Richard Lochhead

8 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the increase in water and sewerage charges was for each council tax band in each water authority area in 1997 and each subsequent year and what the cumulative increase in charges in each band in each area was in each of these years, using 1997 as the base year.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The figures requested are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=624><TR><TD WIDTH="5%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=2><P></TD><TD WIDTH="47%" VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=7 HEIGHT=2><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=1><P ALIGN="CENTER">Year on year percentage chang…

8 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much income each water authority raised from (a) domestic water and sewerage charges, (b) non-domestic water and sewerage charges, (c) borrowing, (d) government grants and (e) other sources in each year since 1996; what each of these figures represents as a percentage of each water au…

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Actual and projected figures for the years 1996-97 to 2001-02 are given in the table below. Figures beyond 2001-02 will not be available until after completion of the next Strategic Review of Charges. <P>Historical financial figures for the water authorities …

7 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the economic value of the film and television industry has been in each of the last five years.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Information is not compiled in the form requested. The evidence from the annual reports of the broadcasters and information supplied by Scottish Screen is that the expenditure of the film and television industry (not including film exhibition) was in the rang…

7 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the establishment of a film commission in the north east.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Following a meeting with representatives of the North East of Scotland Economic Partnership together with the Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board, Scottish Screen has been working with the Tourist Board to help attract potential incoming productions.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any increases in the levy paid by farmers to the Meat and Livestock Commission will only proceed with the agreement of all parts of the UK.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Consultations between the MLC and the industry on proposed increases in beef and sheep levies are not yet complete. If conflicting views emerge within the industry, these will have to be balanced by the Commission before a decision to proceed, or otherwise, w…

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation has taken place with farmers on the proposals to increase the levy paid to the Meat and Livestock Commission.

Answer · Ross Finnie: As required by the Agriculture Act 1967, the MLC currently is consulting red meat industry interests, including farming interests, about proposals to increase beef and sheep levies.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any further changes are planned in connection with the promotion of meat produce following the establishment of Quality Meat Scotland.

Answer · Ross Finnie: QMS has been drawing up a Strategic Plan which, I understand, will be published soon.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of whether the levies paid by farmers to the Meat and Livestock Commission offer value for money and, if so, what the findings were.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The MLC regularly monitors the impact of levy payers expenditure. The most recent independent review - Quinquennial Review - of the MLC was published in March 1999. I have arranged for a copy to be sent to you.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make representations to the Meat and Livestock Commission on its proposals to increase its levies.

Answer · Ross Finnie: It is the views of the levy payers which are of paramount importance in any decision to increase levies. I understand that the MLC's consultation process is not yet complete.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of Quality Meat Scotland's performance since its establishment.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am encouraged by the progress made by QMS and look forward to the publication of its Strategic Plan. It should be noted that QMS is an industry body which is not directly accountable to the Scottish Executive.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a standing committee or forum involving representatives from each of the major supermarket chains in Scotland to discuss matters relating to the food and agriculture sectors.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I see no need for such a body as I have regular contact with the major retailers over a range of issues impacting on the food and agriculture sectors.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average levy paid by farmers to the Meat and Livestock Commission is.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Levy is collected at the point of slaughter and paid by abattoir operators to the MLC. Abattoir operators deduct the farmer portion of the MLC levy from the payments they make to farmers for animals purchased. It is therefore not possible for the MLC to calcu…

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-1712 by Ross Finnie on 18 May 2000, whether it is satisfied that the concerns about the representation of the various agriculture sectors on the Quality Meat Scotland board have been addressed.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Membership of the QMS Board has been expanded to broaden sectoral representation, a decision which I welcome.

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the introduction of country of origin labelling.

