- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 12 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the interaction is between its public expenditure arrangements and the rules of each EU funding programme.
Answer
Structural fund spending is determined by strategies drawn up by partnerships involving key public and voluntary sector agencies. These establish objectives, priorities and measures for each of the EU programmes, and therefore reflect the funding priorities of the Scottish Executive, regional and local partners.The structural funds regulations govern how EU funding can be used in the member states. These regulations cover a variety of expenditure issues, notably cost eligibility, timing of payments, and audit requirements and procedures.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 8 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-856 by Ross Finnie on 14 July 2003, whether it will clarify the statement that the creation of a European fund to aid fishing communities "would not increase public expenditure in Scotland because of the UK's public spending arrangements" and whether this statement would apply solely to this compensation fund or to all EU funding programmes.
Answer
Most public expenditure inthe UK is managed within fixed departmental expenditure limit (DEL) plans,within which fisheries and other requirements are prioritised. Under thesearrangements, the Executive would not gain any direct benefit from theavailability of additional EU funding in this case. Any further fisheriessupport measures would need to be funded through re-prioritising existingexpenditure commitments.
These arrangements apply todirectly funded EU spending - mainly under financial instrument for fisheriesguidance and other EU structural fund programmes. Different arrangementsoperate in respect of spending on annual common agricultural policy marketsupport subsidies and EU rural development measures where domestic expenditurecover for EU funding is classed as annually managed expenditure and provided bythe UK Treasury, outside the block and formula arrangements.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 4 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the Scottish submission to Her Majesty's Government's consultation document, A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish European Structural Funds Forum response to the UK Government consultation
A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom is available on the Scottish Executive web site at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/esf. This response, along with other responses to the consultation from Scottish partners, will be published in due course by the Department for Trade and Industry on their web site
http://www.dti.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) small, (b) medium-si'ed and (c) large businesses' water bills have (i) increased, (ii) remained static and (iii) decreased in each of the last three years.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:-For the last two years, the way in which changes in charges have affected business customers are shown in the table. Figures for the change between 2000-01 to 2001-02 cannot be provided because of the introduction of a new billing system by one of the former water authorities.
| Business Size | | 2001-02 to 2002-03 | 2002-03 to 2003-04 2 |
| Small where | Increased | 41095 | 57429 |
| Charge <=£600 | Remained Static 1 | 15649 | 2581 |
| Decreased | 22845 | 12478 |
| Medium Sized | Increased | 42440 | 59848 |
| Where charge | Remained Static 1 | 13289 | 4471 |
| >£600 but < £100,000 | Decreased | 15948 | 14687 |
| Large Businesses | Increased | 120 | 140 |
| Where charges | Remained Static 1 | 15 | 13 |
| >£100,000 | Decreased | 45 | 42 |
| Total | | 151446 | 151689 |
Note:1 Includes all bills that changed by less than 3%.
2 Assumes meter size and volumes consumed in 2003-04 will be the same as for 2002-03.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what management options there are for white fish stocks in respect of replacing the existing days at sea scheme currently under discussion with the European Commission; what the Executive's preferred option is, and when the discussions will be concluded.
Answer
The Commission has proposed long term recovery plans for cod and northern hake stocks. Alternatively the type of arrangements operated under Annex XVII to Council Regulation (EC) No 2341/2002, or something derived from them, may be an option.There are issues attached to either of these options. The Executive's position is that measures are necessary to promote the recovery of cod (and hake) stocks: and that the range and detail of such measures need to be fully explored - including taking account of comments and advice from industry.Discussions and negotiations to that end are underway. New arrangements need to be in place for 2004, implying the need for decisions to be taken during the autumn and, at latest, at the December Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the decommissioning scheme for fishing vessels and what the timescales in respect of the scheme are.
Answer
I announced on 10 July the issue of decommissioning grant offers to the owners of 69 vessels. Offers of grant are made to the owners of vessels drawn from a reserve list if offers to those on the original approval list are refused or decommissioning bids are withdrawn and there are sufficient scheme funds available.Owners have 30 working days from the issue of a grant offer letter from the department to decide whether or not to accept the offer of decommissioning grant: and until 31 October to decommission the vessel. Those who are willing to surrender their fishing vessel licence may receive an advance (50%) of decommissioning grant, provided they do so by 31 August.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what additional political and scientific steps have been taken following fisheries negotiations in December 2002 in order to make representations to the European Union that the management of cod should be separated from the management of other white fish species and what progress has been made in respect of any such steps.
Answer
The International Council for Exploration of the Seas is examining the linkages between various stocks associated with cod. The data and its analysis should be available to inform discussion in the council working group, which reconvenes in mid-September.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive for how long the #10 million transitional aid for the fishing industry will be made available.
Answer
We have state aid approval to the current scheme from the European Commission on the basis that it will cover the period 1 March to 31 August 2003.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 30 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive which joint ministerial committee meetings it has attended; what the subject was of each such meeting; which minister attended, and which meetings it has not attended.
Answer
The table provides a complete list of Scottish Executive Ministerial attendance at all JMC plenary and functional group meetings that have been convened since 7 October 1999:
| Subject | Date | Venue | Scottish Minister |
| Plenary | 1 September 2000 | Edinburgh | First Minister and Deputy First Minister |
| Plenary | 30 October 2001 | Cardiff | First Minister and Deputy First Minister |
| Plenary | 22 October 2002 | London | First Minister and Deputy First Minister |
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| Europe | 1 March 2001 | London | Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs and Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs |
| Europe | 8 November 2001 | London | No Scottish Minister was able to participate |
| Europe | 7 March 2002 | London | Deputy First Minister |
| Europe | 11 June 2002 | London | Deputy First Minister |
| Europe | 27 September 2002 | London | First Minister |
| Europe | 22 October 2002 | London | First Minister & Deputy First Minister |
| Europe | 30 January 2003 | London | Deputy Minister for Education and Young People |
| Health | 7 April 2000 | Cardiff | First Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care |
| Health | 5 June 2000 | London | Deputy First Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care |
| Health | 16 June 2000 | Glasgow | Deputy First Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care |
| Health | 26 October 2000 | Belfast | Minister for Health and Community Care |
| Health | 22 October 2001 | London | Minister for Health and Community Care |
| Subject | Date | Venue | Scottish Minister |
| Knowledge Economy | 11 February 2000 | Edinburgh | First Minister and Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning |
| Knowledge Economy | 26 May 2000 | Edinburgh | Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning |
| | | | |
| Poverty | 9 December 1999 | London | Minister for Children and Education and Deputy Minister for Communities |
| Poverty | 26 May 2000 | Edinburgh | Deputy First Minister and Minister for Communities |
| Poverty | 18 September 2002 | London | Minister for Finance and Public Services and Minister for Social Justice |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 21 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that dentists meet any additional expenses incurred as a result of implementing new regulations on disabled access to dental practices.
Answer
General dental practitioners are independent contractors to the NHSScotland and it is their responsibility as service providers to comply with all relevant legislation relating to access by disabled people.NHS boards are currently conducting comprehensive access audits of all healthcare premises, including services provided through independent contractors, and the results will be shared with the contractors concerned.£7.3 million has been provided over the last three financial years for improvements to general dental practices, with a further £3 million being provided in this financial year. It is for NHS boards and Primary Care Trusts in conjunction with the dental profession locally to agree how best to target this funding. However, one of the areas that they have been asked to direct funding to is improvements to practices to address the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.
