- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that no beef over 30 months old is entering the food chain and, if so, what the grounds are for this position.
Answer
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that beef from over thirty month old animals may enter the food chain if it is from specialist herds registered under the Beef Assurance Scheme or from animals born, reared and slaughtered in one of 14 non-EU countries that are designated as low BSE risk.The over thirty month (OTM) rule, which keeps meat from cattle aged over 30 months at slaughter out of the food chain, is strictly enforced in licensed abattoirs by officials of the Meat Hygiene Service. The agency is keeping this under close scrutiny and high levels of compliance with the OTM rule have been found by the agency and local authorities who report on the position in unlicensed plants.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers meat hygiene inspectors and Food Standards Agency officials have to demand documentation proving the age of beef carcasses, imported or otherwise, from meat cutting plants.
Answer
The Food Standards Agency advises that the Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) (No. 2) Regulations 1996 (as amended) provide powers for enforcement officers to ensure that meat intended for human consumption, imported or otherwise, has been derived either from cattle from a low-risk BSE country, or from cattle no more than thirty months old at slaughter, unless specifically exempted under the Beef Assurance Scheme. In addition, all meat from premises licensed under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 must be accompanied by the appropriate health mark indicating that the meat has been subject to official veterinary controls and is therefore fit for human consumption.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 12 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive on what scientific recommendations the cod recovery plan was based.
Answer
The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), the scientific body which advises European Community fisheries managers, identified the need to establish cod recovery plans in their most recent advice. Two cod recovery plans have been established, in the North Sea and in waters to the West of Scotland. These initial measures are aimed at protecting spawning cod congregations. Further technical measures are currently being developed by the European Community in consultation with the fishing industry.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 8 March 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to support fishermen during the period of the cod recovery plan.
Answer
The full range of cod recovery measures has yet to be agreed: the closed areas in the North Sea and off the west coast represent initial, emergency measures to help protect cod stocks. The aim of recovery measures is of course to help ensure sustainable and viable fisheries in the longer term, in the interests of fishermen and fishing communities.We announced last October the availability of record levels of support for the fisheries sector under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). We also announced this morning a £27 million package of support for the industry, including up to £25 million for decommissioning during the coming financial year, to bring whitefish capacity more closely into line with available fishing opportunities and help put the remainder of the fleet on a sounder financial footing for the future.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why Argyll and Bute Council's proposal to construct a car park in The Avenue in Inveraray has not been called in for determination by the Scottish Ministers, given that the case has been referred to the Commission of Local Administration in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Office Development Department Circular 4/1997 lays down the criteria which require local authorities to notify planning applications to the Scottish Ministers. Reference of a case to the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland is not included and, therefore, is not a planning reason for call-in.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the funding arrangements are for Veterinary Investigative Centres.
Answer
The eight Veterinary Disease Surveillance Centres, operated by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) throughout Scotland, and SAC's Central Diagnostic Laboratory at Penicuik, are supported through grant-in-aid from the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department. SAC also receives substantial external income in respect of commercial diagnostic services provided through the centres. The Veterinary Investigative Centre at Lasswade is operated by the Veterinary Laboratory Agency, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 23 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to help hotels in the Highlands and Islands with any problems caused by increases in non-domestic rates and falling trade.
Answer
The Transitional Relief arrangements, set in place following the 2000 Revaluation of Non-Domestic Rates, give significant protection to those businesses, including hotels, facing an increase. There is also rate relief for smaller businesses. The New Strategy for Scottish Tourism, published last year, contains actions to grow tourism in the Highlands and Islands.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 23 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why it has not yet provided substantive answers to questions S1W-9757 to S1W-9776 and S1W-9778 on the scallop industry, lodged on 22 September 2000, and when it will provide such answers.
Answer
The Food Standards Agency has advised me that the situation regarding the scallop industry has been moving rapidly in recent weeks with much activity both domestically and at a European level. However, answers to all the questions concerned have now been answered.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why the scallop is particularly susceptible to toxin contamination while the queen scallop appears to be entirely resistant.
Answer
The Food Standards Agency has advised me that it is not known why some species appear to accumulate toxins more readily than others do. Toxins from the phytoplankton on which the molluscs feed accumulate in the animals. Once the intake of toxin producers ceases, the molluscs metabolise the toxins and eliminate them from their tissues. Scallops appear to have a much slower rate of elimination than other mussels and queens, meaning the toxins are retained for longer periods.
- Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) why the areas covered by boxes closed under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 are the si'e they are; (b) how often tests are conducted in each box area; (c) how many scallops are sampled from each box area; (d) how often tests are conducted in box areas following closure; (e) what influences the actual sampling point within a box area; (f) whether the Global Positioning Satellite co-ordinates are available for each sample point; (g) whether box area sampling points vary and, if so, in what manner; (h) if half box areas are closed (e.g. Orkney), whether this indicates that samples are collected from more than one location in every box area, and (i) why some box areas remain closed even after readings fall below the safety threshold.
Answer
The size of the boxes used to monitor offshore scallop grounds have to be large enough to ensure public safety and were set using hydrographic information. The boxes were accepted by the EU.
- The EC Directive (91/492/EEC) requires periodic monitoring of live bivalve molluscs. The Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS) ensure that Scottish boxes are monitored throughout the year. When algal toxin levels are above the statutory level the frequency of sampling is increased.
- 10-12 scallops are taken as one sample, two of these samples, from separate tows, are taken from each box.
- Following closure of a box by a Food and Environment Protection Act Order, FSAS aim to resample every fortnight until the algal toxin level drops to close to the statutory limit. Thereafter, weekly sampling is requested.
- A commercial dredger that fishes on known scallop grounds within each box undertakes sampling.
- Global Positioning Satellite co-ordinates are not used when sampling boxes off-shore, although the boat involved with the sampling can provide the FRS Marine Laboratory with their position if necessary.
- Samples are collected from known scallop grounds. There may be some variation in sampling points, from trip to trip, within the same relative vicinity.
- Generally two samples are collected from within each box. If land bisects the box additional samples may be collected.
Boxes remain closed until two algal toxin results, below that of the statutory limit, are obtained with at least one week between each result. However there are some cases where boxes remain closed although the toxin level has dropped below the statutory limit, since other algal toxins may have increased in the area thus affecting the same shellfish species.
