- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many control (a) agreements under section 7 and (b) schemes under section 8 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 have been made since 1 January 2002 and, of these, how many are still in operation.
Answer
This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Director of the Deer Commission for Scotland to respond to you. A copy of the response shall be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is undertaking research into means of avoiding damage by deer to woodland, agricultural production of crops or livestock that do not involve the taking or killing of deer.
Answer
The Scottish Executive funds an ongoing research programme of about £600,000 per annum on sustainable deer management. The research includes developing a decision support tool for management of deer in woodlands as an aid to native woodland regeneration.
In addition the Deer Commission has a deer research programme and I have asked the director to write to you with details.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to protect the peatland features of the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site outside the boundary of the Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation.
Answer
Outside the candidate Special Area of Conservation the Ramsar site and its features are protected by designation as a Special Protection Area and the associated Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure is for complying with Articles 3.1 and 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention in relation to Ramsar sites (a) which are also Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and (b) which are not SSSIs.
Answer
All Ramsar sites in Scotland are designated as Special Protection Areas or candidate Special Areas of Conservation under the EC Birds and Habitats Directives, except one which has been notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Compliance with Article 3.1 and 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention is ensured through the procedures for designated Natura sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest set out in The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site overlaps with the (a) Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation and (b) Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area.
Answer
The Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site is identical to the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area in extent (58,984.23 ha) and boundary. The Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation is smaller (27,945.59 ha) and lies entirely within the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deer were killed in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 (i) under control agreements made under section 7, (ii) under control schemes made under section 8, (iii) as part of emergency measures taken under sections 10 and 11 and (iv) by occupiers or persons authorised by occupiers acting under section 26 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.
Answer
This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Director of the Deer Commission for Scotland to respond to you. A copy of the response shall be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to consult interested parties regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water.
Answer
In January 2003, ministers established the Quality and Standard 3 project group made up of a range of stakeholders and experts to advise on the extent of the industry’s investment requirements. This process has included a range of stakeholders the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator, the Water Industry Commissioner and Scottish Water as well as Cosla, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Homes for Scotland, CBI, Scottish Consumer Council, Water Customer ConsultationPanels, Communities Scotland and various interests across the Scottish Executive.
In July 2004, ministers issued a formal consultation, Investing in Water Services 2006-2014 (Bib. number 33325) to some 6,000 individual and organisations . This was supported by the Water Customer Consultation Panels hosting a number of seminars throughout Scotland in August for stakeholders to discuss the issues raised in the consultation. In addition, we commissioned research to investigate the attitudes and priorities of Scottish Water’s domestic customers.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering increasing the funding available for the Biodiversity Action Grants Scheme.
Answer
We are delighted that the Biodiversity Action Grants scheme has been very well received and we decided to top up the scheme from contingency funds for 2004-05. Decisions on future funding for the scheme will depend both on the availability of resources, and on the level and quality of applications in future years.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many alleged offences under the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985 have been reported to procurators fiscal in each year since 1999, and, of these, how many have proceeded to prosecution and how many have resulted in a conviction.
Answer
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2002-03, only two charges were reported to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Servicie - both were prosecuted and both were convicted. In FY 2003-04, three charges were reported, three were prosecuted and (to date) only one has been convicted. The two remaining charges are still subject of court proceedings.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when the specialist environmental prosecutors, announced on 9 February 2004, will begin work and whether it will publish their names and office addresses.
Answer
The network of specialist environmental prosecutors, announced on 9 February 2004, was fully operational from that date. The names and contact details are available to the relevant reporting agencies but there are no plans at present to publish more widely the names and office addresses of the specialistprosecutors.
