Chamber and committees

The costs to engage the consultants to undertake the study will be about £25,000. No specific budget for internal staff costs was set aside, as this task fell within normal ferry contract management activities and ongoing engagement with the local communities served. No other costs have been identified.

No target cost savings were set as part of this exercise. The consultants were simply tasked with assessing the potential impacts a number of cost reductions measures, if implemented, would have in Orkney and Shetland.

Discussions are ongoing between the Scottish Government and SEPA as to SEPA''s role in validating information supplied by developers from their use of the carbon calculator in onshore wind farm planning applications under Section 36 of the Electricity Act (1989).

This information is currently being collated as part of the Northern Isles Study process and will be made available in due course.

This information is currently being collated as part of the Northern Isles Study process and will be made available in due course.

The Scottish Government is currently evaluating tenders received for work to update the carbon calculator tool and hopes to award the contract in the next month. If this is the case, the research project should be completed before the end of the year and publication of results, along with updating of the tool, would take place in January 2011.

The actions of Iceland and Faeroes in setting unilateral total allowable catches (TACs) for mackerel in the North East Atlantic are irresponsible and risk the future sustainability of the stock, which in turn could have serious impacts for the Scottish Pelagic Fleet. I have written twice to Commissioner Damanaki asking her to take a strong stand against the Faroese and Icelanders, and in particular to keep the issue at the fore during Iceland''s EU accession negotiations. Following my first letter, the Commissioner wrote to Commissioner Fule (Enlargement) highlighting the problems and asking him to ensure it was discussed during the accession negotiations.

My second letter was in response to the Faeroese decision to set a TAC far in excess of their previous share. Following this, the Commissioner made a statement condemning the action and outlining possible further action that would be taken against the Faeroes if they did not reconsider their approach during the next round of negotiations. I have now followed up the letters with a phone conversation during which Commissioner Damanaki assured me of her commitment to resolving the issue and that she would work closely with the Scottish and UK Governments.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the UK, the European Commission and other key European member states to identify how best we can ensure Iceland and Faeroes come back to the negotiating table in order to secure a deal that is fair for Scotland and protects the mackerel stock. Marine Scotland has also made an objection to the Marine Stewardship Council certification of the Faroese mackerel stock. The objection has been accepted by the independent adjudicator and the outcome of her review is awaited.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35556 on 26 August 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The review is intended to make recommendations on the national goose policy framework. Therefore, the British Trust for Ornithology Scotland will assess the suitability of the goose policy framework across the whole of Scotland.

Details of the efficiencies identified for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd as part of the 2007 Spending Review (2008-11) are published on the Efficient Government pages of the Scottish Government''s website as follows:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/05/EDPMay2010.