Parliamentary questions
Robin Harper
759 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Jun 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is liaising with the UK Government with regard to improving seal protection under the Marine (Scotland) Bill and the Marine and Coastal Access Bill and following the repeal of the Conservation of Seals Act 1970.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is indeed liaising with the UK Government with regard to its proposals for improving seal protection.</p>
11 Jun 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many seals it anticipates will be killed each year under the new licensing scheme proposed in the Marine (Scotland) Bill and how this compares with the number killed under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Under the current Conservation of Seals Act 1970 there is no legal requirement to report the number of seals shot, except under licence, and there are, therefore, no official statistics on this.</p> <p >The proposals under the Marine (Scotland) Bill will mak…
26 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what grounds the decision was taken to discontinue the collection of data for the Scottish School Leavers Survey.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The grounds for the decision to discontinue the Scottish School Leavers Survey are set out within the publication note of 31 October 2008:</p> <p ><a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/10/17104150/PublicationNote">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/P…
19 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used to decide which sports will be contested as part of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24118 on 1 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Scottish Parliaments website: </p> <p ><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx" ti…
19 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many medals will (a) men and (b) women be able to compete for during the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Shona Robison: Although the sports to be included in the 2014 Commonwealth Games have been agreed, the final programme of individual events will be determined by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The Federation will undertake a review of the potential events following the …
19 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many and which of the sports at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games will be contested by (a) men and (b) women only.
Answer · Shona Robison: Men will be able to compete in 16 of the 17 sports in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games programme, the exception being netball. Within the gymnastics programme, the rhythmic gymnastics events are restricted to women. Women will be able to compete in all but…
19 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which sports will be contested as part of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Shona Robison: The 17 sports in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games programme are aquatics, athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, judo, lawn bowls, netball, rugby sevens, shooting, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.</p> <p >…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence is required for the prosecution of scallop dredgers who break the law by operating in an area, or during a period, in which scallop dredging is limited or prohibited.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: There is no definitive answer as the evidence required to secure a conviction will depend on the exact circumstances of each individual case. As a generality, however, to establish that a vessel master has fished in contravention of a prohibition on fishing w…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what limitations on scallop dredging are in place in the (a) no-take zone and (b) fisheries management area in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: (a) All fishing within the no-take zone is prohibited. Scallop dredging is, therefore, not permitted within the zone.</p> <p >(b) The proposed fisheries management area in Lamlash Bay has yet to be established. The bay is, however, within the Firth of Clyde…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information regarding the no-take zone and fisheries management area in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran has been supplied to the operators of scallop dredgers; in what formats, and when.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: </p> <p >All interested parties, including Fishermen''s Associations, have been given full details of the Order. The Order is also available on the Marine Scotland Compliance website and the Scottish Government website. No details have been given regarding …
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what management and enforcement measures have been introduced to discourage people from using the waters in and around Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran illegally and to penalise them if they do.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23913 on 28 May 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/Apps2/Bu…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what management and enforcement measures have been introduced to ensure that people using the waters in and around Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran do so within the law.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Lamlash Bay Community Marine Reserve (no-take zone (NTZ)) was put in place in September 2008. This was done by means of the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition on Fishing) (Lamlash Bay) (Scotland) Order 2008 which came into force on 20 September 2008. By virtue of S…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what publicity, education and infrastructure measures have been introduced to ensure that people using the waters in and around Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran are aware of the restrictions on what can be done (a) on and in the waters of and (b) from the coast surrounding the bay.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23910 on 28 May 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/Apps2/Bu…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what publicity, education and infrastructure measures have been delivered to ensure that the location and boundaries of the fisheries management area in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran are clear to people using the (a) waters of and (b) coast surrounding the bay.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: At present the fisheries management area in Lamlash Bay does not exist.</p>
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what publicity, education and infrastructure measures have been delivered to ensure that the location and boundaries of the no-take zone for fisheries in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran are clear to people using the (a) waters of and (b) coast surrounding the bay.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Lamlash Bay Implementation Group was set up in January 2009 to develop publicity and educational material in and around Lamlash Bay in order to implement the Lamlash Bay Community Marine Reserve (no-take zone (NTZ)). It is expected that the first phase of…
