- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 10 June 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to limit any damage to the soil on the farm near Coupar Angus where potato seed infected with Dickeya solani imported from the Netherlands via a farm in England has been found.
Answer
Dickeya infection is most likely to persist in the soil if potato material remains. For this reason the planted potatoes were ordered to be lifted immediately, before they could rot or produce new tubers. No potatoes are to be planted in the field until 2012, and any re-growth which emerges must be destroyed, to ensure that all potato material has been removed. This will minimise any risk of infection to future crops in that field. All machinery used in the field must also be cleaned and disinfected to avoid spreading infection to other crops.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2010
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Current Status:
Awaiting answer
To ask the Scottish Executive what the new planting rates are in Scottish forests.
Answer
Awaiting answer
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the quality of oil burned by the three ships in the Northlink fleet has ever changed since 2003.
Answer
The fuel/oil used by NorthLink Ferries on all of its vessels must comply with the European marine fuel directives. As emission targets change, the company ensures that compliant fuel is purchased.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times has the scheduled call at Kirkwall in the Aberdeen to Lerwick Northlink service and the Lerwick to Aberdeen service been abandoned since April 2003.
Answer
Since the current contract started on 1 July 2006, 41 calls into Kirkwall have been cancelled. It is not possible to provide the figures prior to the start of the current contract, since the data is not readily available.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost of bunker fuel has been in each year from April 2003 for the three ships in the Northlink fleet.
Answer
NorthLink Ferries Ltd leases five vessels (three passenger ferries and two freighters). It is not straightforward to provide all the information requested, since the data is not readily available. However, the estimated cost of bunker fuel in the current contract year is £10.4 million.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many days have the Scrabster to Stromness and the Stromness to Scrabster services been interrupted by adverse weather conditions in each year since April 2003.
Answer
The information requested is not recorded in terms of the number of days the services are disrupted. The following tables list the reliability and punctuality figures for each operating year (July to June) since the current contract started. It is not possible to provide the figures prior to the start of the current contract, since the data is not readily available.
Reliability
| Year | Scheduled Sailings | Completed Sailings | Weather Cancellations |
| 2006-07 | 1,948 | 1,844 | 104 |
| 2007-08 | 1,978 | 1,916 | 62 |
| 2008-09 | 1,978 | 1,908 | 69 |
| 2009-10 | 1,482* | 1,468 | 14 |
Punctuality
| Year | Completed Sailings | On Time | Weather Delays |
| 2006-07 | 1,844 | 1,659 | 159 |
| 2007-08 | 1,916 | 1,669 | 224 |
| 2008-09 | 1,908 | 1,721 | 168 |
| 2009-10 | 1,468* | 1,393 | 69 |
Note: *To end of March 2010.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual costs are of leasing the three ships in the Northlink fleet which commenced in 2002.
Answer
NorthLink Ferries Ltd leases five vessels (three passenger ferries and two freighters). The current annual leasing charge for the three passenger ferries leased by NorthLink Ferries Ltd is £9.9 million.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual figures are for (a) passengers, (b) cars and (c) commercial vehicles carried on each ship in the Northlink fleet since April 2003.
Answer
Annual carrying statistics are recorded by route as follows:
Lerwick-Aberdeen-Lerwick
| Year | Passengers | Cars | Commercial Vehicles Lane Metres Carried |
| 2003 | 83,146 | 15,341 | 150,316 |
| 2004 | 97,924 | 16,510 | 158,899 |
| 2005 | 101,933 | 17,255 | 149,693 |
| 2006 | 102,603 | 16,946 | 150,129 * |
| 2007 | 102,385 | 16,696 | 191,256 * |
| 2008 | 101,612 | 16,739 | 218,926 * |
| 2009 | 105,853 | 16,713 | 212,809 * |
Kirkwall-Aberdeen-Kirkwall
| Year | Passengers | Cars | Commercial Vehicles Lane Metres Carried |
| 2003 | 27,795 | 4,317 | 15,774 |
| 2004 | 34,086 | 4,828 | 25,705 |
| 2005 | 38,317 | 5,544 | 30,252 |
| 2006 | 37,342 | 5,436 | 39,002* |
| 2007 | 36,492 | 5,392 | 59,312* |
| 2008 | 34,239 | 4,907 | 69,258* |
| 2009 | 37,000 | 5,303 | 73,392* |
Lerwick-Kirkwall-Lerwick
| Year | Passengers | Cars | Commercial Vehicles Lane Metres Carried |
| 2003 | 14,524 | 2,484 | 2,868 |
| 2004 | 17,280 | 2,660 | 5,483 |
| 2005 | 16,258 | 2,630 | 6,279 |
| 2006 | 16,391 | 2,776 | 5,843* |
| 2007 | 13,970 | 2,381 | 10,392* |
| 2008 | 13,984 | 2,334 | 11,521* |
| 2009 | 14,632 | 2,285 | 13,453* |
Stromness-Scrabster-Stromness
| Year | Passengers | Cars | Commercial Vehicles Lane Metres Carried |
| 2003 | 136,729 | 40,209 | 95,869 |
| 2004 | 142,884 | 40,205 | 76,026 |
| 2005 | 144,629 | 42,096 | 69,686 |
| 2006 | 147,977 | 43,983 | 57,003* |
| 2007 | 154,777 | 46,211 | 62,461* |
| 2008 | 144,953 | 43,882 | 82,712* |
| 2009 | 151,051 | 43,457 | 86,861* |
Note : *Includes livestock from July 2006.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many days have the Aberdeen to Lerwick service and the Lerwick to Aberdeen services been interrupted by adverse weather conditions in each year since April 2003.
Answer
The information requested is not recorded in terms of the number of days the services are disrupted. The following tables list the reliability and punctuality figures for each operating year (July to June) since the current contract started. It is not possible to provide the figures prior to the start of the current contract, since the data is not readily available.
Reliability
| Year | Scheduled Sailings | Completed Sailings | Weather Cancellations |
| 2006-07 | 666 | 648 | 18 |
| 2007-08 | 696 | 678 | 14 |
| 2008-09 | 679 | 651 | 27 |
| 2009-10* | 503 | 485 | 18 |
Punctuality
| Year | Completed Sailings | On Time | Weather Delays |
| 2006-07 | 648 | 611 | 35 |
| 2007-08 | 678 | 632 | 36 |
| 2008-09 | 651 | 619 | 26 |
| 2009-10* | 485 | 440 | 42 |
Note: *To end of March 2010.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 May 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what dues are paid to the Crown Estate from commercial harbours around Scotland.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. Dues paid are negotiated on an individual basis between the Harbour Authorities and the Crown Estate.
