- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made, if any, to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food regarding the implementation in Scotland of the PETS Passport pilot scheme; whether any requests have been made for facilities and entry/exit points in Scotland, and whether it will provide details and a timescale for any plans to extend the scheme in full to Scotland.
Answer
Since Professor Kennedy submitted his recommendations for alternative arrangements to the existing system of quarantine in September 1998, the Scottish Executive has worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and other British Isles authorities, in putting together procedures to replace the existing six month quarantine arrangements, all on a UK basis. The pilot scheme introduced on 28 February this year will test the operational effectiveness of the proposed full scheme arrangements prior to these coming into force throughout the UK, this being planned for April 2001.
The entry points under the pilot scheme were chosen on the basis that they met the requirements of rigorous testing, while at the same time ensuring close supervision of practical operation. Under the full scheme arrangements, entry points are expected to be limited to the existing points of entry under the present six month quarantine legislation, this being in line with Professor Kennedy's recommendations. There are no restrictions on exit points from the UK either under the existing arrangements or under the proposed new arrangements.
Enquiries received about facilities for entry/exit points in Scotland have been answered on the above basis.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of and publish a timetable for the implementation of a programme of strategic environmental assessment.
Answer
The EC Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment is not yet finalised. The current draft allows member states three years to transpose its requirements into national law.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to establish a cross-sector working group to review and advise on strategic environmental assessment best practice and, if so, whether it will provide details of the proposed group.
Answer
I refer Mr MacAskill to my answer to his question S1W-5239.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the result of any tests it has conducted in the waters off the Solway and Ayrshire coasts for the following pollutants: (a) alpha radiation, (b) beta radiation, (c) Carbon 14, (d) Cobalt 60, (e) Strontium 90, (f) Zirconium 95 and Niobium 95, (g) Technetium 99, (h) Iodine 129, (i) Caesium 134, (j) Caesium 137, (k) Plutonium alpha, (l) Plutonium 241, (m) Americium 241 and (n) Uranium.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-05236.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it undertakes testing for radioactive pollution on the foreshore of the Ayrshire and Solway coasts and, if so, to detail the materials tested for and the test results.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) carries out a comprehensive programme of monitoring of environmental radioactivity in Scotland. The programme includes monitoring of the Ayrshire coastline around the Hunterston A and Hunterston B nuclear licensed sites as well as monitoring the Solway coast to assess the impact of liquid radioactive waste from the Chapelcross nuclear licensed site. SEPA also carries out monitoring on the Solway coast to determine the impact of discharges from Sellafield on the Scottish environment.
The materials sampled on the Ayrshire and Solway coastlines include sediment, seaweed, and turf samples. In addition, SEPA takes measurements to assess dose rates.
Full details of the monitoring and assessment of radioactive pollution around the Scottish coast are published annually in the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE) report. A copy of the current report (RIFE-4) is in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the rail network is electrified and when the last area of the network was electrified.
Answer
23.6% of the route network in Scotland is electrified. The last area of the network electrified was in the summer of 1999.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to the multi-modal study on the M74 regarding the possible effects on employment in Glasgow of traffic congestion and to provide details of these representations.
Answer
Responsibility for developing proposals for the M74 Northern Extension rests with the City of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire Councils.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has information regarding the number of road accidents involving foreign tourists travelling on the road network and to detail the accidents and their localities.
Answer
The information requested is not at present held centrally. However, a recent change in the information collected on the STATS 19 accident report form means that in future years statistics will be available centrally on the number of injury road accidents involving vehicles whose drivers are known to be non-UK residents.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail for each year since 1995 (a) the costs of the Lingerbay Inquiry, (b) the number of its staff engaged in the consideration of the report and (c) the associated staff costs.
Answer
The costs, up to April 1999, of the Reporter and support staff costs, hire of inquiry venue, travel and subsistence and advertisement of the inquiry arrangements were £162,800. The annual costs are set out below. It is not possible, however, to separate the number of staff engaged in the consideration of the report and their costs from general departmental running costs.
| 1994-June 1995 (end of public local inquiry) | £75,300 |
| July-December 1995 | £10,000 |
| 1996 | £20,000 |
| 1997 | £32,000 |
| 1998 | £20,000 |
| 1999 | £ 5,500 |
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 20 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether they will seek further information and clarification from the Ministry of Defence regarding the FADEC system following the National Audit Office report Accepting Equipment Off Contract and Into Service, published on 11 February 2000.
Answer
This matter will be looked at again once the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has considered the National Audit Office Report.
