Chamber and committees

There are no sentencingguidelines issued in Scotland. The matter of sentencing, within the parameters setby Parliament, is entirely one for the judiciary who hear all the circumstancesof the offence and the offender, plus any mitigating factors put forward by theaccused’s representative. The independence of the judiciary is a fundamentalprinciple of the Scottish legal system and ministers attach great importance tojudicial discretion in sentencing.

However, as outlined in theExecutive’s Partnership For A Better Scotland, we are committed totaking strong action to reduce environmental crime by strengthening theenforcement of environmental law, including consideration of the establishmentof environmental courts and the setting up of a network of area specialists inthis field. In addition, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency isconsidering methods by which courts themselves can be made more aware of theimpact and severity of environmental crimes, ensuring robust and effectiveprosecutions where necessary.

Eurocare Environmental Services Ltd was sold to STI Group in January 2004. The NHS Scottish Consortium is continuing the existing contract for the disposal of clinical waste on the same terms and conditions.

Under EC Regulation No 2037/2000, used chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) must be recovered for destruction or for recycling or reclamation during the servicing and maintenance of equipment or before the dismantling or disposal of equipment. The obligation for reporting to the Commission the quantities of used CFCs recovered, recycled, reclaimed or destroyed in the UK rests with the UK Government and the Scottish Executive does not collect such information separately. There are no Scottish targets or estimates for 2004 or subsequent years.

Unlike chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have zero ozone depleting potential. In light of constraints introduced by the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, HFCs have been promoted by industry and others as a suitable alternative to CFCs. However, HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases and emissions should not be allowed to go unchecked. HFC emissions in Scotland are quantified and reported in the annually produced Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The main sources of emissions are aerosols and refrigeration.

The Executive contributes to the UK climate change research programme, administered by Defra, which recently funded a project entitled Emissions and Projections of HFCs, PFCs and SF₆ for the UK and Constituent Countries. This work includes estimates of future HFC emissions and assesses additional options for reducing future emissions of HFCs, including from refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment. A copy of the research findings can be accessed through the research pages of the Executive’s climate change website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.

No Ministerial statement is planned at this time.

The costs of containment are expected to fall largely on users. Assessment of additional costs associated with the implementation of the proposed EC Regulation on certain fluorinated gases, including enforcement, will be undertaken once EU deliberations on the proposal have moved towards a conclusion.

The Scottish Executive and the Food Standards Agency advise me that no assessment has been made of the influence of the supermarket sector on the animal feed manufacturing and supply sector.

The Executive awarded specific grant of £1.69 million in 2001-02 and £3.3 million in 2002-03 to local authorities towards the overall costs of storing, transporting and disposing of discarded domestic refrigeration equipment containing ozone-depleting substances. For the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 additional provision of £4 million, £4 million and £2.5 million, respectively, was included in the Local Government Finance Settlement to assist councils with waste management and the costs of disposing of fridges.

Data on local authority expenditure are not collated at this level of detail.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-9032 on 28 June 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search.

None. The Agricultural IndustriesConfederation’s Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound AnimalFeedingstuffs is voluntary. The question of the financial impact on Scottishfarmers, agricultural merchants and feed suppliers of registration with, and approvalfrom, the code is a matter for those deciding to proceed with registration or approval.

The Food Standards Agency hasadvised me that a comprehensive source of information on EU member states enforcementsystems is not available. However, I am advised that in contrast to the system inGreat Britain where enforcement for animal feed law is enforced bysome 200 local authorities, most member states appear to have a central governmentbody responsible for carrying out enforcement checks often with a regional/localstructure. In most other cases enforcement is carried out by a number of publicbodies, working together in close union.