Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-12212

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what direct action measures to assist the pig industry will be examined by the short-life task force on the industry.

The terms of reference of the Pig Industry Task Force are:

(i) To consider actions to assist the pig sector, for example as identified in recent discussions between industry and government, and to determine which action may be suitable for implementation provided resources are available and state aids allow.

(ii) To provide a progress report for Cabinet Secretary, to allow him to update the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee by 21 May.

(iii) To provide final recommendations to Cabinet Secretary by no later than 13 June.

At the initial meeting of the task force, held on 23 April 2008, the following suggestions were considered:

(i) Vaccination programme for pig wasting disease.

(ii) Audit of standards, transparency and labelling of imported pork.

(iii) Improved food labelling.

(iv) Support scheme for producers continuing in business.

(v) Pig sustainability meeting with retailers (and others).

(vi) UK support to sector.

(vii) GM issues.

(viii) nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) issues.

(ix) Strategic review of sector.

(x) Added value red meat project (fifth quarter).

(xi) Post-FMD compensation scheme.

(xii) Release of SAC study on pig chain vulnerability.

Question reference: S3W-12204

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment felt unable to attempt to construct a successful case for headage payments for the pig sector.

Question reference: S3W-12218

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recommendations of the short-life task force on the pig industry will be made public.

Question reference: S3W-12217

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the short-life task force on the pig industry to report.

Question reference: S3W-12219

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how soon it expects to act on the recommendations of the short-life task force on the pig industry.

Question reference: S3W-12203

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has proposed a pig compensation scheme to the European Commission.

Question reference: S3W-12208

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how much of the French Government’s support package for pig farmers will be available to individual farmers.

Question reference: S3W-12215

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the short-life task force on the pig industry will assess the feasibility of introducing a new on-goers scheme, with possible restructuring of the scheme’s definitions to circumvent the 10-year condition of the previous scheme, as referred to by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in evidence to the Rural Affairs and Environment committee on 16 April 2008.

Yes, but in agreeing to the previous UK pig industry restructuring scheme (2000) EU state aid approval was granted, partly, on the basis of the following criterion:

The UK authorities also confirm that the scheme is a one-off aid scheme, which fully respects the one-time, last-time requirements of the restructuring guidelines. It has been made clear to the industry that no other request for restructuring the UK pig sector can be countenanced for at least the next 10 years.

Question reference: S3W-12869

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 09 May 2008
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10528 by Stewart Stevenson on 13 March 2008, when it will launch its consultation on energy performance and carbon impact measures for existing domestic and non-domestic buildings.

Question reference: S3W-12222

Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned a long-term review from the Farmed Animal Welfare Council into whether pig produce from abroad meets the same welfare standards as Scottish pig produce, as referred to by the Cabinet Secretary in evidence to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee on 16 April 2008.

We have commissioned an advisory letter from the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) and we expect them to be in a position to reply within about four weeks. Once we have this information then we shall be in a position to decide whether it will be necessary to commission an opinion. This is a much more detailed process and could take up to a year. If we were to commission an opinion it would be necessary to revisit the FAWC present work programme and agree with the other UK agriculture departments what item of work should be postponed.