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-12216

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 the remit is of the short-life task force on the pig industry.

Question reference: S3W-12211

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 assessment it has made of the possibility of introducing a soft loans scheme for Scottish pig farmers.

Question reference: S3W-12207

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 the breakdown of the French Government’s support package for pig farmers.

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.

Question reference: S3W-12221

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 it decided which stakeholders were invited to contribute to the short-life task force on the pig industry.

Question reference: S3W-12209

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 noted the conclusion of Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel that the French Government’s support package for pig farmers appears valid under the “de minimis” rule.

Question reference: S3W-12205

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 considers that the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2007 caused a welfare issue for the pig sector in respect of cull sows.

The foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in 2007 resulted in culls sows remaining on-farm for longer than usual due to the temporary closure of the export market which meant there was no market for sow meat. This had an economic impact as owners had a responsibility to safeguard the welfare of animals under their care even if this might result in extra feed costs. Scottish Government monitored the situation closely and frequently took veterinary advice which consistently identified the extra time cull sows remained on-farm as having an economic impact rather than being a welfare issue.

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-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.