- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 2 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Food Standards Agency and the Meat Hygiene Service monitors the cost to abattoirs of veterinary inspections and, if so, whether it will make available figures for each of the last six years.
Answer
I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the annual cost to abattoirs of veterinary inspections is monitored. Historically this has been undertaken at a Great Britain level and the agency has provided an estimate of the cost to the industry in Scotland since the MHS was established on 1 April 1995. The data for each financial year is as follows:
| Year | Scottish estimate (£ million) |
| 1995-96 | 1.5 |
| 1996-97 | 1.1 |
| 1997-98 | 1.2 |
| 1998-99 | 2.3 |
| 1999-2000 | 2.3 |
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 2 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in adopting the recommendations of the Report of the Meat Inspection Charges Task Force.
Answer
The Food Standards Agency Meat Inspection Charges Task Force presented its final report on 26 June 2000. It recommends that inspection charges for all plants should be no greater than the EU standard charge, irrespective of the actual costs of veterinary inspection in any particular plant. The Scottish Executive is currently considering the recommendations of the task force and we will announce our decisions as quickly as possible.
I have also been advised by the Food Standards Agency that a number of measures have already been put in place to assist small to medium-sized abattoirs. These include the freezing of hourly rates for Meat Hygiene Service inspections in 1999-2000 at 1998-99 levels and restricting the increase in 2000-01 to 2.2%, in line with the rate of inflation.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 10 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Opera have decided not to mount any main-scale performances outwith the central belt between January 2001 and March 2001 and, if this is so, whether Scottish Opera is fulfilling all its obligations as the national opera company.
Answer
Scottish Opera's programme is a matter for the company, in consultation with the Scottish Arts Council.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 7 September 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial arrangements are in place to assist NHS patients who are required to travel outwith their own health board area for treatment.
Answer
There are currently two Patients' Travelling Expenses Schemes. A non-means tested Highlands and Islands Scheme for patients resident or working in the former Highlands and Islands Development area and a means tested scheme for the rest of the country.Under the Regulations patients, and where considered medically necessary their escorts, are reimbursed, either fully or partially, their travelling expenses. In addition the cost of unavoidable overnight expenses can be reimbursed if the health board is satisfied that an overnight stay is in practice unavoidable.Health boards also have discretion to reimburse the travel costs and unavoidable overnight expenses of patients not eligible for assistance under the statutory travel schemes when this is viewed as an extension to patients' treatment costs and is deemed to be clinically necessary.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 5 September 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to publish a dental health strategy in order to address issues regarding access to dental services in rural Scotland.
Answer
An action plan for dental services in Scotland was published on 18 August 2000. The plan addresses issues of service availability and access to dental services. It is available on the Scottish Executive website at
www.scotland.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 29 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the Land Reform Bill.
Answer
As announced by Deputy First Minister Mr Jim Wallace on 19 June (by PQ S1W-8083), in launching the third progress report of the Land Reform Action Plan, we decided to take time to resolve some of the technically complex areas of this legislation prior to publishing the draft Bill. We will make a further announcement shortly regarding our plans for publication.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of any new money being made available to the Scottish police service will be allocated to Grampian Police.
Answer
The additional £8.9 million being allocated to Scottish police forces will be sufficient to enable the recruitment of more than 300 extra police officers. Grampian Police will receive £676,000, which is the equivalent of an additional 27 officers. However, the recruitment and deployment of staff is an operational matter for chief constables taking account of local circumstances.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 8 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to abolish "ransom strips" in the forthcoming Land Reform Bill.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 31 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what was the total value of public sector tenants' right to buy discounts in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
Answer
The information available is set out below. The figures include local authority and Scottish Homes right to buy, rent to mortgage and voluntary sales, all of which were made under the right to buy legislation. Figures for 1999-2000 are not yet available.
Total value of public sector Right to Buy discounts (£) |
| 1997-98 | 1998-991 | |
Scotland | 299,496,472 | 258,632,309 | |
Notes:1. Excludes 91 sales for 1998-99 for which details of the discount are not yet known.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 25 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to bring the Scottish Police Service under the remit of the proposed Freedom of Information Bill.
Answer
The consultation document An Open Scotland, published in November 1999, set out the Executive's view that the police and police authorities in Scotland should be covered by the Scottish freedom of information legislation. This would be in respect of all their activities, both operational and administrative, subject to a number of exemptions protecting sensitive information, in particular information relating to criminal investigations. Currently we are analysing the responses to the consultation exercise and, in relation to coverage of the police, will bring forward detailed proposals in due course.
