- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to help regain lost beef export markets.
Answer
The Executive attaches high priority to assisting the industry to regain lost beef export markets. We have supported the industry's efforts to build up a brand of integrity; I have briefed influential European journalists, attachés and others on the measures now in place to ensure the health and quality of our beef; and I have ensured that our grant schemes continue to support, where possible, the marketing efforts of those who have committed themselves to lead the Scotch beef industry back into Europe. I welcome the formation of Quality Meat Scotland which will give further emphasis to the industry's export efforts; and, with other UK Agriculture Ministers, I am keeping under careful review our approach to the Date Based Export Scheme in the light of the continuing fall in numbers of cases of BSE.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by Quality Meat Scotland to help regain lost beef export markets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-7734.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 22 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of its acknowledgement on page 25 of A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture that the difficulties in re-establishing export markets have held back the recovery in cattle prices, it will give higher priority to regaining lost markets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-7734.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to grant Angus Council the necessary special borrowing consent to fund the replacement of the A92 bridge over the South Esk at Montrose.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no plans to provide Angus Council with special borrowing consent to fund the replacement of the A92 bridge over the South Esk at Montrose. It is for Angus Council to determine its spending priorities from within its overall capital expenditure resources.
The level of resources for local authority capital expenditure will be considered as part of the Spending Review.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 19 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Angus Council Education Authority has supplied it with a copy of its asset management plan and whether it will place a copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer
There is no requirement for education authorities to submit asset management plans to the Scottish Executive, and no such plan has been received from Angus Council's Education Department.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to prevent the closures of village police stations such as that in the Angus village of Letham and whether it plans to exercise any such powers in this instance.
Answer
Decisions on the deployment of officers and other resources, including the viability of police stations, are operational matters for Chief Constables. Neither the Joint Police Board nor Scottish Ministers have powers to intervene.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be an acceptable level of seed purity in the case of conventional crop seeds in relation to contamination with GM seeds.
Answer
Current seed purity levels are specified in various regulations implementing several EC Directives. The EU Commission, in response to representations from the Scottish Executive and the UK Government, is expected to produce shortly proposals to tighten up seed purity legislation to ban GMO contamination at levels of more than 0.5% as an interim measure.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to identify the crop sites sown with Advanta rapeseeds contaminated with GM rapeseeds and, if so, whether it will publish the locations of these sites.
Answer
We have sought information on crop sites from Advanta. Commercial confidentiality and data protection considerations notwithstanding, I do not believe it would add anything to the wider public understanding of this problem to publish the location of these sites.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to identify any stores of Advanta rapeseeds that have been contaminated with GM rapeseeds held in this country and what measures it will take to ensure that stored seed is not sown or released into the food chain.
Answer
Any unused seed from the contaminated batches can be identified by farmers from information supplied by Advanta on affected seed lots. It would not be in the interests of farmers to plant contaminated seed and disposal and compensation issues should be addressed by Advanta and farmers.
- Asked by: Alex Johnstone, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 16 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it had in place before 18 May 2000 to inform farmers of the contamination of conventional Advanta rapeseeds with GM rapeseeds and whether these plans have been modified since this date.
Answer
The Scottish Executive was not informed of the contaminated seed until 15 May. My officials discussed the problem with the National Farmers' Union of Scotland shortly thereafter, and have continued to liaise closely with it.
