- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive who were invited to its consultation seminars regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water.
Answer
A series of three seminars were organised and hosted by Water Customer Consultation Panels and the Scottish Executive to discuss the issues contained in the Investing in Water Services 2006-2014 consultation These took place in Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow. A wide range of stakeholders were invited and these are listed below:
| Aberdeen City Council | Dundee Chamber of Commerce |
| Aberdeenshire Council | Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce |
| Angus Council | Federation of Master Builders |
| Argyll and Bute Council | Federation of Small Businesses |
| Scottish Borders Council | Fife Chamber of Commerce |
| Clackmannanshire Council | Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce |
| Dumfries and Galloway Council | Friends of the Earth |
| Dundee City Council | Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan Authority |
| East Ayrshire Council | Glasgow Chamber of Commerce |
| East Dunbartonshire Council | Glasgow housing association |
| East Lothian Council | Graham and Sibbald |
| East Renfrewshire Council | Highlands and Islands Enterprise |
| Edinburgh City Council | Highlands and Islands Partnership Programme |
| Falkirk Council | Homes for Scotland |
| Fife Council | Initiative on the Edge |
| Glasgow City Council | Inverness Chamber of Commerce |
| Highland Council | Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park |
| Inverclyde Council | McGregor Donald Sols |
| Midlothian Council | Moray Chamber of Commerce |
| Moray Council | Moray Firth Partnership |
| North Ayrshire Council | Orkney Housing Association |
| North Lanarkshire Council | Renfrewshire chamber of commerce |
| Orkney Council | Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland |
| Perth and Kinross Council | Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors |
| Renfrewshire Council | Royal Town Planning Institute |
| Shetland Council | Scottish Building |
| South Ayrshire Council | Scottish Council for Development and Industry |
| South Lanarkshire Council | Scottish Centre for Information and Environmental Health |
| Stirling Council | Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations |
| West Dunbartonshire Council | Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire |
| West Lothian Council | Scottish Enterprise Borders |
| Western Isles Council | Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire |
| | Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians |
| Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce | Scottish Enterprise Fife |
| British Gas | Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley |
| Burness Solicitors | Scottish Enterprise Glasgow |
| Cairngorms National Park Authority | Scottish Enterprise Grampian |
| Caledonian Paper | Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire |
| Chemical Industries Association | Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire |
| Civil Engineering Contractors Association | Scottish Enterprise Tayside |
| Communities Scotland | Scottish Federation of Housing Associations |
| Confederation of Business and Industry | Scottish Natural Heritage |
| Confederation of Paper Industries | Scottish Power |
| Construction Industry Forum | Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (formerly Scottish Landowners Federation) |
| Director of Public Health Argyll and Clyde | SEPA |
| Director of Public Health Borders | Scottish Society of Directors and Planners |
| Director of Public Health Fife | Shepherd and Wedderburn |
| Director of Public Health Forth Valley | Tulloch Group (Housebuilders) } |
| Director of Public Health Glasgow | Transco |
| Director of Public Health Highland | Water Customer Consultation Panel members |
| Director of Public Health Shetland | World Wildlife Fund |
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many control (a) agreements under section 7 and (b) schemes under section 8 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 have been made since 1 January 2002 and, of these, how many are still in operation.
Answer
This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Director of the Deer Commission for Scotland to respond to you. A copy of the response shall be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is undertaking research into means of avoiding damage by deer to woodland, agricultural production of crops or livestock that do not involve the taking or killing of deer.
Answer
The Scottish Executive funds an ongoing research programme of about £600,000 per annum on sustainable deer management. The research includes developing a decision support tool for management of deer in woodlands as an aid to native woodland regeneration.
In addition the Deer Commission has a deer research programme and I have asked the director to write to you with details.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to protect the peatland features of the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site outside the boundary of the Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation.
Answer
Outside the candidate Special Area of Conservation the Ramsar site and its features are protected by designation as a Special Protection Area and the associated Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure is for complying with Articles 3.1 and 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention in relation to Ramsar sites (a) which are also Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and (b) which are not SSSIs.
Answer
All Ramsar sites in Scotland are designated as Special Protection Areas or candidate Special Areas of Conservation under the EC Birds and Habitats Directives, except one which has been notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Compliance with Article 3.1 and 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention is ensured through the procedures for designated Natura sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest set out in The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site overlaps with the (a) Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation and (b) Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area.
Answer
The Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site is identical to the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area in extent (58,984.23 ha) and boundary. The Lewis Peatlands candidate Special Area of Conservation is smaller (27,945.59 ha) and lies entirely within the Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deer were killed in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 (i) under control agreements made under section 7, (ii) under control schemes made under section 8, (iii) as part of emergency measures taken under sections 10 and 11 and (iv) by occupiers or persons authorised by occupiers acting under section 26 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.
Answer
This information is not held centrally and I have asked the Director of the Deer Commission for Scotland to respond to you. A copy of the response shall be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to consult interested parties regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water.
Answer
In January 2003, ministers established the Quality and Standard 3 project group made up of a range of stakeholders and experts to advise on the extent of the industry’s investment requirements. This process has included a range of stakeholders the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator, the Water Industry Commissioner and Scottish Water as well as Cosla, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Homes for Scotland, CBI, Scottish Consumer Council, Water Customer ConsultationPanels, Communities Scotland and various interests across the Scottish Executive.
In July 2004, ministers issued a formal consultation, Investing in Water Services 2006-2014 (Bib. number 33325) to some 6,000 individual and organisations . This was supported by the Water Customer Consultation Panels hosting a number of seminars throughout Scotland in August for stakeholders to discuss the issues raised in the consultation. In addition, we commissioned research to investigate the attitudes and priorities of Scottish Water’s domestic customers.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering increasing the funding available for the Biodiversity Action Grants Scheme.
Answer
We are delighted that the Biodiversity Action Grants scheme has been very well received and we decided to top up the scheme from contingency funds for 2004-05. Decisions on future funding for the scheme will depend both on the availability of resources, and on the level and quality of applications in future years.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that its decisions regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water are consistent with its sustainable development principles, in particular with the “polluter pays” principle.
Answer
The Quality and Standards three process takes place within a statutory framework which places great value on sustainable development. Scottish ministers, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the responsible authorities are required under section 2(4) of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 to act in a way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development principles. In addition, under section51 of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, Scottish Water must “act in such a way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development”.
