Angus MacDonald

31 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that approving a new container terminal without multimodal capability accords with (a) its policy and (b) the principles of sustainable development. 

Answer · Keith Brown: There is already a rail line to Port Babcock Rosyth which provides potential for multimodal operations. The future use of this rail line will be a matter for the operator and shippers.

31 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the container handling capacity is of the proposed Rosyth international container terminal and how it compares with the capacity at other ports.

Answer · Keith Brown: Babcock’s projection of freight through the proposed facility was between 100,000 and 578,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) depending on the level of growth between 2015 and 2025. We do not hold comparative figures for other ports.

31 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a harbour revision order to consent development of a container terminal at Rosyth before (a) an environmental impact assessment into the project has been completed and (b) the appropriate assessment is undertaken.

Answer · Keith Brown: The harbour revision order to authorise the Rosyth International Container Terminal is already before Parliament and an environmental impact assessment has been carried out by the applicant and an appropriate assessment of the landward elements has been carri…

31 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a programme in place to obtain updated independent advice regarding current and future container capacity.

Answer · Keith Brown: No. It is for the ports industry to respond to anticipated demand based on market conditions and commercial considerations.

31 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the projections used to determine that new container capacity on the Forth was required by 2013 as a national priority.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Identification of Additional Container Freight Capacity on the Forth as a national development in National Planning Framework 2 was not based on a determination that new capacity would be required by 2013. A range of publicly available evidence informed the p…

31 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) took account of advice from its Ports and Harbours Division and (b) sought independent advice on the container market in Scotland and the need for new container capacity prior to the preparation of the National Planning Framework 2.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Ministers received advice from relevant officials, including Ports and Harbours officials, consulted widely and took account of all responses to the consultation on the draft National Planning Framework 2 prior to preparing the final National Pla…

26 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on EU rules due to come into force that will impose limits on how long agricultural workers can be exposed to vibrations from tractors.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Health and safety regulation is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government believes that while regulation of health and safety should not present an unnecessary burden on Scottish business, protecting the health and safety of workers shou…

13 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many stillborn births there were in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on stillborn births for 2011, broken down by NHS board area is contained in the Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report, published by NHS Information Services Division (ISD) in March 2013 and available at: http://www.isdscotl…

30 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering amending the Neighbour Notification Scheme to require planning authorities to notify premises within a wider area of a proposed development.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We are considering the issues raised by Petition 1469, which is currently before the Public Petitions Committee and relates to concerns about neighbour notification of applications for wind turbines. However, we have no plans at present to amend the neighbour…

30 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in wild deer from entering the country and what discussions it has had with the EU on the possible impact of CWD on (a) country sport tourism and (b) sales of venison.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government, in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage and the deer management round table recently published a leaflet “Chronic Wasting Disease – Protecting Scotland’s Deer”. This leaflet is aimed at raising awareness of Chronic Wasting Disea…

19 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many small and medium-sized enterprise start-ups there have been in the Falkirk Council area in the last three years; what the survival rate has been, and how many of these start-ups have engaged with Business Gateway.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally, however, data on the number of new VAT/PAYE registrations are released annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These figures are used to monitor the number of business start-ups (births) and survi…

16 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will make an announcement on whether the Babcock Marine Rosyth Limited application for the proposed Rosyth international container terminal has obtained approval.

Answer · Keith Brown: I indicated my intention to make The Rosyth International Container Terminal (Harbour Revision) Order in a letter to the applicant on 18 June 2013. The draft Order was laid before Parliament on 20 June 2013. The order cannot be made unless Parliament approves…

29 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the decision by the Marine Stewardship Council to suspend certification of the Faroese Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery from 21 June 2013.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Faroe Islands’ declaration of an excessively large unilateral quota for Atlanto-Scandian herring is both irresponsible and unsustainable. Setting a large quota outside of the management plan in a situation where the stock is decreasing is not in line with…

18 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made regarding the tax incremental financing project in the Falkirk area and when it expects to sign a legal agreement with the local authority.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Consideration of Falkirk Council's Tax Incremental Business case is on-going and Ministers hope to make an announcement about their decision by the end of summer 2013.

