- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reduce the increase in water charges for the year 2000-01 within the North of Scotland Water Authority area to the average level of increase in the rest of Scotland.
Answer
In accordance with the provisions of the Water Industry Act 1999, I announced on 26 January the Executive's decisions on the framework for water and sewerage charges in the light of the Water Industry Commissioner's advice, received in December 1999. The level of increase for each Water Authority reflects the individual investment needs and circumstances faced by that authority. The Act provides that it is now for the Water Authorities to agree their detailed schemes of charges directly with the Commissioner, failing which the scheme is referred to Ministers for decisions.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of its rejection of the water commissioner's advice on the level of water charges for the next two years, what necessary function it considers that the office of the Water Commissioner serves.
Answer
As I made clear in my statement to the Parliament on 26 January, the Executive did not reject the Commissioner's advice. I also made clear then that the Commissioner has a crucial role as the independent, professional economic and customer service regulator of the water authorities.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from the Federation of Small Business (FSB) in response to the consultation paper Tackling Congestion and, if so, what response the FSB has made in respect of "road tolling" and "the workplace parking levy".
Answer
The Executive has received a response from the Federation of Small Businesses to its consultation paper, Tackling Congestion. A copy of this response has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding the decision by Awards for All to refuse any grant to the people of Fort William, through Fort William Community Council, for their celebration of the Millennium.
Answer
The Government are excluded from any part of decision-making on lottery awards. Such decisions are entirely a matter for the award-giving body. Applications to Awards for All can be submitted until April 2000 for future projects. Awards for All staff will be happy to advise on procedural aspects of making applications, while the Scottish Millennium Festival Adviser will be glad to offer general advice on aspects of the Millennium celebrations.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out any consultation to determine the impact of an aggregates tax on jobs, roads and the environment in Scotland and, in particular, whether it will consult local authorities as to cost implications of any additional traffic and road maintenance costs arising from rural quarry closures.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer given to question S1W-2791.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 22 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any application for grant assistance made by the National Trust for Scotland to a local enterprise company will be considered in accordance with the same criteria as those governing applications by private businesses and, in particular, whether the rules regarding displacement of existing jobs and businesses will be applied in the same way to any application by the National Trust as they would be to an application by a private business.
Answer
Any application for financial assistance made by the National Trust for Scotland to a local enterprise company would be appraised according to the same criteria as applies to other financial assistance cases or development projects promoted by private companies. One of the main elements of any project appraisal will be the test of cost-effectiveness which will assess value for money in securing benefits such as employment creation taking into account the effect of displacement elsewhere in the economy.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 22 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give concrete examples and specific instances of its implementing policies to (a) encourage the transformation of ideas from their science base into successful businesses; (b) promote an entrepreneurial culture through school activities; (c) develop Scotland's knowledge economy; (d) promote the use of technology throughout all types of business, and (e) seek to minimise the regulatory burden on business to ensure that small businesses do not face inappropriate regulations, and in each case to estimate in respect of each of the next ten years how many extra businesses will be created.
Answer
As the answer to this question is lengthy I will write to Mr Ewing, and will ensure that a copy of my response is placed in SPICe.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 1999
-
Current Status:
Answered by Donald Dewar on 22 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-222 by Donald Dewar on 9 August, whether it will define, describe and elucidate the nature of the specialism of each of its Special Advisers and whether such specialisms exist within the civil service.
Answer
Special Advisers are not appointed as subject specialists but to give broad advice, including political advice, to Ministers on the development of Government policy and its effective implementation. The specialist nature of their role is that it encompasses the giving of political advice which is not a function of the impartial civil service.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 21 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3768 by Mr Jack McConnell on 28 January 2000, whether it will state with which business representative bodies he met and, of these, with which he discussed the proposed setting of the business rate poundage for Scotland at a higher level than that in England.
Answer
I met and discussed issues related to the forthcoming non-domestic rates revaluation in Scotland with The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland, The Federation of Small Businesses, The Scottish Chambers of Commerce, The Confederation of British Industry in Scotland, The Scottish Valuation and Rating Council, The Chemical Industries Association, Scottish Financial Enterprise and The Scottish Retail Consortium.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 February 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 18 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received the report Economic Impacts of Road Fuel Prices in the Highlands and Islands of January 2000 by EKOS Ltd, commissioned by Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and, if so, whether it accepts the findings of the Report and in particular the comparisons between (a) the average weekly expenditure per household in the Highlands and Islands on motoring costs including purchase, maintenance, insurance and tax and motor fuel and elsewhere in Scotland and the UK; (b) the average cost of motor fuel in the Highlands and Islands and the Scottish and UK averages; (c) the average age of private vehicles in the Highlands and Islands and elsewhere in the UK; (d) income levels in the Highlands and Islands and elsewhere in the UK, and (e) the real purchasing power of residents of the Highlands and Islands and that of the Scottish and UK population.
Answer
We have a copy of the EKOS report Economic Impacts of Road Fuel Prices in the Highlands and Islands and have no reason to doubt the figures presented. We recognise that higher fuel costs remains a matter of considerable concern for those living and working in rural areas and are committed to building on the current initiatives, including the £90 million Public Transport Fund and the £14 million Rural Transport Fund. The latter fund has supported over 300 new or improved bus services, over 70 community transport projects, and assistance for petrol station tank and pump replacement.
