- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 29 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hotels there are in the Highland Council area and how many of these have a rateable value of over #12,500.
Answer
There were 2,346 hotels, boarding houses etc. on the valuation roll for the Highland Council area as at 1 April 2000. 311 of these had a rateable value of over 拢12,000.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 23 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the introduction of the aggregates tax in April 2002, whether the cost of any new computer software development to administer the tax correctly will be defrayed by the Executive or Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and what consultation it has undertaken with quarry operators in order to arrive at a position on this matter as regards (a) any costs of such software and (b) whether there is sufficient time prior to its introduction for quarriers to develop any software required.
Answer
The aggregates tax is a reserved matter. There are no plans to defray the cost of changes to computer software in Scotland. HM Treasury and Customs and Excise have included the quarrying industry in their consultations on the tax.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 23 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will hold an inquiry into the impact of the proposed aggregates tax upon the Scottish economy.
Answer
The aggregates tax is a reserved matter. Assessment of the impact of the proposed tax throughout the UK is a matter for HM Treasury.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 23 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance has been received by the National Trust for Scotland in respect of the proposed Glencoe visitor centre from (a) the European Rural Development Fund, (b) the Enterprise Network, (c) Scottish Natural Heritage and (d) any other public funding source and whether any such financial assistance places local restaurant and retail premises that have not yet received such funding at a competitive disadvantage.
Answer
The National Trust for Scotland has received no financial assistance from the Enterprise Network in respect of the proposed Glencoe visitor centre. The Trust received 拢178,750 from Scottish Natural Heritage in 1995 toward the purchase of the land for the development of the project. I refer the member to a letter he received in December 1999 from the National Trust for Scotland detailing a total of 拢26,434 committed ERDF funding for the project. A copy of this letter will be placed for reference in the Parliament's Reference Centre. This figure remains unaltered and no additional public sector funding has been provided to the National Trust for Scotland in respect of this project.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 22 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11008 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 30 November 2000, why it expects a net increase in employment to result from the Chancellor's intention to recycle the revenues from the aggregates tax into a reduction in employers' National Insurance contributions.
Answer
The aggregates tax is a reserved matter. Detailed questions on the economic impact of the aggregates tax should be directed to HM Treasury. Although no separate assessment of the impact of the tax has been undertaken in Scotland, it is reasonable to expect a reduction in employers' costs to result in an increase in employment.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 22 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed explanation of its decision not to convene an independent inquiry into salmon farming and outline any initiatives or measures which are in place to ensure good working practices in the industry.
Answer
A full explanation of the Executive's position is provided in the letter from the Minister for Environment and Rural Development to the Rural Development and Transport and Environment Committees, which is now available on the Scottish Parliament website.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 21 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the introduction of the aggregates tax in April 2002, a greater proportion of pre-cast concrete requirements will be met by imports from the Irish Republic and, if so, what impact this will have on Scotland's roads and environment and whether it will take any action to support Scottish pre-cast concrete production.
Answer
The aggregates tax is a reserved matter. Assessment of the impacts of the tax throughout the UK is a matter for HM Treasury. No separate assessment has been undertaken in Scotland. There are no plans to provide support for pre-cast concrete production in Scotland in connection with the aggregates tax.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its reference to the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) requesting it to consider the provisions of the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976, which set out which relatives of a deceased person can claim non-patrimonial damages, and to make recommendations as to possible changes in the law, whether it will (a) indicate to the SLC that a brother or sister should be classed as immediate family with regard to claiming for loss of society and (b) support the extension of the definition of immediate family to include brother or sister in any report which the SLC produces.
Answer
The terms of the reference to the Scottish Law Commission were set out in my reply to question S1W-15191 on 23 April. We did not think it right to fetter the discretion of the Commission to report as it thinks fit. We will consider its recommendations carefully and will pay close attention to any recommendation on the possible entitlement of brothers and sisters to claim for loss of society.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 18 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7769 by Mr Jack McConnell on 3 October 2000, how the expected #190 million saving in the amount of revenue support grant needed to make up the total aggregate external finance required by local authorities for 2000-01 due to the amount of non-domestic rating income distributed being higher than originally forecast was spent.
Answer
The 拢190 million saving remains unspent. As the then Minister for Finance said, the created provision will be used to cover requirements for additional RSG arising from the impact of the NDR appeals, and for other adjustments.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 April 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 18 May 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7769 by Mr Jack McConnell on 3 October 2000, whether the amount of revenue support grant needed to make up the total aggregate external finance required by local authorities for 2000-01 rose from the amount forecast at that time due to the impact of non-domestic rates appeals or as a result of any other adjustments and, if so, by how much.
Answer
The amounts of revenue support grant and Non-Domestic Rates Income (NDRI) distributed to councils in 2000-01 were determined in the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2000 and did not change as a result of movements in non-domestic rates yield. Any adjustments to the amount of NDRI available for distribution from the NDR pool will be made when actual NDR collection figures are available to be compared with the estimates used in setting the distributable amount for 2000-01.
