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To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Outdoor Access Code is to be finalised. The drafting of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
Questions and Answers
Date answered:
8 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally bound in any way by the provisions of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, if not, what the precise status and effect of the code is.
The First Minister says that the ministerial code has not been breached. That would not be surprising as the word "lobbying" appears nowhere in the code.
I support Michael McMahon's amendments because he has tried to suggest some criteria. The minister referred to a code for which there is provision under section 115 of the 1991 act, but that code is for guidance only.
As I stated earlier, the Executive proposes that the steering group will support the development of the code, but there is little information in the documents that accompany the bill about what would be contained in the code.