- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has consulted fishing federations on whether they would prefer to continue with a modernised UK quota management system or move to a Scottish system.
Answer
Our proposals, which were widely welcomed, give effect to the devolution of fisheries management in the Scotland Act 1998. The principle of having a separate quota management and licensing system for Scotland is recognised in statute and we have simply consulted on the detail of what such a system might look like.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of the moratorium on fish quota transfers between Scotland and England since its imposition in May 2008.
Answer
Where we have been asked to consider fish quota transfers outwith Scotland in exceptional circumstances, and where, on the basis of information supplied, we have concluded that there are indeed exceptional circumstances, we have allowed such transfers to take place.
The moratorium was put in place to preserve Scottish fishing rights whilst work continues to deliver distinct quota management and licensing arrangements in Scotland. The moratorium has been kept under continual review during the on-going process of consultation to ensure that its continued existence in its current form is objectively justified.
To this end, I announced recently that the transfer of 10 metre and under licences/entitlements would be exempted from the moratorium provisions as well as the transfer of over 10 metre licences/entitlements where no FQA units are attached.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce its intentions for the future of the moratorium on fish quota transfers between Scotland and England.
Answer
The moratorium was put in place to preserve Scottish fishing rights whilst work continues to deliver distinct quota management and licensing arrangements in Scotland. The moratorium has been kept under continual review during the on-going process of consultation to ensure that its continued existence in its current form is objectively justifiable.
I announced recently that the transfer of 10 metre and under licences/entitlements would be exempted from the moratorium provisions as well as the transfer of over 10 metre licences/entitlements where no FQA units are attached.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisation and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation’s responses to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future of quota management and licensing.
Answer
The deadline for written responses to our consultation was 21 August and an initial assessment indicates that our proposals have been widely welcomed.
Responses have been received from the NFFO and SFF and these are now being considered carefully along with all the others received. We will shortly produce an outcome of consultation report upon which we will seek final stakeholders'' views before it is formally promulgated.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with the UK Government on the moratorium on fish quota transfers between Scotland and England since its imposition in May 2008.
Answer
We have maintained regular dialogue with other fisheries administrations on this and other fisheries management issues.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 16 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many installers were accredited under the Scottish Community and Household Renewable Initiative in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative relies on the accreditation undertaken under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), which is owned by the UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).
The Scottish Government therefore does not hold data on numbers of accredited installers, broken down by local authority area. Details of Scottish installers accredited under MCS are available on BERR''s Low Carbon Buildings Programme website at:
http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/info/installers/find/installerfind.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 16 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ruled out tolling on the replacement Forth crossing.
Answer
The Scottish Government gave a commitment in the Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Bill on 20 December to end the unfairness that tolling of bridges brought particularly for the people of Fife, Tayside and the Lothians.
The Scottish Government are currently reviewing various funding options available for the Forth Replacement Crossing.
I can provide a guarantee that the users of the Forth Replacement Crossing will not be charged to use the bridge.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the accreditation process for installers under the Scottish Community and Household Renewable Initiative and whether it considers that the process could be streamlined by, for example, a reduction in the frequency with which installers are required to reapply for accreditation.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports accreditation of microgeneration installers as this provides industry with robust standards and ensures consumer confidence.
Therefore a current condition of domestic grants under the Scottish Community and Householder Renewable Initiative is that installers must meet certain accreditation standards.
However, we want to ensure these standards are fit for purpose and, to this end, are currently exploring a number of options with an industry group representative of the Scottish installer base. This includes proposals for streamlining the installer accreditation process.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all air ambulance flights undertaken by coastguard or military helicopters involving patients picked up in Orkney, also detailing the (a) helicopter used, (b) patient pick-up point, (c) flight destination and (d) reason for not using a Scottish Air Ambulance Service contracted aircraft, since the start of 2008.
Answer
There have been four occasions where the Scottish Ambulance Service has utilised either the Ministry of Defence or the Coastguard to transport patients in lieu of using a Scottish Ambulance Service resource. This compares to the same number in the same period of last year. In the period from 1 January 2008 to 31 August 2008 the service has undertaken a total of 263 missions from or within Orkney.
The Scottish Ambulance Service have provided the requested information, as set out in the following tables.
Non-Scottish Ambulance Service Resources Used to Transport Patients from/within Orkney “ 1 January 2008 to 31 August 2008
| Incident Number | Aircraft | Pick up From | Destination | Reason |
| 704664 (January) | MOD | Kirkwall Airport | Aberdeen Royal Infirmary | No SAS Aircraft unavailable at time of call, MOD provided quickest response. |
| 722351 (March) | Coastguard | Stronsay | Kirkwall Airport | Weather |
| 763869 (August) | Coastguard | Sanday | Raigmore Hospital | Weather |
| 773192 (August) | Coastguard | Sanday | Balfour Hospital | Inverness helicopter on a task, Coastguard were able to provide the quickest response |
Activity from/within Orkney Carried Out by All Aircraft
| Month | Fixed Wing (SAS) | Helicopter (SAS) | NON SAS | Total |
| January 2008 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 34 |
| February 2008 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 23 |
| March 2008 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 41 |
| April 2008 | 32 | 10 | 0 | 42 |
| May 2008 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 27 |
| June 2008 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 35 |
| July 2008 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 34 |
| August 2008 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 27 |
| Total | 205 | 54 | 4 | 263 |
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 25 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the role of public procurement in helping to stimulate business innovation.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the key role that public procurement has in encouraging innovation in business, leading to increased productivity and competitiveness and thereby contributing to sustainable economic growth.
We want to ensure that all public sector procurement activity reflects a growing understanding of market capacity and capabilities and that, where appropriate, requirements are specified in terms which encourage businesses to put forward innovative solutions to meet public sector requirements.
