- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information by deleting the word "could" from paragraph (a) of the section headed "Effective management and operations of the public service" and replacing it with the word "would" or other wording which will not allow information to be kept secret where there is only a possibility that improper gain or advantage or prejudice will result and whether it will make a statement explaining its choice of wording.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to S1W-1537.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will delete the words "risk or" from the second paragraph in part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, if it will not, whether it will state its justification for information being kept secret where there is only a risk of harm or prejudice.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to S1W-1537.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 29 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered article 16 section 1A of the Draft Regulations for Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance and, if so, whether this would permit the payment of compensation to scallop farmers in the period from 2000 to 2006.
Answer
It has not been the policy of successive governments to compensate for losses incurred due to disease or other natural phenomena in the fisheries sector. However, the Scottish Executive is currently consulting on the terms of EU structural assistance in the fisheries sector for the future. The availability of funds will be limited, but the option of compensation for scallop farmers could be considered in the course of this consultation.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-189 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 6 July, how many grants of #500 have been granted under the new Warm Deal in each constituency in Scotland in financial year 1999-2000.
Answer
Between 1 July and 31 August, 1,329 Warm Deal grants were made across Scotland. Of these grants, 106 were for the maximum 拢500. A constituency breakdown is not available.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information applies to public authorities which deal with devolved and other matters, as listed in Annex E of "The Scotland Act: A Guide".
Answer
The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information applies to those Scottish public bodies within the jurisdiction of the Scottish Commissioner as listed in Schedule 1 to the Code. Cross Border Public Authorities, as listed in Annex E of "The Scotland Act: A Guide" are not subject to the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information. This arrangement reflects the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament with regard to freedom of information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information allows the Scottish public sufficient access to information about its actions and decisions and, if not, what further proposals it intends to make in this regard.
Answer
For reasons of practicality and continuity and to ensure that openness arrangements were in place from 1 July, the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information is based closely on the UK Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The Code is underpinned by a strong and explicit presumption of openness. As an interim measure pending the introduction of a statutory regime, the Code is considered to provide a satisfactory openness regime.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will define in detail the terms "harm and prejudice" as used in the first and second paragraphs of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and whether it will confirm that the definitions exclude possible harm and possible prejudice.
Answer
For reasons of practicality and continuity and to ensure that openness arrangements were in place from 1 July 1999, the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information is based closely on the UK Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Consideration of applications for information takes into account guidance on interpretation of the UK Code issued by the Cabinet Office. A copy of this guidance will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.Work is in hand to review and amend this guidance to ensure that appropriate references to the Scottish Executive Code are included. Amended guidance will in due course be provided to all public authorities which operate the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can decide to publish the draft concordats regardless of whether their non-disclosure could be justified under Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and whether it will publish any legal or other opinion or advice it has received relevant to this decision.
Answer
No. The drafts were received in confidence from the UK Government and are to be agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administrations. All of the concordats will be published when they are agreed.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list who it regards as members of the Royal Household for the purposes of the section headed "Communications with the Royal Household" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information and, if not, why not.
Answer
No. The purpose of this exemption is to ensure that confidential communications between Her Majesty and the Scottish Ministers are given adequate protection. It would not be appropriate to list members of the Royal Household.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 September 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the (a) enactments (b) regulations (c) European Community laws and (d) international agreements referred to in the section headed "Statutory and other restrictions" in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information which allow information to be kept secret.
Answer
No comprehensive list of statutory bars exists. The White Paper on Open Government (Cm 2290) published in July 1993 identified some 200 Acts which prohibited disclosure of information. If information requested under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information fell under a statutory bar the public authority would be expected to detail which Act or regulation prevented its disclosure.
