Chamber and committees

The procedures surrounding the attendance and role of Ministers from Devolved Administrations at Council meetings is outlined in paragraphs B4.12-13 of the Concordat on the co-ordination of EU policy issues.

I have not commissioned new research. I have received scientific advice on a wide range of issues from Fisheries Research Services.

The industrial fisheries are an integral part of the Common Fisheries Policy. White fish by-catch limits in the industrial fisheries are established by EU regulations.

I have no information further to that in the recent Advisory Committee on Fishery Management report. I refer the member to the report and specifically to sections on haddock, whiting, sandeels and Norway pout.

A copy of the recent report into the impact of the closure off the Wee Bankie compiled for the Commission by UK and Danish scientists has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 25356). The report does not focus upon the impact of the ban on white fish stocks as this was not the basis for the closure.

No. There is a wide corpus of published research on this subject indicating that cod prey on a wide range of species and feed in all areas where the stock is distributed.

The Executive does provide information on attendance at EU meetings.I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-6228 on 9 May 2000, S1W-13367 on 29 March 2002, S1W-20175 on 5 December 2001, S1W-22493 on 25 February 2002 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002 regarding ministerial attendance; and to S1W-13370 on 2 May 2001 and S1W-31063 on 2 December 2002, regarding official attendance. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The Scottish Executive will not send a representative to the EU Transport Council meeting on 5 to 6 December 2002. Decisions on Scottish ministers' attendance at Council meetings are made on a case by case basis depending on the agenda of the Council meeting in question.

In order to secure a future for fishing communities, we need to safeguard the fish stocks on which they depend. The Scottish Executive takes very seriously the latest scientific advice that a substantial reduction in fish mortality is required if a collapse of key whitefish stocks is to be avoided. However, the Commission has accepted our argument that alternatives to closure must be sought. We shall continue to press hard for alternative measures that strike an appropriate balance between conservation of stocks and ensuring a sustainable fishing industry.

Action to prevent marine pollution remains a function of the UK Government. However, the role of the Scottish Executive, and a number of other statutory bodies, is set out in the National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations (NCP). The plan is tested annually and the most recent national oil spill exercise, which included participation by the Scottish Executive and a number of its agencies, was conducted in the Firth of Forth in October. A copy of the plan is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre, (Bib. number 17730). There is also an Operating Agreement between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Scottish Executive on Marine Pollution Contingency Planning. In the event of an oil spill in waters adjacent to Scotland, the MCA would alert the Scottish Executive and its agencies. The Executive and its agencies would be involved in any Shoreline Response Centre and Environment Group set up under the terms of the NCP to deal with the incident. In addition, the Scottish Executive is responsible as licensing authority for approving the use of chemical dispersants in shallow coastal waters.