- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in response to the report Destination Retail: A Survey of Young People's Attitudes Towards a Career in Retailing by the Retail E-Commerce Task Force of the Foresight Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Answer
The Scottish Foresight Forum, co-ordinated by the Executive, oversees the implementation of the Foresight programme in Scotland. The forum is happy to work with all key stakeholders to establish how to take forward the recommendations arising from this report.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take in response to the report @ Your Home: New Market for Customer Service and Delivery by the Retail Logistics Task Force of the Foresight Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Answer
The Scottish Foresight Forum, co-ordinated by the Executive, oversees the implementation of the Foresight programme in Scotland. The forum is happy to work with all key stakeholders to establish how to take forward the recommendations arising from this report.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken or intends to take in conjunction with the retail industry in carrying forward the recommendations contained in the report The Retail Revolution: from a Nation of Shopkeepers to a World of Opportunities by the Retail and Consumer Services Panel of the Foresight Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Answer
The Scottish Foresight Forum, co-ordinated by the Executive, oversees the implementation of the Foresight programme in Scotland. The forum is happy to work with all key stakeholders to establish how to take forward the recommendations arising from this report.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken, or intends to undertake, into the particular problems of delivering goods purchased using e-retailing, particularly in rural areas.
Answer
E-retailing offers significant opportunities to rural residents, who will have increased choice of goods for purchase. Mail-order shopping, which faces the same delivery situation as e-retailing, is and has always been very popular in rural Scotland. There is therefore no apparent significant difficulty regarding delivery of goods purchased electronically to remoter parts of Scotland.Since January this year, the Scottish Household Survey has asked detailed questions about what the internet is used for currently and what it is likely to be used for in future. The results of these questions will be analysed and broken down by geographical area. This will help show whether residents of remoter areas shop online less than their urban counterparts. Results will be published after data analysis is completed.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the economic impact of spending on retail products by tourists.
Answer
Latest available figures on the economic impact of tourist expenditure on retail products are from the 1998 Scottish Input-Output Tables, published by the Scottish Executive in June 2001.The total direct expenditure on retail products by tourists was £140 million in 1998. The additional Scottish output related to this expenditure was estimated at £85 million.Expenditure on retail products has been defined as purchases of Scottish made products (Input-Output groups 1 to 84, see www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/docs/io98.pdf for more details) and Scottish retail margins on both domestic output and imports.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 12 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to complete its review of A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism and whether, as part of that review, any current specific lack of reference to the retail sector will be addressed.
Answer
The review will be completed by the end of the year. The Scottish Retail Consortium has contributed to the review. The outcome will highlight the central role that tourism businesses, including retail businesses, have in the continuing development of tourism.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 12 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received about any difficulties encountered in recruiting staff when major new retail developments are opened.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has received one piece of correspondence on this issue.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 12 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what parts of A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism relate to the retail sector.
Answer
All of the actions contained in A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism, which relate to better marketing, improvement in quality and skills, and increased useage of IT will encourage additional visitors to come to Scotland. Additional visitors will benefit all businesses that depend on tourism, including retail businesses.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 8 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government on supplementing the sums paid to farmers in the current financial year under the sheep annual premium scheme.
Answer
I have discussed the financial impact of foot-and-mouth disease and loss of export markets on the sheep industry with other UK Agriculture Ministers on many occasions over the last six months. These discussions have covered a number of options, including the possibility of a national top up to the Sheep Annual Premium.
- Asked by: David Mundell, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 8 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to mitigate any job losses in the south of Scotland following the proposed creation of Scottish Water.
Answer
The implementation of efficiency measures by the water authorities, necessary to minimise future charge rises will mean a reduction in the number of people employed by the water authorities. I expect these reductions to be managed carefully with consideration being given to the location of operational centres.
