Parliamentary questions

Robin Harper

759 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

22 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated tonnage of illegally-landed fish was in each year since 2000 and how the tonnage was calculated.

Answer · Ross Finnie: There are no reliable estimates of the tonnage of illegally landed fish. However the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) makes an on-going assessment of the quantity of fish which may have been landed illegally through a systematic analysis of …

22 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many processing plants have been inspected between 2001 and 2005 to ensure compliance with (a) regulations on the size of fish landed for trade and (b) all other conservation-related regulations.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Inspections by fishery officers in processing plants are not for the purpose of inspecting plants as such but for following the movement of fish landings which are under examination. It is not possible to differentiate between such inspections for the purpose…

22 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish fishing vessels were inspected to ensure compliance with engine size regulations and how many operators of fishing vessels were prosecuted for infractions in each year since 2000.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The registration of engine power is supplied to the Registry of Shipping and Seamen by measurers appointed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The MCA’s responsibility is to ensure that the correct maximum continuous engine power (mcep) or where modi…

22 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many operators of Scottish fishing vessels were successfully prosecuted for infractions of regulations on the landing of fish in each year since 2000.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The following table provides the total number of successful prosecutions obtained against the owners and/or masters of fishing vessels, registered at a Scottish port, in the years 2000 to 2004 for offences which related directly to the illegal landing of fish…

22 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many operators of Scottish fishing vessels were charged with landing fish illegally in each year since 2000.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The following table provides the total number of complaints issued by procurators fiscal against the owners and/or masters of fishing vessels registered at a Scottish port, in the years 2000 to 2004, for complaints which related directly to the illegal landin…

7 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the completion of the consultation in April 2004 on protecting vulnerable adults, it has any plans to introduce a Vulnerable Adults Bill in this session.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13486 on 28 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…

4 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to replace local authority child protection registers with a single IT system.

Answer · Peter Peacock: No.

4 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to replace local authority child protection registers with IT systems interoperable across Scotland.

Answer · Peter Peacock: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15023 on 18 March 2005. 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/web…

4 Mar 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any IT systems being piloted to develop multi-agency sharing of children's information and whether it has consulted the Scottish Information Commissioner about any such schemes.

Answer · Peter Peacock: IT systems are being developed to allow sharing of agreed information between agencies through development of a secure integrated childrens record. The Scottish Executive is supporting pilot projects in Glasgow, Grampian, Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway…

27 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what levels of emamectin benzoate (SLICE) residues have been found in the flesh of farmed Scottish salmon in each year since 1999.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Veterinary Medicines Directorate runs a programme of surveillance for residues of veterinary medicinal products and certain other substances in products of animal origin. As part of this, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s Fish…

27 Jan 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum safe limit is for human consumption of residues of emamectin benzoate (SLICE) in the flesh of farmed Scottish salmon.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The European Commission’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) evaluated the safety of emamectin in January 1999. It set an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 1µg/kg bodyweight/day. The ADI is defined as “an estimate of the amount of a sub…

20 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses the success of the civic participation initiatives that it has supported since 1999, including the work of its Civic Participation Unit and of external organisations; what benchmarks it considers should be used in assessing the development of a more participatory democracy…

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is strongly committed to the principle of civic participation and we support a range of different approaches to developing this commitment. This includes providing support for a number of organisations who promote civic participation as…

2 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a national database of children in Scotland who are at risk of significant harm, as defined in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Answer · Peter Peacock: There is no national database. Each local authority keeps a list of children who are at risk on a child protection register.

1 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a national database of children in Scotland who are deemed to be in need.

Answer · Peter Peacock: There is no national database of children in need. The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration host a database which holds information on children who are referred to them. It is used for the purposes of managing the agency and providing specific anonymis…

1 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to build a national database to include details of children at risk and in need and, if so, whether these details will be shared and integrated with information databases in England and Wales.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive is not building a national database. It is currently supporting pilots to develop potential IT systems sharing which would allow practitioners to view agreed information from another agency in cases where they have the consent of the child/care…

10 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make commitments in respect of the marine environment comparable to those recently made by the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister for Nature Conservation and Fisheries.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Decisions about how best to manage Scotland's seas will be taken once the analysis of responses to the consultation “Developing a Strategic Framework for Scotland's Marine Environment” is complete.

5 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Environment Protection Agency last inspected the area around (a) Hunterston, (b) Torness, (c) Chapelcross and (d) Dounreay power station for radioactive contamination; what levels of contamination were identified, and what action was recommended.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) which undertakes regular monitoring of radioactivity levels around nuclear sites. SEPA publishes the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment Report jointly with the Food Standards Agency…

26 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a child, whose parent is using a direct payment to purchase a short break for the child, would be regarded as “looked after” under section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Answer · Euan Robson: A child is not regarded as looked after when their parent purchases a respite placement using direct payments.

26 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been made available to encourage innovation and new services that can be purchased by direct payments while existing services are maintained.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive funds Direct Payments Scotland. This project promotes direct payments uptake nationally and assists with setting up and supporting local support organisations. Since April 2004, the Executive has also provided some funding to the Suppor…

26 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what further action it will take to promote the uptake of direct payments and how such action will be monitored.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The intention is to extend direct payments to include older people aged 65 and over from 2005. The introduction will be accompanied by new guidance and regulations, with consideration being given to using performance indicators to monitor implementation.