Chamber and committees

The State Veterinary Service is looking at all relevant epidemiological issues including the original source of the outbreak. In the meantime all possible steps are being taken to contain and eradicate the disease.

I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:The former Lochside Distillery building in Montrose is not a statutorily listed building. I understand that Angus Council have given consent for the building's demolition as part of a redevelopment scheme for the site.

No.

The final cost for the Tayside Task Force over the nine and a half-month period was approximately £85,000.

There is to be no final report from the Task Force. The Chief Executive and senior officials from the Scottish Executive Health Department met with representatives from NHS Tayside and the task force to ensure that the four areas of concern identified in the task force report published in June 2000 have been addressed satisfactorily. I have also met with the task force to ensure appropriate lessons have been learned and action taken.

The Executive has no power to intervene. However our guidance to tenants considering purchasing their homes under Right to Buy recommends that they have a structural survey of the dwelling before proceeding. Local authorities have a duty to advise any prospective purchaser if a dwelling is of a type designated as defective under Part XIV of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-12602.

On 17 January, the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) announced plans to close its Veterinary Disease Surveillance Centre in Thurso on 31 July 2001. In recent years, demand for consultancy services provided from the Thurso Centre to local veterinary practices and farmers has significantly reduced and the small amount of diagnostic material arising from this is now mainly referred to SAC's Central Diagnostic Laboratory. In addition, some research work currently managed through the Thurso Centre will be coming to an end shortly. The centre therefore now provides SAC with very little commercial income, and its residual functions relate primarily to the provision of data for the UK-wide animal disease surveillance programme.

The decision to close the Thurso Centre was not taken lightly, and SAC appraised all the options very carefully, including the cost implications of keeping the centre open. However, closure of the Thurso Centre represents the most sensible and pragmatic outcome in the circumstances and will make more efficient use of the resources available for veterinary diagnosis and disease surveillance throughout Scotland.Veterinary practices and their farmer clients in the areas presently covered by the Thurso Centre will continue to have access to the full range of SAC's analytical, consultancy and animal health schemes through the Veterinary Centres in Inverness (for the North of Scotland and Orkney) and Aberdeen (for Shetland). Staff at these centres will be available to handle enquiries, and samples for investigation or analysis will be conveyed there either by post or by road and/or ferry using refrigerated vans. Under the new arrangements, SAC expects the level of service provided to existing clients to be at least as good as at present, and SERAD is satisfied that the necessary level of animal disease surveillance will be maintained.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-12602.

We have consulted the emergency services and have received no reports of significant problems concerning increased response times for emergency vehicles travelling into Aberdeen from the north.