Question reference: S1W-00862
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 10 August 1999
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Current status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 23 August 1999
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to increase the level of funding dedicated to research into amnesic shellfish poisoning currently affecting the scallop fishery and whether it intends to investigate the disease testing regime, in particular the time-lag between testing and issuing of results.
Answer
There are no proposals to change the research funding arrangements as a result of this incident.
The programme is routinely reviewed each year, and any necessary changes made to reflect shifts in priorities.The time between receipt of samples in the laboratory and the issuing of results is determined by the laboratory procedures required. Whilst automated procedures are used wherever possible, further reductions in testing times are not technically possible.