- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Category A fishing licences, excluding Category A (Pelagic Purser), Category A (Pelagic Free'er) and Category A (Pelagic Trawler), have been (a) surrendered and (b) given to new vessels as referred to in paragraph 3 of the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001 since the scheme began.
Answer
As at 26 March, 25 Category A licences have been surrendered as part of the decommissioning process. Decommissioning scheme rules make no provision for the reissue of surrendered licences.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive to which third country those vessels which have had decommissioning plans accepted, and are scheduled to be reassigned to a third country, will be reassigned.
Answer
As at 27 March, no substantive proposals have been submitted by vessel owners for the reassignment of their vessels to Third Countries under the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any off-the-record briefing of journalists about the outcome of the Prison Estates Review took place prior to 17 March 2002, and if not, whether it will undertake an investigation of the Scottish Prison Service to determine whether any member or members of staff leaked details of the review to the media.
Answer
As I said to Parliament on 21 March, I authorised no briefing to anyone prior to that date. In fact I issued specific instructions to the contrary.I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond to the second part of your question. His response is as follows:No briefing was given to journalists by SPS and I do not think that SPS staff leaked details of the Estates Review to the media.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts have been made to secure the location of new European Union agencies in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the location of new European Agencies.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what issues were discussed at the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on 7 March 2002, who attended the meeting and what the outcome was.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-4899 on 21 March 2002. I attended the meeting on behalf of the Scottish Executive; the meeting was chaired by the Foreign Secretary, and was also attended by other ministers and officials from the UK Government and the other devolved administrations.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many people are employed at the (a) headquarters and (b) other offices of each European Union agency based in Scotland.
Answer
Information on agencies of European Union is given at:www.europa.eu.int. There are no EU agencies based in Scotland.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22493 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 February 2002, whether the percentage of EU Council of Ministers meetings attended refers to the proportion of the total of all formal and informal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers.
Answer
Since the figure for councils attended by Scottish ministers, given in answer to question S1W-22493, included two informal meetings of EU Ministers, the percentage given should have referred to the proportion of the total of all formal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers and informal meetings of EU Ministers. However, due to an administrative error a figure for the total number of formal meetings only was used.The proportion of formal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers attended by Scottish ministers between 1 March 2000 and 28 February 2002 is 11.4%.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 27 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive which business support schemes offered through the enterprise network are not available in the Grampian area because the region does not have assisted area status.
Answer
There are two main schemes which companies in Grampian cannot apply for due to the fact that Grampian is not an assisted area. These are Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) and Invest for Growth. Both these schemes are however operated by the Scottish Executive rather than Scottish Enterprise, as a result of the review of RSA. However, the wider measures that I announced in February, including a £20 million venture capital "fund of funds" and more support for commercialisation, will benefit firms across Scotland, including those in Grampian.The impact of assisted area status on Scottish Enterprise's activity is more in terms of the rate/level of grant which can be offered to companies depending on whether they are located within an assisted or non-assisted area. The intervention rate under certain Scottish Enterprise schemes is therefore lower due to Grampian's non-assisted status.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed in the administration of the Farm Business Development (Scotland) Scheme 2001 in each area office of its Environment and Rural Affairs Department.
Answer
No staff are being employed solely and directly to administer the Farm Business Development (Scotland) Scheme 2001 in the non-Highlands and Islands area offices.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 27 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the priorities of Communities Scotland are in respect of rural areas.
Answer
I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Communities Scotland is guided by the rural policies and priorities of Scottish ministers, with a view to improving the quality of life for those resident in rural Scotland by fostering sustainable and healthy communities that are attractive, vibrant and safe.
