Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-07371

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 April 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to providing transitional aid to the fishing industry following the agreements through the Common Fisheries Policy negotiations on fishing quotas for this year.

Question reference: S2W-07372

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 April 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it is giving to providing transitional aid to the onshore industries affected by the fishing quotas set for this year through the Common Fisheries Policy.

The case for any aid for onshoreindustries will be considered as part of the consideration of the socio-economicimpact of fisheries measures. Such consideration will take into account, for example,the availability of raw material for processors from imports: and the recommendationsof the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit on how to build towards a profitable, sustainablefuture in the fisheries sector.

Question reference: S2O-01998

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 22 April 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making on the Aberdeen Crossrail project.

Question reference: S2W-07024

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 8 April 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive who will take ultimate responsibility for the implementation of a strategy for pest control.

Question reference: S2W-07410

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 April 2004
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 2 April 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in negotiating adjustments to the haddock management regime agreed at the December Fisheries Council.

I am pleased to announce agood result on the various haddock management adjustments we have beendiscussing with the Commission.

The Commissioner gave hispersonal undertaking to meet our concerns, when Ben Bradshaw and I met him on22 March. Yesterday, the Commission published its proposed amendments to therelevant regulation. Today, the Commission has explained the proposed changes ina Council working group in Brussels. These include some further adjustments, not yetincluded in yesterday’s text, to reflect our discussions with the Commissioner.We hope that the new regulation will be adopted at a Council meeting on 26 April.

We have been negotiating onfour issues.

The first issue was a changeto the boundaries of the Cod Protection Area. We have secured a significantshift in those boundaries away from the Scottish coast. This increases the areaover which our fishermen can fish for their increased haddock quota in homewaters under the associated haddock special permit scheme.

The second issue was anincrease in the amount of haddock quota allowed to be caught inside the CodProtection Area without a special permit. That figure has increased from 10,162tonnes under the current regulation to 15,746 tonnes under the revisedregulation. This is of particular help to those fishermen who require moreaccess than most to the Cod Protection Area. It is, of course, less than whatwould normally have been caught in the Cod Protection Area. However, thatreflects the conservation purpose of the regulation: to direct fishing activityout of such cod sensitive areas.

The third issue was how toaccount for haddock caught prior to the coming into force of the newregulation. The Commission has confirmed that the new regulation will allow usto account for such fish according to where they were caught. So we will beable to count haddock caught outside the Cod Protection Area before that dateas if taken with a special permit. That means we will not have to count itagainst the limited quota available without special permits, which was alwaysintended to be available for activity inside the Cod Protection Area.

Thefourth issue was how to deal with bycatches of haddock in other fisheries suchas the Nephrops fishery. The Commission has also confirmed that Nephropsfishermen will not be required to take haddock special permits in order toaccess the haddock quota they need for their bycatch. Instead, the Commissionwill further increase the non-permit quota from 15,746 to 16,246 tonnes.Fisheries Departments will then ensure that an appropriate amount is madeavailable to nephrops fishermen, who will now be able to acquire additionalhaddock quota rather than discard their haddock bycatches.

As a result of thesesuccessful negotiations, I have decided to re-open the non-permit fisheriesthat we have previously closed to the Fife, Orkney and North East of Scotland Fishermen’sProducer Organisations. We will be issuing revised quota allocationsaccordingly in two phases. First, there will be a simple adjustment to allowfishing to continue immediately. Then there will be a further adjustment assoon as the regulation comes into force.

We will also be makingspecial permits with revised geographical co-ordinates available as soon as thenew regulation comes into force. In the meantime, special permits remainavailable on the conditions stipulated in the existing regulation.

Together, these adjustmentsshould allow the industry to take full advantage of the increase in the UK haddockquota without compromising cod recovery.

Question reference: S2O-01934

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 1 April 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Cogent, the Sector Skills Council, in respect of the promotion of diversification into new technology and more sustainable production in the oil and gas sector.

Question reference: S2W-07023

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 29 March 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to implement and monitor a strategy in respect of pest control.

Question reference: S2W-07022

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 29 March 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in attracting new dentists to work in the NHS Grampian area.

Question reference: S2W-06926

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 25 March 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will continue to support local area destination marketing within the new VisitScotland structure.

Question reference: S2W-06707

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 March 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5668 by Lewis Macdonald on 28 January 2004, what support is being given to marine energy research in higher education institutions through the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.