- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 20 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any part of the funding spent on quality assurance schemes within VisitScotland would be more effectively deployed in marketing, in particular through increasing funding for Events Scotland.
Answer
High-quality in every aspectof Scottish tourism is vital to ensure that the expectations of our visitors arefulfilled during their visits to Scotland. That is why the Executive has given VisitScotland anadditional 拢3 million over two years to work with the tourism and related sectorsto widen and enhance the impact of its current voluntary Quality Assurance schemes.
In 2004-05 EventScotland hasa budget of 拢3 million and this will rise to 拢5 million in 2005-06 as it strivesto secure a viable portfolio of events to attract visitors to Scotland. VisitScotlandwill use the many opportunities that arise from hosting major events to promoteall that Scotland has to offer as a great place to visit throughout theyear.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 20 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a ministerial statement regarding the future viability, without further public funding, of eTourism Limited.
Answer
Visitscotland.com continues toact as a highly-effective shop window for Scottish tourism. The joint venture continuesto generate significant business for the tourism industry in Scotland, with over拢23 million worth of business generated since its inception.
Due to the nature of the jointventure, it was always anticipated that it would take a number of years for visitscotland.comto become profitable. However, as a shareholder in the company, VisitScotland hasreported that it is currently performing well against business plan targets andis projected to achieve profitability in the next three to four years.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 20 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what further sections of the A9 it plans to upgrade and whether other sections will be upgraded to dual carriageway status or to "two plus one" on a similar basis to those sections recently completed.
Answer
We are continuing to developour proposals to extend the dual carriageway at Crubenmore by around 2km at a costof 拢5.4 million, and to provide 4km of additional overtaking opportunities betweenKincraig and Dalraddy, by widening the carriageway to Wide Single 2+1 standard,at a cost of 拢4.3 million. I expect to publish draft orders for these schemes thisyear. A number of other improvements are planned and work has begun on a route improvementstudy between Perth and Blair Atholl, which will report in the autumn.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations it has made to Her Majesty"s Government regarding payment to the Executive of income from the Crown Estate Commission in respect of salmon farming.
Answer
The Executive has made no representations to Her Majesty鈥檚 Government regarding payment to the Executive of income from the Crown Estate. Any Crown Estate surplus is paid in full into the Consolidated Fund, no part of which is hypothecated or ring fenced.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 19 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the relocation of its Central Inquiry Unit to Kinlochleven, whether the unit will move into the premises occupied presently by Database Direct and, if so, when it first considered taking occupancy of these premises.
Answer
The decision to relocate the Central Enquiry Unit to Kinlochleven took account of the fact that suitable vacant property was available. The premises currently occupied by Database Direct were not included in the original property assessment, which was provided to the Executive by the local enterprise company. A final decision on which premises the unit will occupy has yet to be taken.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 13 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the rationale is for the provision of free drinking water for school children and whether the provision of free milk would give better nutritional value.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is fully committed to improving the health and diet of young people. As part of this we aim to ensure that all schools take on the recommendations made by the Expert Panel on School Meals, one of which was that fresh free drinking water should be made available in all schools.
Nutritional opinion on the merits of increasing milk consumption, other than low fat milk, is equivocal. However, drinking water or low fat milk is a healthier alternative than sugary drinks.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a calculation of the savings which it expects Scottish Natural Heritage to deliver through "a reduction in time spent travelling between offices", as referred to in Building a Better Scotland: Efficient Government Securing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12854, answered on 21 December 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 21 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the savings it plans to achieve in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage, as referred to in Building a Better Scotland: Efficient Government Securing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity.
Answer
As stated in Building a Better Scotland: Efficient Government Securing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage are in the process of developing efficiency plans, and we anticipate more detail will be available in the New Year.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the running costs will be of the proposed Centre for Confidence and Well-Being; whether the Chief Executive and/or the directors will be remunerated and, if so, what the details are of the proposed remuneration and/or expenses; how much funding the centre will receive from (a) the Executive and (b) other sources in each of the three years referred to in the Executive"s news release of 1 December 2004, and in what ways the centre is necessary for the purposes it has been ascribed.
Answer
The Centre for Confidence and Well-Being launched on 2 December is an independent organisation and the remuneration of its chief executive and directors, its running costs and sources of private funding are matters for it.
The Scottish Executive has agreed to provide up to 拢150,000 a year for three years for projects that the centre will deliver. Full details have yet to be agreed with the centre but priorities will include research into confidence and well-being and training for health care, education and social work professionals. Scottish Enterprise has agreed to provide up to 拢50,000 per annum for three years to support similar work. This will complement work that the Executive and others are already undertaking to improve confidence across Scotland.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it has made since 1999 in the economy and infrastructure of Nairn.
Answer
The Scottish Executive channels support for business and skills development through Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Since April 1999, 拢4,486,096 has been approved by HIE through its local enterprise company, Inverness and Nairn Enterprise, to assist projects in the Nairn district. These include the expansion of Claymore Dairies, the modernisation of sawmills, and the new Nairn Community Centre. Nairn will also benefit from investment in the surrounding area. The Scottish Executive also allocates funding to local authorities who may investin infrastructure supportive of the local economy.
