Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1514 today. 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 has no functions in relation to testing for residues of veterinary medicines or any subsequent prosecutions.

The risks from, andmanagement of, sea lice are issues addressed by the environmental impactstatements, which accompany most new or modified fish farm development proposals.

The Fisheries ResearchServices Freshwater Laboratory is:

1. monitoring levels of sea liceat the mouths of rivers in west and north-west Scotland;

2. monitoring sea licelevels on juvenile sea trout returning to the river Shieldaig;

3. monitoring the numbers ofsea lice on wild sea trout in west and north-west Scotland (incollaboration with the Association of West Coast Fisheries Trusts); and

4. estimating the marinesurvival of sea trout in north west Scotland.

The Fisheries ResearchServices Marine Laboratory is:

1. monitoring open-water larvalsea lice levels in Loch Torridon; and

2. developing models toassess the effects of wind and tide on the movement of particles, and hencelarval sea lice

The closure of the Wee Bankie area to commercial sandeel fishing since 2000 cannot yet be demonstrated to have promoted the stability of local sea bird populations. There is an indication that the closure has benefited the discrete local sandeel population. The European Commission, with the support of the Scottish Executive, has proposed a further three years of closure in order to allow for further scientific monitoring of the closure and its effects.

A number of such representations have been made and are currently being considered. I refer the member to the answer given to question S2O-88 which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The figures included in the report by DTZ Pieda represent the discounted values of a stream of costs and benefits of the various relocation options for Scottish Natural Heritage over a 30-year period. The figures contained in the DTZ Pieda report and subsequent analysis by officials have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre. In the context of the wider relocation policy objectives to enable the economic benefits of public sector jobs to be shared around all of Scotland's communities, ministers took the view that relocation to Inverness would bring benefits in terms of the development of the policy which would outweigh purely financial considerations.

The Scottish Executive's relocation policy is intended to ensure that public sector jobs, and the economic benefits that they bring, are shared across all of Scotland. The co-location of the two current Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) headquarter buildings to a single site away from the extremely competitive Edinburgh labour market will realise significant efficiency gains in the long term. SNH already has over 200 staff based in the Highlands and Islands and 50 staff located in Inverness. The move would therefore allow potential synergies to be explored. In addition, due to the profile and nature of its work, SNH is a better candidate than other organisations for location in the Highland area.

The assessment of economic development need of the relocation options considered in the DTZ Pieda study is shown in the table.

	Edinburgh	West Lothian	Stirling	Perth	Inverness
Economic Development Need	Low	High	Low	Low	Medium

The information requested is provided in the following table for civil servants of the Scottish Executive and staff of Scottish Natural Heritage:

Scottish Executive (Core Departments)	22%
Environment and Rural Affairs Department (ERAD)	46%
ERAD Environment Group	0%
Scottish Natural Heritage	72%