- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 13 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget for public service obligation flights has been in each year since 2007.
Answer
Details of Public Service Obligation actual spend for the provision of air services between Glasgow International Airport and Campbeltown, Tiree and Barra are as follows:
|
2007-08
|
£1.8 million
|
|
2008-09
|
£1.9 million
|
|
2009-10
|
£2.0 million
|
|
2010-11
|
£2.0 million
|
|
2011-12 to date
|
£1.8 million
|
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 13 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the European Commission since 2007 regarding the extension of public service obligation flights to other air routes, including those eligible for the Air Discount Scheme.
Answer
We have had no such discussions with the European Commission since 2007.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) weight and (b) value of seafood has been exported directly from Scotland to China in each quarter of the last two years, broken down by species.
Answer
Due to the way data is reported by HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) the weight and value of each individual seafood species exported from Scotland to China is unavailable. However, the HMRC Regional Trade Statistics data for “Fish, Crustaceans, Molluscs, Aquatic Invertebrates and Preparations Thereof” by weight and value exported from Scotland to China is shown on the following table. This information covers Quarter 1, 2010 to Quarter 3, 2011 (the latest data available).
|
|
Value
(£)
|
Weight
(Tonnes)
|
|
Q1 2010
|
200,000
|
208
|
|
Q2 2010
|
1,400,000
|
2,628
|
|
Q3 2010
|
1,100,000
|
1,886
|
|
Q4 2010
|
5,100,000
|
4,180
|
|
Q1 2011
|
7,900,000
|
2,038
|
|
Q2 2011
|
6,800,000
|
1,111
|
|
Q3 2011
|
3,100,000
|
676
|
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2012
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the preferred bidder for the Northern Isles ferry contract.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2012
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it took to incorporate the views of the Orkney and Shetland communities during the competitive dialogue process leading to the retendering of the Northern Isles ferry contract.
Answer
During the Competitive Dialogue stage of the Northern Isles tender process, Transport Scotland engaged directly with officials from HITRANS and ZetTrans in order to benefit from their detailed local knowledge and perspective. This followed extensive engagement during earlier phases of the tender process with both of the Regional Transport Partnerships and all the local authorities with an interest. This engagement included meetings with members and officials of both Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council. This, in turn, followed a full public consultation on the Northern Isles ferry services in 2010 which elicited over 400 responses from individuals and organisations.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 7 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on the heritage education travel subsidy scheme in each year, also broken down by site.
Answer
The Heritage Education School Visits Travel Subsidy scheme was established in April 2010 and is administered by Historic Scotland. Information on how the scheme operates and the sites included is available at:
.
Information on the numbers of school groups, numbers of pupils and amount of travel subsidy awarded relating to visits to sites are set out in the following table for 2010-2011. Figures for financial year 2011-12 are not currently available.
|
Heritage Sites*
|
Number of School Groups
|
Number of Pupils
|
Amount Awarded to the School through the Heritage Education School Visits Travel Subsidy Scheme
|
|
Aberdour Castle
|
6
|
220
|
£360.00
|
|
Aberlemno
|
1
|
30
|
£78.75
|
|
Arbroath Abbey
|
5
|
154
|
£581.25
|
|
Arnol Blackhouse
|
2
|
22
|
Subsidy awarded financial year 2011-12
|
|
Bannockburn
|
87
|
3,016
|
£11,955.61
|
|
Bishops Palace
|
1
|
49
|
£147.50
|
|
Blackness Castle
|
6
|
135
|
£442.50
|
|
Bonawe
|
1
|
37
|
£200.00
|
|
Bothwell Castle
|
13
|
517
|
£1,056.75
|
|
Broch of Gurness
|
1
|
56
|
£200.00
|
|
Caerlaverock Castle
|
3
|
75
|
£390.00
|
|
Cairnpapple Hill
|
2
|
72
|
£165.00
|
|
Claypotts Castle
|
6
|
136
|
£447.50
|
|
Craigmillar Castle
|
9
|
250
|
£1,087.50
|
|
Culloden
|
54
|
2,111
|
£6,906.29
|
|
Dirleton Castle
|
3
|
167
|
£412.50
|
|
Doune Castle
|
6
|
321
|
£1,037.50
|
|
Duff House
|
6
|
138
|
£577.50
|
|
Dunfermline
|
3
|
84
|
£427.50
|
|
Earl's Palace
|
1
|
49
|
£171.00
|
|
Edinburgh Castle
|
48
|
1,576
|
£6,981.22
|
|
Elcho Castle
|
1
|
40
|
£220.00
|
|
Elgin Cathedral
|
2
|
71
|
£127.50
|
|
Fort George
|
10
|
301
|
£1,017.50
|
|
Hermitage Castle
|
1
|
55
|
£200.00
|
|
Holyrood
|
1
|
27
|
£105.00
|
|
Huntingtower Castle
|
8
|
305
|
£1,134.75
|
|
Huntly Castle
|
3
|
75
|
£356.25
|
|
Inchcolm Abbey
|
1
|
