Parliamentary questions

Richard Lochhead

2,448 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

14 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific financial and other types of measures are available to assist fish processors to maintain and develop their businesses both at home and overseas.

Answer · John Home Robertson: Financial assistance may be available under the new Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) which we expect to open to applications later this year. Any scheme for processing and marketing will be competitive in nature, predominantly geared toward …

14 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it has given to fish processors in recent months to help them meet the costs incurred in fulfilling their obligations under the Urban Waste Water Directive.

Answer · John Home Robertson: Since 1994 the Scottish fish processing industry and related sectors have received a total of £19.7 million, and payments continue to be made. The Executive has not received any formal applications from fish processors for financial assistance in respect of t…

9 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with research into sonic devices to deter dolphins from being caught in fishing nets.

Answer · John Home Robertson: Trials involving the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at St. Andrews and the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation are currently underway in the Celtic Sea. These are designed to test under commercial conditions the deterrent effect of a "pinger" on sm…

8 Jun 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether farmers in Scotland were informed about the recent importing of GM seed produced by Advanta after farmers in England and Wales.

Answer · Ross Finnie: No. The adventitious presence of GM seed in conventional seed stocks was first announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 17 May 2000.

7 Jun 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to assist Buchan and the wider economy in the North East of Scotland in the light of recent decisions such as the downgrading of RAF Buchan.

Answer · Henry McLeish: We take very seriously the need to respond positively in the face of the decision to commence a rundown of activity at RAF Buchan, which is due to take place over the next four years. We will be working closely with Scottish Enterprise Grampian and the Aberde…

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate has been made of the cost to (a) business and (b) the Scottish Executive of implementing the EU Water Framework Directive and whether it will make a statement on the timescale for the implementation of this directive and the general impact it will have on Scotland.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The negotiations on the proposed EC Water Framework Directive are not yet concluded.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Government commissioned consultants to undertake a cost/benefit study of implementing the proposed directive in the UK. A copy of their report, <I>Poten…

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of Rural Scotland: A New Approach were printed and how much it cost to publish and distribute this document.

Answer · Ross Finnie: 2,000 copies of <I>Rural Scotland: A New Approach</I> were printed. Since I launched the document on 22 May there has been a large demand and my officials have distributed over 1,400 copies. Total costs for publishing and distribution are £18,000.

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it pays for any advisers to House of Commons Committees or Her Majesty's Government from its budget.

Answer · Jack McConnell: No.

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students enrolled with the Scottish Agricultural College in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Home Robertson: The table below shows the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) students who enrolled at SAC in each of the last five years:<P ALIGN="CENTER"><CENTER><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=425><TR><TD WIDTH="46%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="CENTER">Year</T…

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of its total research funding has been awarded to bodies outwith Scotland, broken down by department and expressed in both monetary and percentage terms.

Answer · Henry McLeish: A complete answer to this question cannot be compiled without incurring disproportionate cost. However, relevant information relating to the three largest blocks of the Executive's research expenditure is as follows:<UL><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><LI>None of the £132…

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what value of research funding awarded by the Rural Affairs Department was awarded to bodies outwith Scotland in each of the last five years and what percentage of the department's total research funding this represents.

Answer · John Home Robertson: The value of research contracts awarded by the Rural Affairs Department to bodies outwith Scotland in each of the last five years and the percentage of the department's total research budget this represents is provided in the table below:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPA…

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why it was decided to create a new promotional body for the meat industry.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), which is not solely a meat promotional body, was formed by key meat and livestock industry interests in response to devolution. This was done in recognition that a single body would be more responsive to Scotland's needs and to th…

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on salary levels and benefit packages for the chairmen of the water authorities.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Water authority Chairs are remunerated at a level appropriate for the responsibilities, duties and time commitment which they are required to take on.

31 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the names of the chairmen of each of the water authorities specifying in each case their salaries, any pension or other benefits received, the overall cost of these positions to the water authorities, and whether any of the chairmen are members of any political party …

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Information on the level of each Chair's remuneration is set out in the table below. Information is not held on membership of political parties. On appointment, water authority Chairs are, however, required to declare any political activity within the past fi…

31 May 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to withdraw the statement on investment in the water industry contained on page 40 of Rural Scotland: A New Approach.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: No, the Scottish Executive does not plan to withdraw this statement as it states accurately our commitment to investment in water and sewerage services, including those in rural areas.

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers were employed in the north east, broken down by local authority and by category of school, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: The attached tables show the latest information available on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers who were employed in publicly funded schools in September of each of the years 1994 to 1998 inclusive.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This information has been p…

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed by local authorities in the north east in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The information requested is only available from local government reorganisation in 1996 and is shown in the table below.<P>Number of full-time equivalent staff<SUP>1</SUP> for those local authorities contained wholly or partly in the North East Parliamentary…

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many letters it has received from members of the UK Parliament who are not members of the Scottish Parliament since 1 July 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested in relation to how many letters received from members of the UK Parliament who are not members of the Scottish Parliament since 1 July 1999 is not available. The information we can provide is detailed below. These figures exclude the…

30 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail for each of the last five years, broken down by (a) police force and (b) category of vehicle, the number of vehicles (i) owned and (ii) hired, giving the annual budget figures for vehicle purchase and maintenance.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information is not held centrally. Decisions on whether to hire or purchase vehicles are operational matters for chief constables.

15 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-1652 by Henry McLeish on 11 May 2000, whether it is aware of any plans to transfer any other civil service jobs to Scotland.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Decisions of this nature are a matter for individual Departments or Agencies to consider.