reared for release.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Wildlife and Countryside Act provides for licensed control of predatory birds for the prevention of serious damage to livestock. The act requires control to be considered only where there is no other satisfactory solution. There is a wide range of possibl…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual number of reared pheasant taken by buzzards is and what the source is of any such information.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In 1999 and 2000 a study carried out by ADAS Consulting Ltd for British Association of Shooting and Conservation, at 36 lowland game bird release pens on a number of estates in England and Scotland, suggested that losses of game-bird poults to birds of prey a…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a pheasant reared for release is considered a protected species.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Section 27 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act states that pheasants are game birds. The taking or killing of game birds is governed by the game acts. However, game birds which are in a wild state are protected by section 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a pheasant reared for release is considered a wild bird.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: For the purposes of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 a pheasant is defined as a game bird and is therefore not included in the definition of wild bird except for the purposes of section 5 and 16 of the act.</p>

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the (a) level and (b) locations of the buzzard population compare with those of (i) 10 and (ii) 20 years ago.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Systematic data is not available in this form. Data from the Breeding Bird Survey suggests that the buzzard population has increased at an approximate rate of 8% since 1994. Observations indicate there has been limited expansion in range, but a marked increas…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated buzzard population is.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The number of buzzards in Great Britain in 2000 was estimated to be in the range 31,100 to 44,000 pairs. Separate figures for Scotland were not calculated. Estimates of the Scottish population in 2003, gave a possible range of 7,100 to 25,600 territorial pair…

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to implement the recommendations from the 2004 consultation, Proposals to Revise Existing Animal Welfare Legislation - A Consultation.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The responses to this consultation resulted in the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 being passed by the Scottish Parliament. This act revoked the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 and its amendments and replaced these provisions with the …

19 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken since the 2004 consultation, Proposals to Revise Existing Animal Welfare Legislation - A Consultation, in relation to reared birds and raptors.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The 2004 consultation sought views on issues which could be included in a new animal welfare act to replace the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912. The new Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 applies to all captive animals, not animals in the…