- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 8 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which recommendations of the Howat report it is still considering.
Answer
I refer the member to the questionS3W-08935 answered on 8 February 2008. 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: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 8 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a response to the Howat report.
Answer
On 24 May 2007, thisgovernment published the Budget Review report, written by an independent externalgroup, as promised in It’s time to lookforwards - the first 100 days of an SNP Government. By then, thereport was over one year old. The report was written in the context of the prioritiesof the previous administration. We did not promise and we do not intend to publisha response to the report. The Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 set outour detailed spending plans.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 8 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which recommendations of the Howat report it has accepted.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8935 on 8 February 2008. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 28 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-6067 and S3W-6070 by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007, whether the release of GDP statistics, as referred to by the First Minister on 28 October 2007 at a party political conference but not published until 2 November 2007, contravened the National Statistics Code of Practice Protocol on Release Practice’s principles 3, 5, 6 and 7 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The figures referred to by theFirst Minister on 28 October 2007 were the results of official analysis based on NationalStatistics.
This analysis was prepared objectivelyand transparently by civil servants and provides the government’s best estimatesof Scottish GDP per capita, under an established accounting treatment, which includesa notional share of North Sea output. This analysis was placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (SPICe) on 2 November 2007.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to change how low and intermediate-level waste from the civil nuclear industry is dealt with.
Answer
The Scottish Government has noplans to change how low-level radioactive waste from the civil nuclear industryis managed. We continue to support the UK-wide policy for the Long Term Managementof Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste published in March 2007.
The Scottish Government’s policyfor higher activity waste in Scotland was announced on 25 June 2007 and supportslong-term “near surface near site” storage facilities. We are developing this policyin conjunction with the regulators, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and othersand have no plans to change it.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects higher and further education facilities in Scotland to begin to store (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high level radioactive waste on site.
Answer
We do not expect higher and furthereducation facilities to store radioactive waste on site. Our policy for the long-termstorage of higher activity radioactive waste applies to the nuclear sector. The vast majority of radioactive waste producedby the education sector is disposed of through commercial contracts and will beunaffected by our policy to support long-term storage of higher activity nuclearwaste.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the higher and further education sector with a view to implementation of the policy of onsite surface storage of radioactive waste.
Answer
The vast majorityof radioactive waste produced by hospitals is low level and is disposed of. Forthis reason NHS Scotland has not been asked to consider implementing a policy ofonsite storage of radioactive waste.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when current contracts for the storage of radioactive waste and reprocessing of spent fuel from Hunterston B and Torness power stations will end.
Answer
The issue of radioactive wasteand spent fuel contracts for Hunterston B and Torness is a commercial matter forBritish Energy.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects NHS facilities to begin to store (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high-level radioactive waste on site.
Answer
We do not expect NHS facilitiesto store radioactive waste on site. Our policy for the long-term storage of higheractivity radioactive waste applies to the nuclear sector. The vast majority of radioactive waste producedby the NHS is disposed of through commercial contracts and will be unaffected byour policy to support long-term storage of higher activity nuclear waste.
- Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects Torness power station to begin to store (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high level radioactive waste on site.
Answer
Existing disposal routes areavailable at present for low-level waste and we would expect British Energy to utilisethese. The requirement for storing intermediate level waste on site is a long standingone which pre-dates the Scottish Government’s decision that near-surface, near-sitelong-term storage should be the management option for this waste. The 2004 UK RadioactiveWaste Inventory indicates that there is no high level waste at Torness.
