- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) regarding the scheme of charges to be payable to SEPA in respect of energy schemes; whether it will publish that advice and what the reasons are for its position on the matter; whether it has been advised by SEPA that the initial scale of charges suggested by SEPA would make smaller-scale schemes, such as that proposed for the River Gynack, Kingussie, a hydro scheme, non-viable because of costs payable to SEPA; whether will meet any MSP who has a constituency interest in this matter before making any decision, and when a decision is expected or planned to be made.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is currentlyconsidering the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA) response to itsconsultation on the Water Environment charging scheme. The consultation resultedin a significant number of responses, including one from Kingussie Development Company,which detailed the impact of SEPA’s proposal on their industry. Due to the complexityof the scheme, it has taken longer than anticipated to consider a number of amendmentsproposed by SEPA, including one that acknowledges the importance of small scalehydropower in the development of renewable sources of energy. As I expect a formalannouncement to be made very shortly, I do not consider a meeting at this stageto be appropriate.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will, prior to introducing any legislation which provides that there will be a regulator for the salmon farming sector, meet MSPs with a constituency interest in order to discuss the impact which the measure may have upon the industry and, in particular, on employment in the most rural peripheral and island communities.
Answer
I or my officials would be happyto meet MSPs with a constituency interest to discuss the contents of the Aquacultureand Fisheries Bill once it has been introduced to Parliament in the summer.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what previous experience Fisheries Research Services (FRS) has in relation to salmon farming and what expertise there is within FRS regarding the sector.
Answer
Fisheries Research Services’(FRS) previous experience in salmon farming principally resides with staff of theFish Health Inspectorate who visit salmon farms on a regular basis in the courseof implementing the statutory fish health regime. Extensive experience has beenacquired in the field and laboratory since the early days of the industry in Scotland.
Salmon farming expertise at FRScovers a wide range of disciplines including fish cultivation, fish biology, fishpathology, veterinary epidemiology and environmental management.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Fisheries Research Services (FRS) will be responsible for delivering the services of the regulator for the aquaculture sector and, if so, what the extra costs to FRS will be of so doing.
Answer
I refer the member to theanswers to questions S2W-23422 on the role of the regulator and S2W-23420 on thecosts of regulation on 3 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will postpone the introduction of any legislative measure which provides for a regulator for the salmon farming industry in order to allow a reasonable period in which to assess the effect and effectiveness of the code of practice, which has been published and which the industry will introduce on a voluntary basis.
Answer
There are no plans to postponethe introduction of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the cost of the proposed regulator for the aquaculture sector.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23420 on 3 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive on what date or dates the Scottish Executive’s Cabinet has discussed the Shirley McKie case.
Answer
Information relating to the proceedingsof the Scottish Cabinet is considered exempt from disclosure under sections 29 (a)and (b) and 30(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive on what date or dates the Scottish Executive’s Cabinet has discussed the Scottish Criminal Record Office; in particular whether a complaint made in August 2001, referred to in a Sunday Times article on 26 February 2006, was raised expressly or by reference with the Cabinet or in any papers submitted to members of the Cabinet.
Answer
Information relating to the proceedingsof the Scottish Cabinet is considered exempt from disclosure under sections 29 (a)and (b) and 30(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 10 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21547 by Mr Tom McCabe on 19 December 2005, in which of its departments the vacancies in Inverness arose in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05.
Answer
The information is as follows:
in 2003-04, five of the vacancieswere in the Deer Commission for Scotland and the remaining four vacancies were in the Animal HealthOffice in Inverness,
in 2004-05, three of the vacancieswere in the Agricultural area office in Inverness and three vacancies were in the Animal Health Officein Inverness.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 10 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21547 by Mr Tom McCabe on 19 December 2005, whether applicants for the vacancies were required to have any specific professional qualifications and/or experience and, if so, what professional qualifications and/or experience were required in respect of each vacancy.
Answer
As noted in my answer to questionS2W-21547, there were 15 vacancies in the Scottish Executive, excluding the CroftersCommission, in Inverness in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Of those, nine vacancies werefor posts in Band A and, therefore, no professional qualifications or experiencewere required. The six vacancies in Bands B and C in that period were professionalposts and required qualifications, knowledge and experience specific to the posts.For example, four of the posts were in the Deer Commission for Scotland so requiredspecific knowledge and experience of the deer industry and deer management. Theother two posts required a professional qualification in agriculture and knowledgeand experience of agriculture at the appropriate level.
