- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will (a) consider introducing any measures to regulate the ownership of land, in particular large landed estates owned by non-residents and (b) consider a requirement on such non-resident landowners based in a foreign jurisdiction to appoint a mandatory to represent their interests locally.
Answer
The matter of principal importance as regards ownership of land by non-residents, as for resident owners, is that ownership should be exercised responsibly. Rather than regulate the ownership of land, we think it better to set out the standards we expect in the Code of Good Practice on Rural Landownership which we intend to publish later in the year. The matter of local representation will also be addressed in the code.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 18 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the reduced availability of private sector housing grants within Highland Council area has had upon the quantity of stock in that sector and how many houses it estimates would have received grants had the total sum spent been maintained in real terms at the 1995-96 level in each subsequent year.
Answer
The vast majority of private sector grants are for the improvement or repair of existing houses. It is therefore unlikely that their availability has much bearing on the quantity of stock in the private sector. The amount of grant payable depends on the nature of the works and so can vary considerably between cases. It is therefore not possible to make an estimate of grants which Highland Council might have awarded since 1 April 1996 had the budget for the years concerned been as described.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 18 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much traffic uses the A82 from Tarbet to North of Inverarnan on a daily basis; whether this stretch of the A82 is in need of improvement to the same standard as the section of the A82 lying between Balloch and Tarbet and what impact it anticipates the passage of the National Parks (Scotland) Bill and the designation of inter alia this section of the A82 as lying within a National Park area will have upon the prospects for such improvement.
Answer
The average daily traffic flow on the A82 trunk road between Tarbet and north of Inverarnan is 3,000 vehicles compared to 12,000 vehicles between Balloch and Tarbet. The Scottish Executive is aware that the section between Tarbet and north of Inverarnan requires upgrading and has included two improvement schemes on this section within the current three-year road improvement programme.
National Parks are to be designated as "Statutory Consultees" on matters relating to roads and traffic management. In this way they will be invited to comment on any road matters within their area.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 18 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered compensating sufferers of organophosphate poisoning who became ill after complying with compulsory dipping orders.
Answer
The issues of compensation are essentially not for government but for individuals to take up with the manufacturers of the product involved.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 18 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much non-domestic rating income it estimates each local authority is due to receive in financial year 2000-01.
Answer
The amount of non-domestic rate income expected to be distributed to each local authority in 2000-01 is shown in the following table.
Council | Distributable Amount of Non-Domestic Rate Income |
| | £ million |
Aberdeen City | 69.193 |
Aberdeenshire | 73.477 |
Angus | 35.745 |
Argyll & Bute | 29.221 |
Clackmannanshire | 15.770 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 47.835 |
Dundee City | 47.637 |
East Ayrshire | 39.391 |
East Dunbartonshire | 35.582 |
East Lothian | 29.087 |
East Renfrewshire | 28.571 |
Edinburgh, City of | 146.193 |
Eilean Siar | 9.073 |
Falkirk | 46.799 |
Fife | 113.303 |
Glasgow City | 201.238 |
Highland | 67.644 |
Inverclyde | 27.733 |
Midlothian | 26.259 |
Moray | 27.886 |
North Ayrshire | 45.354 |
North Lanarkshire | 106.100 |
Orkney | 6.349 |
Perth & Kinross | 43.204 |
Renfrewshire | 57.749 |
Scottish Borders | 34.520 |
Shetland | 7.440 |
South Ayrshire | 37.164 |
South Lanarkshire | 99.651 |
Stirling | 26.996 |
West Dunbartonshire | 30.812 |
West Lothian | 49.715 |
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 18 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations from the British Aggregates Association as to the impact of the proposed Aggregates Levy on their membership in Scotland; whether any such representations drew its attention to the Association's estimate that the cost per tonne of aggregates is around #10 in the South of England compared with around #4 in Scotland; whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the impact on employment in the aggregates industry in Scotland of introducing the Levy at a fixed rate per tonne of #1.60, and in particular whether it has suggested any amendments to the proposed Levy to lessen its potential impact in Scotland.
Answer
The association has made written and oral representations to both the Executive and HM Government on this issue. The cost of aggregates has been raised. The Executive is in touch with HM Government on a wide range of issues, including the aggregates tax.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 17 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail in what circumstances it believes referenda should be held.
Answer
Referendums have been used in the United Kingdom in connection with questions of constitutional change, such as membership of the EEC, the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly of Wales and the Greater London Assembly. They are not a regular feature of a parliamentary democracy. Primary legislation would be required to provide for the holding of any official referendum.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if Inverness, Nairn, Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey are excluded from the assisted area status map, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and local enterprise companies will have sufficient resources to achieve the targets set by it and to create new employment opportunities taking into account impending redundancies in the local oil fabrication sector.
Answer
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is funded to implement all aspects of its agreed strategy and to deal with economic pressures that may arise from time to time within its area.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many extra jobs will be (a) created and (b) sustained if Moray is excluded from the assisted area status map and what its estimate is of the impact on the local economy if the area is excluded from the map.
Answer
I refer to the answer I gave in reply to question S1W-6459.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive on what grounds most of Inverness is being excluded from the assisted area status map and what specific representations it will be making to The Scotland Office on this matter.
Answer
I will refer, in answering this question, to the fact that it has also been raised in relation to the areas of Nairn (S1W-6456), Moray (S1W-6457) and Badenoch and Strathspey (S1W-6458) which, along with Inverness, are contained within the Inverness NUTS 3 area.
The Assisted Area map is a reserved matter.
The July 1999 Assisted Areas map proposals put forward the Highlands and Islands NUTS 2 area as a whole, for inclusion on the basis of its population sparsity. However, I understand that the European Commission would not accept this, on the basis the Inverness NUTS 3 area does not on its own meet the sparsity criterion.