12 Jun 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last attended a meeting of the Nordic Council.

11 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to assist non-resident parents who are tenants of a local authority and in receipt of housing benefit and are considered to have an extra bedroom as their child does not stay with them permanently.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Scottish social landlords, including local authorities, may exercise discretion to allocate an additional bedroom or bedrooms in this situation, helping to meet the needs of children and their families. However, the UK Government’s under-occupancy measure for…

4 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have implemented the guidelines on the provision and repair of orthotic footwear, HDL(2000)23, as amended in 2002.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS boards were expected to update their patient pathways and design of services to ensure greater person centeredness and consistency in orthotics services following the publication of the orthotics guidelines in 2000 and as amended in 2002. There is no evid…

4 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many local government pension funds have a cash management policy in place.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the cash management policies of Local Government Pension Scheme funds (LGPS). Responsibility for the management and investment of the LGPS funds falls to the fund administering authorities in terms of The L…

4 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors local government pension fund cash management arrangements.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Ministers do not monitor the fund cash management arrangements for the Local Government Pension Scheme. Under the terms of The Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) (Scotland) Regulations 2010 that is a matter for t…

31 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many decrofting applications are currently suspended by the Crofting Commission, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: There are 44 decrofting applications held in abeyance by the Crofting Commission and these are broken down by parliamentary constituency in the following table: Parliamentary Constituency Number of Owner-Occupier Crofter Applications to Decroft held in Abey…

23 May 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what powers it has over how local authorities structure their committees.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 contains provisions requiring local authorities to reflect their political balance in the composition of their committees. However, those provisions have not to date been brought into force in Scotland, although they …

21 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussion Zero Waste Scotland has had with Falkirk Council regarding food waste collection rates since June 2010 and what advice it has given regarding providing incentives for residents to recycle more food.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: In 2010-11 Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) supported Falkirk Council through the commissioning of an options appraisal to identify the best approach to deliver a household food waste collection service. Since autumn 2011 ZWS has provided on-going advice to Falkirk…

21 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what incentives the Scottish Ambulance Service provides to its volunteer drivers and what plans it has to ensure their retention.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Ambulance Service work with approximately 200 volunteer car drivers across the country who undertake scheduled patient transport journeys where this is clinically appropriate, particularly in remote and rural areas. Their contribution is valued …

20 May 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for the reported sharp decline in North Sea prawn landings.

8 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that the World Wildlife Fund for Nature plans to withdraw from regional advisory councils.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Any withdrawal of the WWF from the Regional Advisory Councils would be regrettable as they play an important role in encouraging more sustainable fisheries. However, we have been assured by WWF that it is strongly committed to stakeholder engagement when it c…

8 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding a review of the electronic sheep tagging regulation, EC21/2004.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I met with Commission officials on the 16 December 2011 and wrote to Commissioner Dalli on 31 January 2012. The Commission and the Commissioner were both clear in their responses that a review of the legislation was not imminent and that any future review had…

8 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that there has been an increase in imports of New Zealand lamb and that this is having a negative impact on the market in Scotland, whether it has made representations to the (a) UK Government and (b) European Commission to ask for stricter import (i) tariffs and (ii…

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Latest figures from the European Commission’s Taxation and Customs show that New Zealand useage of their sheep meat quota in 2012 was well below 100 per cent for the third consecutive year. While New Zealand lamb imports to the UK have increased in the first …

8 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Avondale Advanced Waste Treatment and (b) Falkirk Council regarding the proposed closure of the Avondale Material Recycling Facility site in Polmont.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government and its partners continue to work with the operators of the Avondale advanced waste treatment facility and affected councils, including Falkirk Council, with regards to the potential closure of the plant. Our immediate focus is to sec…

23 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4T-00324 by Fergus Ewing on 23 April 2013 (Official Report, c.18813), what the timescale is for implementing the Scottish Mines Restoration Trust.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Mines Restoration Trust was officially registered as a company on 16 April 2013. The first meeting of the trust will take place on 7 May 2013.

22 Apr 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what fishery protection services Marine Scotland provides to the rest of the UK.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Marine Scotland operates the UK’s Fisheries Monitoring Centre and routinely deploys its aircraft on fisheries surveillance around the UK. In the last financial year, and for the first time, Scotland’s Marine Protection Vessels were also chartered for ad hoc…