- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 11 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent progress has been made in the transfer of the regulatory powers of the Crown Estate Commission in Scotland to the Executive.
Answer
No regulatorypowers are being transferred from the Crown Estate to the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out by the Scottish Enterprise Community Land Unit since its inception.
Answer
The main thrust of ScottishEnterprise’s (SE) activity in relation to community land acquisition and/ordevelopment is related to the New Opportunities Fund Scottish Land Fund(NOFSLF) which is administered by a joint Scottish Enterprise/Highlands andIslands Enterprise (HIE) partnership.
In addition to supportrelated to NOFSLF activity, SE’s Community Land Unit consists of a centralfirst point of contact who coordinates with Local Enterprise Companies across theSE Network, SE’s Rural Policy Group, and liaises with HIE’s Community Land Unit.HIE have developed expertise in this area which SE draws upon as necessary.
Prior to the establishmentof the NOFSLF, SE invested approximately £150,000 in supporting activitiesrelated to property and business development on community-purchased land.
Scottish Enterprise has notpro-actively promoted rural community land purchase for its own sake, but hassupported such purchases in relation to the development of local economies.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has investigated whether there are any links between members of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and their recent employment with, or use of research funding from, GM companies.
Answer
The chair and members of theAdvisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) are appointed in linewith the Commissioner for Public Appointments “Code of Practice for the MinisterialAppointments to Public Bodies”. ACRE is an independent and technical committee and itsmembers are appointed purely for their expertise.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public expenditure has been committed to research into the safety of GM crops.
Answer
Public expenditure is usedto fund academic research into genetically modified organisms but it is notfeasible to identify the sum spent on research directly related to the safetyof GM crops.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 21 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost savings were to the Meat Hygiene Service following the 2002 tender procedure for veterinarian services in Scotland.
Answer
As a result of the 2002re-tendering exercise the average hourly rate charged to the meat hygiene servicefor official veterinary surgeons in Scotland reduced by 12.5%.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 19 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the environmental factors that were taken into account when the Dounreay area was ruled out by NIREX in the 1980s as a possible site for long-term nuclear waste storage.
Answer
This is a matter for Nirex.Details of Nirex’s publications are available on its website at:
http://www.nirex.co.uk/.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to extend the remit of the Caledonian MacBrayne Users Committee Scotland to include passengers on NorthLink ferries.
Answer
We are currently consideringnew arrangements for future consultation with ferry users following a publicconsultation exercise carried out last year. I expect to make an announcement shortlyon future arrangements, including those covering ferry services provided byNorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 3 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the fourth supplementary question to question S2O-536 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 2 October 2003, whether it will clarify the statement that "if we can resolve the issue through planning guidance, we will do so" (Official Report, col 2338) in regard to 'oning land specifically for affordable housing.
Answer
Current planning guidance onland for housing is contained in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 3
Land forHousing, published in February 2003.
We will publish further good practice advice on how the planning systemcan contribute to affordable housing, to follow on from SPP3. This advice willbe published next year. The need for advice on the particular issue of zoningland specifically for affordable housing will be considered as part of thiswork. We envisage that this will include issues such as the availability ofland and the roles of the public and private sectors.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 3 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the fourth supplementary question to question S2O-536 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 2 October 2003, whether it will provide an explanation of the "issues around competition between private and public housing" (Official Report, col 2338).
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3261 on 3 November 2003.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.
- Asked by: Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 29 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the levels of market incentive for wave energy projects such as Ocean Power Delivery Ltd's Pelamis project being offered by other countries such as Portugal.
Answer
Renewable energy generatorsin Portugal are guaranteed access to the grid, with utilitiesobliged to pay a guaranteed tariff for renewable output. For the first 20MegaWatts of installed wave capacity built, developers can expect a price of 23Eurocents or 14.5 pence per kilowatt hour generated under the tariff.
This system means thatelectricity prices to businesses and consumers are also higher. The RenewablesObligation Scotland (ROS) incentivises new developments whilst keeping theadditional costs to consumers at a reasonable level. We are committed tokeeping the ROS under review, with a full review scheduled for 2005-06.