Answer · Susan Deacon: On matters of food safety and standards the Scottish Executive is advised by the Food Standards Agency. For foodstuffs generally the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 only require origin labelling where it is needed to avoid misleading consumers, for example wh…

24 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the cod recovery plan agreed between the EU and the Norwegian authorities and what the impact of this will be for the Scottish fishing industry.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Details of the cod recovery plan are given in the Agreed Record of Consultations between the European Community and Norway on the North Sea cod crises, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. no. 11042).<FONT FACE="Arial" SI…

18 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sea cage fish farming operators have been taken to court by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and what percentage of these cases resulted in a conviction, broken down for each year since the establishment of the agency.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Information about the number of cases taken to court by the Procurator Fiscal after referral by the agency is not held centrally. However, the agency publishes details of successful prosecutions on its website at:<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>http://www.sepa.o…

18 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many court proceedings were initiated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and how many and what percentage of the cases taken to court resulted in a conviction, broken down for each year since the establishment of the agency.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The numbers of cases involving alleged contravention of environmental protection legislation referred to the Procurator Fiscal service by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are set out in the table.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The decision on whether or not to …

18 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce compulsory registration for bed and breakfast establishments.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: No.

18 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Minister for Rural Affairs was renamed the Minister for Rural Development.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The portfolio was renamed to emphasise the Executive's commitment to the development of rural areas.

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many official visits the First Minister has undertaken in (a) Aberdeen and (b) the North East of Scotland parliamentary region since his appointment and when he next intends to visit these locations.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I will be visiting Aberdeen on 1 and 2 February.

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Transport intends to visit Aberdeen to observe recent traffic problems; if so, when and with whom she intends to meet while in the city.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I have a commitment to visit Aberdeen to meet representatives of the North East Scotland Economic Development Partnership to discuss further their proposed Modern Transport System for the city and its hinterland. That meeting will take place as soon as is mut…

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the communications received from Aberdeen City Council since 1 January 2001 in connection with current traffic problems in Aberdeen, specifying the date each such communication was sent.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive received communications from Aberdeen City Council on this issue on the 3 and 15 January.

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times Aberdeen City Council have requested meetings with the Minister for Transport since 1 January 2001, specifying the date of each such request.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I received a request from Aberdeen City Council on 15 January to attend the public meeting on traffic congestion in the Bridge of Don area planned for 18 January.

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial assistance was made available in each of the last three years for road improvements in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Dundee, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Glasgow and (e) each Scottish parliamentary region and what percentage of the total transport budget for the relevant year each of these …

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Central government funding for expenditure on local roads forms part of the annual local government settlement. It is for each local authority to decide how much to allocate to local roads. <FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Spending on motorway and trunk road sche…

9 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many drivers in each of the last three years have been charged with driving under the influence of drugs and how many have been convicted, broken down in each case by police force area.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The available information on the number of offences of driving while unfit through drink or drugs which were proceeded against in court is given in the table. Information is not available separately on those driving while unfit through drugs.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY…

9 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority owned units of property have been sold in each of the last five years and what the total selling price was for each year.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Information on the number of local authority-owned units sold is not collected centrally. Total proceeds from local authority asset sales as reported by local authorities back to 1996-97 is shown in the table. Figures for 1995-96 have been excluded as these i…

5 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers (a) took early retirement and (b) resigned in each of the last five years, broken down by sector for each local authority area.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The following tables show the latest information available on teachers taking early retirement. No information is held centrally which could identify separately those teachers who resign.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As you are aware I have recently sent a report on the…

5 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, for each of the last five years, what the average age was of (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Information is only available for 1998 and 1994.<P ALIGN="LEFT"><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=311><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT=9><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>At September 1998</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="88%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=8><FONT…

5 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on teaching Scottish history in schools and whether it plans to change its policy.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive's policy is to ensure that guidance to education authorities and schools provide ample opportunities for teaching Scottish history at every level of the school curriculum. There are no plans to change current policy.

5 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers have taken their own lives in each of the last five years.

Answer · Iain Gray: The information requested is given in the table. When analysing suicides it is conventional to include deaths due to 'Injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted'. For the sake of clarity, the two categories have also been shown separately…