I refer the member to my letter of 9 August 2002 to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee (PE500). I understand that a copy of my letter has been passed to the member by the convener for his information.

We will be making a further effort to trace all the individuals who have not replied using the Department of Works and Pensions tracing service.

My answer to question S1W-30170 on 16 October 2002, explained that negotiations on trade contracts for the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood are carried out on a commercially confidential basis, and that it would not be appropriate to name publicly those contractors who have yet to provide a performance bond. The same principle applies to all contractors and I am therefore unable to list those contractors, or provide any of the associated information requested, on this occasion.

In my statement of 22 August, I did not say that a majority of the scallop industry supported our proposals for scallop conservation. I said that a majority of the industry supported our proposals. That reflected the fact that our consultation exercises were addressed to the Scottish fishing industry as a whole, not just to scallop fishermen, and that the responses showed the Scottish fishing industry as a whole to be supportive of our proposals. I stand by this interpretation of the responses to our consultation exercises, and by the need for additional conservation measures. However, what has since become clear is the strength of opposition from parts of the scallop sector in particular. That is something on which I am reflecting in my continuing discussions with the Rural Development Committee.

EU legislation requires member states to submit applications for such funding by 1 June. The Executive is aware that due to an administrative oversight a submission from the UK was not submitted by that deadline. Administrative procedures have been amended to avoid a repetition in the future. Discussions are currently under way with Commission officials to establish whether there is any scope to consider an EU contribution to the 2003 TSE surveillance programme costs.

The Scottish Executive has no current plans to alter the 15-month NHS registration period with a dentist.

Contracts exist with the City of Edinburgh Council in respect of the following properties currently occupied by the Scottish Parliament:Parliamentary Headquarters (George IV Bridge)Committee ChambersCannonball House369 and 375 High StreetUnder the current arrangements options to renew are not necessary, as these contracts continue on a monthly basis unless and until terminated by mutual agreement. Discussions are on-going with the City of Edinburgh Council as to an end date consistent with the migration to the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood. These discussions will incorporate a review of rent. Annual rentals payable in advance of this review are as follows : Parliamentary Headquarters (George IV Bridge) - £763,281.48Committee Chambers - £214,395.60Cannonball House - £37,622.76369 and 375 High Street - £122,957.52A contract, with an option to extend, exists with the Church of Scotland in respect of the Scottish Parliament's occupation of the Assembly Hall. Current rent payable is £110,000 per year, payable in equal quarterly amounts. In terms of the contract, a rent review is currently under way. The option to extend has been exercised and negotiations are on-going on a suitable expiry date in relation to migration to Holyrood.Contracts also exist in respect of two properties at the Tun development in Holyrood Road, Edinburgh. The first of these provides office accommodation and will expire on 28 May 2017, although a break clause was negotiated allowing the contract to be terminated on 28 May 2004. This will allow the Holyrood Project Team to continue to operate after occupation of the new building. The current annual rent payable in respect of this property is £69,590. The other contract is in respect of the Visitor Centre and will expire on 28 August 2004. The annual rent payable amounts to £24,750.The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body also holds a licence for occupation of office accommodation at the MWB Business Exchange in St Andrew Square. The licence will expire on 31 July 2003 but may be extended. The current annual rental of £718,650 will increase to £754,582 from 1 January 2003.Members will note the substantial reduction in rental expenditure expected after occupying the new building.

No correspondence has been received from HRH The Prince of Wales by the SPCB.

A member of the Parliament's staff has been appointed, following an internal competition, to undertake the duties of Opening Ceremonies Manager on a temporary basis. The decision to make the appointment was taken by the Corporate Body on 25 June 2002. The reasons for the appointment are as follows: experience of the 1999 Opening Ceremony pointed towards the need for one or more dedicated members of staff; the work of the Opening Ceremonies Steering Group requires to be supported and the contributions from different sections of parliamentary staff require to be co-ordinated; communication with and monitoring of the work of an external events co-ordinator, once appointed, will best be managed through the post; calls on the budget provisionally allocated for the Opening Ceremonies will be monitored by the manager. His substantive post has been advertised internally, to be filled on a temporary basis. No recruitment costs, other than staff time, have been incurred. To date, no savings have accrued. I will write to the member directly with the other details requested.

No.