28
|
£37.50
|
|
Iona Abbey
|
2
|
27
|
£334.42
|
|
Jarlshof
|
2
|
44
|
Subsidy awarded financial year 2011-12
|
|
Kildrummy Castle
|
1
|
25
|
£24.00
|
|
Kilmartin Glen
|
3
|
66
|
£356.25
|
|
Linlithgow Palace
|
8
|
244
|
£770.00
|
|
Lochleven Castle
|
4
|
154
|
£502.50
|
|
Melrose Abbey
|
8
|
245
|
£677.28
|
|
New Lanark World Heritage Site
|
108
|
3,744
|
£12,671.50
|
|
Orkney Sites (multiple)
|
1
|
10
|
£200.00
|
|
Ring of Brodgar
|
1
|
31
|
£33.75
|
|
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
|
100
|
4,020
|
£10,553.25
|
|
Ruthven Barracks
|
1
|
22
|
£168.75
|
|
Skara Brae
|
10
|
278
|
£926.05
|
|
Smailholm Tower
|
2
|
44
|
Subsidy awarded financial year 2011-12
|
|
St Andrews Castle
|
7
|
182
|
£686.25
|
|
Stanley Mills
|
22
|
745
|
£1,893.73
|
|
Stirling Castle
|
123
|
4,143
|
£18,711.25
|
|
Tolquhon Castle
|
2
|
100
|
£368.75
|
|
Urquhart Castle
|
12
|
345
|
£843.75
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
704
|
24,422
|
£86,545.85
|
Notes:
*Heritage sites where a travel subsidy has been paid to the school visiting. Sites where no claim has been made are not listed.
For some sites such as Stirling Castle, Bannockburn, Fort George and Culloden, some schools take in more than one site when arranging a visit as part of the scheme.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to announce the preferred bidder for the Northern Isles ferry contract.
Answer
We expect an announcement on the preferred bidder for the next Northern Isles ferry services contract to be made in April 2012.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 7 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school groups from (a) island and (b) remote mainland communities have gone on visits in each year as part of the heritage education travel subsidy scheme, also broken down by site.
Answer
The Heritage Education School Visits Travel Subsidy scheme was established in April 2010 and is administered by Historic Scotland. Information on how the scheme operates and the sites included is available at: .
Information on the numbers of school groups, numbers of pupils and amount of travel subsidy awarded relating to visits to sites are set out in the following tables for 2010-11. Figures for financial year 2011-12 are not currently available.year 2011-12 are not currently available.
|
Site
|
Number of School Groups from an Island
|
|
Arnol Blackhouse
|
2
|
|
Bishop's Palace
|
1
|
|
Bonawe
|
1
|
|
Broch of Gurness
|
1
|
|
Earl's Palace
|
1
|
|
Edinburgh Castle
|
1
|
|
Iona Abbey
|
1
|
|
Jarlshof
|
1
|
|
Kilmartin Glen
|
2
|
|
Ring of Brodgar
|
1
|
|
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
|
2
|
|
Skara Brae
|
8
|
|
Stirling Castle
|
1
|
|
Site
|
Number of School Groups from a Remote Mainland Community *
|
|
Bannockburn
|
4
|
|
Caerlaverock
|
1
|
|
Culloden
|
13
|
|
Dirleton Caslte
|
1
|
|
Duff House
|
1
|
|
Edinburgh Castle
|
3
|
|
Fort George
|
3
|
|
Huntly Castle
|
1
|
|
Jarlshof
|
1
|
|
Kildrummy Castle
|
1
|
|
Kilmartin Glen
|
1
|
|
Melrose Abbey
|
1
|
|
New Lanark World Heritage Site
|
4
|
|
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
|
5
|
|
Skara Brae
|
2
|
|
Stanley Mills
|
3
|
|
Stirling Castle
|
11
|
|
Urquhart Castle
|
3
|
Note: *Based on the definition of “remote rural areas” - settlements of less than 3,000 people who are not within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000 or more people.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 7 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school (a) groups and (b) pupils have gone on visits in each year as part of the heritage education travel subsidy scheme, also broken down by site.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-05962 on 7 March 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 7 March 2012
To ask the Scottish Executive how the views of the Orkney and Shetland communities will be taken into account when discussions begin with a preferred bidder for the Northern Isles ferry contract.
Answer
The views of the Orkney and Shetland communities were first invited during the full public consultation in 2010. In addition to the published consultation document, government officials held a series of public meetings in both Orkney and Shetland. Once the tender process began in the spring of 2011, officials from the relevant local authorities and regional transport partnerships were invited to comment on emerging proposals and their views were included in the subsequent policy advice to Scottish Ministers.
Significant efforts have therefore been made to ensure that the views of the Orkney and Shetland communities were taken into account during the period when the service specification was being developed. This has been done and that period is now concluded. Future discussions with the preferred bidder will not influence the services procured. However, once confirmed, the new operator will be actively engaging with the local communities.