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards the establishment and delivery of the fisheries management area in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran that was announced in January 2008.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: As is the case with the Community Marine Reserve (no-take zone (NTZ)), the intention was and remains that the fisheries management area should be considered and implemented through a process in which key stakeholders are involved, and through which consensus …
13 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards the establishment and delivery of the no-take zone for fisheries in Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran that was announced in January 2008.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Lamlash Bay Community Marine Reserve (no-take zone (NTZ)) was put in place in September 2008. This was done by means of the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition on Fishing) (Lamlash Bay) (Scotland) Order 2008 which came into force on 20 September 2008.</p>
6 May 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the electronic health record has been defined and, if not, when it will be.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth Strategy takes an incremental approach to improving IT support for clinicians in delivering safe and effective healthcare. Movement toward an electronic health record is also intended to be incremental and based on what has already been achieved w…
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to address the animal welfare concerns in the report, A Seal’s Fate: The animal welfare implications of shooting seals in Scotland, regarding the shooting of seals (a) during their breeding seasons, (b) while they are in the water, (c) from boats or other unstable platforms a…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government will consider a wide range of issues, including animal welfare, in developing a new seal licensing system under proposals in the Marine (Scotland) Bill.</p>
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to respond to the statement in the Special Committee on Seals report for 2008 that “We also know very little about the number of seals shot by fin fish farmers and this information is important for the purpose of seal population management and also to help develop mitigation …
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has included proposals for the reporting of all seals killed or taken in the Marine (Scotland) Bill.</p>
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence from the Special Committee on Seals report for 2008 it used as the basis of its statement in a press release of 23 April 2009, regarding the decline of common seals, that “The main causes of these local reductions are unclear at present but predation by killer whales in the …
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W- 23416 on 12 May 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/Apps2/B…
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it used as the basis of its statement in a press release of 23 April 2009, regarding the decline of common seals, that “predation by killer whales is a factor round the Northern Isles whilst competition for food supplies with the larger and more numerous grey seals is likely…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The statements made in the Scottish Executive press release of 23 April 2009 were based on the best scientific advice available, including the latest developments from on-going research currently in progress and the advice of the Sea Mammal Research Unit.</p>…
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it used as the basis of its statement in a press release of 23 April 2009, regarding the decline in common seals, that “It is already clear that local shooting and disease do not explain the significant reductions reported”.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: In respect of local shooting, scientific advice is that other factors are contributing to the common seal decline. There have been no reports of seal carcasses or seal shooting on the scale required in the areas most affected by the decline. In addition, shoo…
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what stage any research into predation by killer whales on common seals has reached.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W- 23413 on 12 May 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/Apps2/B…
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence has been published to show the extent to which predation by killer whales explains the reported decline in the number of common seals in Orkney and Shetland.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The papers considered by the Special Committee on Seals in developing its 2008 report included a scientific paper on research on predation of seals by killer whales. The research is on-going and has not been published but a paper based on the latest findings …
30 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the publication date was of the Special Committee on Seals report for 2008.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government published the <i >Special Committee on Seals Report 2008</i> on 23 April 2008.</p>
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be formal agreements regarding the exchange of health information within the NHS.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The requirement for formal agreements has been in place since 1999. Each NHS board has a Caldicott Guardian (a senior health professional) who is responsible for overseeing all arrangements, protocols and procedures where confidential patient information may …
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients, physicians and institutions directly involved with patients care will have control over who can access patient data.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Safeguarding patient confidentiality is important, hence parties not directly involved with patients have no control over disclosure of patient data for non care-related purposes such as teaching, clinical trials and disclosure to the media. A few exceptions …
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the eHealth network will be designed to support all useful types of applications and whether the applications will be designed to take data from the network in standard formats.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth network is designed on industry standard internet protocol technology allowing a common form of transport to support all applications, supplementary to this applications are sized to ensure their design operates within the available capacity of th…
27 Apr 2009 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons clinicians do not have an overall leadership role in the eHealth programme.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The eHealth Programme is patient-focused, clinically-led and benefits-driven. The membership of the eHealth Strategy Board includes the Chief Medical Officer, the Medical Director of NHS Lothian, the Clinical Director/Chief Operating Officer of NHS 24, the Di…