- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of whether the levies paid by farmers to the Meat and Livestock Commission offer value for money and, if so, what the findings were.
Answer
The MLC regularly monitors the impact of levy payers expenditure. The most recent independent review - Quinquennial Review - of the MLC was published in March 1999. I have arranged for a copy to be sent to you.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-1712 by Ross Finnie on 18 May 2000, whether it is satisfied that the concerns about the representation of the various agriculture sectors on the Quality Meat Scotland board have been addressed.
Answer
Membership of the QMS Board has been expanded to broaden sectoral representation, a decision which I welcome.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any increases in the levy paid by farmers to the Meat and Livestock Commission will only proceed with the agreement of all parts of the UK.
Answer
Consultations between the MLC and the industry on proposed increases in beef and sheep levies are not yet complete. If conflicting views emerge within the industry, these will have to be balanced by the Commission before a decision to proceed, or otherwise, with the increase is taken.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation has taken place with farmers on the proposals to increase the levy paid to the Meat and Livestock Commission.
Answer
As required by the Agriculture Act 1967, the MLC currently is consulting red meat industry interests, including farming interests, about proposals to increase beef and sheep levies.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many sea cage fish farming operators have been taken to court by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and what percentage of these cases resulted in a conviction, broken down for each year since the establishment of the agency.
Answer
Information about the number of cases taken to court by the Procurator Fiscal after referral by the agency is not held centrally. However, the agency publishes details of successful prosecutions on its website at:http://www.sepa.org.uk/envdata/prosecutions/
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make available funding for child-care or creche facilities to assist in the recruitment of female retained fire fighters.
Answer
It is for fire boards and authorities to determine their own priorities for use of the funding available to them. The strategies referred to in the answer to question S1W-11661 will include means to assist in the recruitment of female retained firefighters.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Morrison on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce compulsory registration for bed and breakfast establishments.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 1 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why the Minister for Rural Affairs was renamed the Minister for Rural Development.
Answer
The portfolio was renamed to emphasise the Executive's commitment to the development of rural areas.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial assistance was made available in each of the last three years for road improvements in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Dundee, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Glasgow and (e) each Scottish parliamentary region and what percentage of the total transport budget for the relevant year each of these figures represents.
Answer
Central government funding for expenditure on local roads forms part of the annual local government settlement. It is for each local authority to decide how much to allocate to local roads. Spending on motorway and trunk road schemes is recorded by individual project and by network management area, not by city or council boundaries. Similarly, data is not held centrally on roads budgets and expenditure by parliamentary region.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 31 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Transport intends to visit Aberdeen to observe recent traffic problems; if so, when and with whom she intends to meet while in the city.
Answer
I have a commitment to visit Aberdeen to meet representatives of the North East Scotland Economic Development Partnership to discuss further their proposed Modern Transport System for the city and its hinterland. That meeting will take place as soon as is mutually convenient.
