Demand for aggregates will continue to be a matter for market forces. A number of initiatives are in place to increase the use of recycled aggregates which are intended to impact on the use of primary aggregates by the construction industry, particularly fiscal measures such as the Landfill Tax and the forthcoming Aggregates Levy.

The annual maintenance charge levied by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency under the Groundwater Regulations 1998 is not unfair. The charge, which for the great majority of farmers is £127 or less, covers the costs to the agency of monitoring and administering the scheme.

Special dispensation will be made for those sheep farmers that have lost stock because of foot-and-mouth disease. Charges will be waived for the current financial year and farmers wishing to delay restocking until 31 March 2005 will be able to have their authorisations revoked without incurring extra fees when reapplying.

The Scottish Executive expects demand for recycled aggregates to increase in the next five years as a result of the introduction by the UK Government of a tax on primary aggregates in April 2002.

The Ebola virus has not been found in meat imported into the UK. In countries where Ebola occurs, it may affect non-human primates. It has not been found in any other type of animal. As such the virus could in theory be present in meat from primates in outbreak areas. Import of meat from affected animals is however extremely unlikely, not least because infected primates develop the same severe illness as humans. Moreover, as most viruses require living cells in which to survive, it is highly unlikely that the virus would survive in meat.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. If you wish details of the changes you may wish to contact ScotRail.

No decisions have yet been taken on the 20-day standstill proposal. Any new requirements that may arise from the proposal or alternative suggestions will require legislative backing before introduction and, as mentioned in the consultation paper, a further consultation will be undertaken on the draft legislation. Any new legislation will be subject to scrutiny in the normal way before coming into force.

During 2000, Mouchel Scotland Ltd assessed 72 planning applications on behalf of the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive considered the information provided by Mouchel and recommended that 18 applications be refused.The responsibility for making final determinations on planning applications lies with the planning authorities and their decisions on these planning applications are not readily available to the Scottish Executive.

The Scottish Executive is a statutory consultee in respect of planning applications that affect trunk roads. BEAR Scotland Ltd provide the Scottish Executive with an assessment and recommendation on planning applications submitted by planning authorities in the North of Scotland. Any recommendation by BEAR Scotland Ltd to refuse an application is assessed by the Scottish Executive before a decision is recommended to the planning authority. If the planning authority ignores the Scottish Executive's recommendation, a decision is taken on whether the planning application should be called in.

This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The information is not held centrally.

Since June 2000, the only new appointment to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) central management team was that of Dr Campbell Gemmell to the post of Strategic Planning Director in April 2001. There have been two retirements during the same period, resulting in an overall reduction in the number of Directors, so that the team now comprises the Chief Executive and four Directors. The only appointment to the SEPA Board during the past 12 months was that of Mrs M. Patricia Henton, on her promotion to the position of SEPA Chief Executive in October 2000.