Chamber and committees

We are in close contact with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and other stakeholders regarding the proposed centre in Orkney. We expect to be able to make a decision on further support in early summer.

I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that all buildings will be completed by April 2003 provided that no unexpected problems arise during the remaining stages of construction It is estimated that hard landscaping will be complete in time for the opening of the new building and soft landscaping such as the planting of trees, bushes, shrubs etc will, in compliance with the planning permission granted by The City of Edinburgh Council, be completed six months after the building is occupied.

The Corporate Body's determined aim is for the building to be fit for occupation after the elections in May 2003 and this will be achieved provided no unexpected problems arise during the remaining stages of construction.

This information is not yet available. When all the accounts have been submitted, I will write to the member with the necessary details and place a copy of my letter in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

This information is not yet available. However, once Counsels' accounts are submitted, I will write to the member with the necessary details and place a copy of my letter in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24221, which explained that further consideration is needed of the issues surrounding a legislative framework for the water industry that will safeguard public health, environment protection and social objectives in a competitive environment. This work is in hand at present. In taking it forward, the Executive will be seeking an approach that serves the interests of customers and complies with the provisions of EU law in this area.

The level of the fee paid to a landfill operator for every tonne of waste disposed of at a site is a commercial decision for the operator of a landfill site. In Scotland and across the UK these gate charges are determined by supply and demand. Information on the effects of transfers of waste between different parts of the UK on charge levels is not held centrally.

The Nitrates Directive requires the identification of waters affected by pollution, and which could be affected by pollution, if specified measures are not taken. It defines pollution as "the discharge, directly or indirectly, of nitrogen compounds from agricultural sources into the aquatic environment.....". The directive also requires the designation as nitrate vulnerable zones of all known areas of land which contribute to such pollution. The Scottish Executive considers that the discharge of nitrogen compounds of agricultural origin requires to be more than de minimis to contribute to that pollution.For our current consultation on proposals for new nitrate vulnerable zones we have taken advice from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the British Geological Survey about which areas contribute to pollution, as detailed in the answer to question S1W-24039 today.

Th Scottish Executive has taken advice from the British Geological Survey and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in identifying the boundaries of the proposed Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) to ensure that only areas making a significant contribution to pollution are included. Parts of upland catchments have therefore been excluded from the proposed NVZs on this basis. The available groundwater nitrate data from upland areas are generally low. This is confirmed by Scottish Environment Protection Agency surface water nitrate data.My officials recently wrote to those farming around the proposed NVZ boundaries specifically inviting comment on the line of the boundary. We are looking closely at the proposed boundaries, in light of comments received, to ensure that no non-polluting areas are included.

The provision of serology facilities to serve needs throughout Great Britain is being considered carefully in the context of contingency planning following last year's foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.