- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7968 by Mr John Home Robertson on 3 July 2000, when assistance will become available for the fish processing industry under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance; what plans it has for additional measures to assist the fish processing sector; whether these include any specific plans for assistance in response to the current level of white fish landings, and when any such additional assistance will be available.
Answer
As announced recently we are making an additional £11 million in FIFG funding available for fisheries over the next three financial years. Aid for developments in the processing sector designed to help secure its long-term future will be one of the key funding priorities. Decisions on which projects to support will take account of all relevant industry factors, including the prospects for fish supplies.
Arrangements for implementing the FIFG programme for the Highlands and Islands, which has been approved by the European Commission, are well under way and the aim remains to open schemes of assistance up to the industry before the end of the year. The plan for the rest of Scotland has yet to be approved by the Commission, but we expect that will follow soon.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether public authorities within its general responsibilities can apply for exemption from the Competition Act 1998 and whether it has any plans to make representations to Her Majesty's Government for such exemptions to apply to the water industry.
Answer
Applications to the UK Government to be exempted from the provisions of the Competition Act 1998 may be made by any public authorities for which the Scottish Executive is responsible. No such application has been made in the case of the water authorities.
The Executive does not believe that an exemption for the water authorities is necessary, as, within the right framework of legislation, competition will work to the benefit of the authorities' customers by delivering innovation, greater efficiency and improved services. Its policy therefore is to ensure that the authorities are able to compete effectively, while providing through the planned Water Services Bill a framework that safeguards public health, the environment and social objectives.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in delivering aid to the pig sector.
Answer
After prolonged technical discussions between UK and European Commission officials, I am hopeful that the Pig Industry Restructuring Scheme will receive Commission approval by the end of November. If that timetable is met, then the Outgoers Scheme shall be open for applications from mid-December.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Sunday, 12 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the availability of physiotherapy and speech and language therapy services for children in north east Scotland.
Answer
I look to NHSboards in the north east to determine the need for local therapy services and toprovide the services required. We are supporting that at a national levelthrough a range of initiatives and investment stemming from the Future Directionsstrategy for developing allied health professions services.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 15 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why the circumstances surrounding the remit of the Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs as referred to in Mr John Home Robertson's speech in the Parliament on 1 November 2000 were not made public at the time.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10847.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 15 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what input and influence the National Farmers' Union had in relation to the remit of the former Deputy Minister for Rural Affairs.
Answer
The selection of those proposed for appointment as junior Scottish Ministers last year was a personal decision of the late First Minister and current Executive Ministers are not in a position to comment on it.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 15 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the Scottish fishing fleet's allocated quota for each species is expected to be caught this year.
Answer
The "Scottish fishing fleet" is not allocated fish quotas. Quotas are allocated to three fishing groups in the UK - producer organisations (20); the non-sector and the 10 metre and under fleet. There are around 70 UK quota stocks which are allocated to fishing groups. Uptake of UK quotas is routinely monitored at group rather than at individual vessel level.
Under the devolution settlement, a "Scottish boat" is defined by reference to its port of registration. It is possible for Scottish-registered vessels to be fishing out of English ports and vice versa. Similarly, some of the seven Scottish-based Producer Organisations may have in their membership vessels which are not registered in Scotland.
However, for the purposes of this answer, we have assumed the "Scottish fishing fleet" to mean the seven Scottish-based fish producer organisations. For west coast nephrops, however, the Scottish fleet also includes those vessels of under 10 metres in length and those in the non-sector (over 10 metre vessels not in membership of a fish producer organisation) since both groups have a significant interest in this fishery.
It is not possible at this stage to accurately predict the likely level of percentage uptake of quotas by the Scottish fleet since a number of factors such as availability of fish and weather conditions can bear on uptake levels in the weeks to end-December.
However, based on recorded uptake as at 9 November (the latest available figures), the following tables show the approximate percentage uptake of the main whitefish stocks by the Scottish Produce organisations based on current allocations:
North Sea | Cod | Haddock | Whiting | Saithe | Nephrops |
| | 75% | 66% | 79% | 89% | 68% |
West Coast | Cod | Haddock | Whiting | Saithe | Nephrops |
| | 69% | 55% | 75% | 52% | 80% |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 15 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the overall spending block (a) its total rural affairs budget; (b) that part of the rural affairs budget which is not tied to European funding; (c) its total fisheries budget, and (d) that part of the fisheries budget which is not tied to European funding will represent in each of the next three financial years.
Answer
In the table below "overall spending block" figures are the Scottish Executive's Total Managed Expenditure as shown in Table 2 of
Making a Difference for Scotland. Figures for the "rural affairs budget" are the plans for Rural Affairs spending by the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) shown in the table on page 22 of the same document.
| | 2001-02 £ million | 2002-03 £ million | 2003-04 £ million |
Scottish Executive Total Managed Expenditure (TME). | 19,743.9 | 20,912.8 | 22,074.8 |
SERAD Rural Affairs budget.(% of TME) | 621.9 (3.1%) | 627.1 (3%) | 628.5 (2.8%) |
Amounts of SERAD budget "not tied to European funding." (% of TME) | 148 (0.75%) | 158 (0.75% | 162 (0.73%) |
Fisheries Budget. (% of TME) | 6.9 (0.03%) | 8.4 (0.04%) | 8.4 (0.04%) |
Non EU Fisheries Budget. (% of TME) | 2 (0.01%) | 3 (0.01%) | 3 (0.01%) |
The Fisheries expenditure plans shown are those for the Fisheries Budget Level 2 in the table on page 22 of Making a Difference for Scotland. They exclude resources of over £50 million a year devoted to the Scottish Fisheries Protection and Fisheries Research Services Agencies which are included in the Level 2 Budgets for Agencies.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 15 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6754 by Ross Finnie on 7 August 2000, and in the light of its Comprehensive Spending Review, whether it will provide updated information for the same figures for the next three years.
Answer
The information requested, in respect of Rural Development portfolio spending by the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) is shown in the table below.
| | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 |
Value of spending (£ million). | 148 | 158 | 162 |
Spending as a percentage of total SERAD Rural Development resource plans. | 24% | 25% | 26% |
The sums above constitute between 0.7% and 0.8% of the Executive's plans for Total Managed Expenditure. The values of the proportions shown for the expenditure here are highly sensitive to the value of "European" spending. The value of the department's significant expenditure on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on-farm payment schemes is very sensitive to factors such as the value of Sterling. While the Executive's plans for "non EU" spending shown above are fixed for the Spending Review 2000 period, its plans for CAP spending are classed as Annually Managed Expenditure (AME), outside the Scottish Block and formula arrangements. The spending is classed as AME because actual expenditure on CAP schemes is prone to considerable variance from plans. The proportions shown here therefore, based on comparisons between fixed and variable plans, do not allow meaningful conclusions to be drawn.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 14 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Deputy Minister for Rural Development intends to use the title of Fisheries Minister.
Answer
I will use this designation in appropriate circumstances.
