- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 8 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether there are any proposals to transfer from the UK Government to the Executive further powers over the marine environment.
Answer
It is recognised that the proposedUK Marine Bill does raise some complex issues around the mix of devolved and reservedmatters. The Executive is working closely with the UK Government to ensure thatthe bill is progressed while fully respecting the devolution settlement. Recognisingthe complexities, discussions are on-going on how responsibilities might be clarified.No conclusions have yet been reached.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 7 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered reviewing the cut-off age for awarding student loans, in light of the recent legislation on age discrimination.
Answer
The Executive constantly reviewsits policies on student loans, in consultation with stakeholders, to ensure theyremain in line with new legislation.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the establishment of the inshore fisheries management framework.
Answer
Two Inshore Fisheries Groups(IFGs)- the Hebrides Inshore Fisheries Group and the South East Scotland InshoreFisheries Group - are presently active on a shadow basis. The second meeting of the shadow Executive Committee of the Hebridean Group will be held on 3 November.Discussions have begun in a number of other localities to prepare the way for establishingthe next tranche of groups.
Progress on establishing IFGshas not been as rapid as we would have hoped. A key factor has been difficultieswith the appointment of IFG co-ordinators. But we are addressing the outstandingdifficulties as a matter of urgency. We hope to be able to report progress to thenext meeting of the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Advisory Group later in the autumn.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to what extent resources are available to MSPs to access video conferencing facilities in both the Parliament and their constituency offices to enable them to carry out parliamentary and constituency duties.
Answer
The Scottish Parliament has adedicated video conferencing suite in the Holyrood building. The suite is availableto book by members for use as a general meeting room or as a video conferencingfacility. Where video conferencing facilities are requested these will be givenpriority over general meetings held in the room.
In addition to the dedicatedvideo conferencing suite, a second mobile unit is available for use within the Holyroodbuilding. The unit is primarily used by Committees gathering evidence, but is availablefor wider use on request.
Both of the units available atHolyrood utilise ISDN technology to provide high quality video conferencing solutions.Any compatible ISDN video conferencing device can be used to connect to the Parliament’sconferencing facilities from local offices or any other location. The BIT Officeis happy to answer any questions on compatibility or to give guidance to Memberswishing to purchase video conferencing equipment.
The BIT Office is scheduled toreview video conferencing provision at Holyrood during the fourth quarter of financialyear 2006-07. As part of this exercise, consideration will be given to enhancingthe current facilities by offering additional technologies such as IP based desktopconferencing solutions. It is envisaged that this review will inform any purchasingdecisions in time for members returning after the election.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 6 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated for the promotion and development of renewable energy for each of the next three years and in each year since devolution, also showing year-on-year percentage increases.
Answer
Funds have been allocated specificallyfor the promotion and development of renewable energy in each of the last threecompleted financial years and expenditure is set out in the following table, togetherwith the current budget figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08:
| Year | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| £ Spent/budgeted | 2.67 million | 3.87 million | 3.89 million | 14.50 million | 15.94 million |
| % change | - | +45 | +0.5 | +367 | +10 |
Renewable energy projects havein addition benefited from other funding streams under the administration of the Scottish Executive but not specifically designed to support renewable energy, including,for example, the support given to businesses under the SMART and SPUR programmes,Regional Selective Assistance and the European Regional Development Fund.
Support is also given to renewableenergy projects by external agencies: for example, Highlands andIslands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, and Forestry Commission (Scotland).
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority area have installed renewable energy devices, expressed also as a percentage of all schools in each area.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 4 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) renewable electricity and (b) electricity, generated in Scotland in each of the last three years has been accounted for by wind energy, showing year-on-year increases, and what projections it has made in respect of the percentage to be generated through wind energy in each of the next five years.
Answer
Statistical information on electricitygeneration is collected by the UK Government, and published annually in the “EnergyTrends” publication available from the Department of Trade and Industry, via theDepartment’s internet page at:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/statistics/publications/trends/index.html.The information on the relevantyears is presented in the following table:
| Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Wind as percentage of Renewable generation in Scotland | 11.8% (+3.9%) | 14.4% (+2.6%) | 19.7% (+5.3%) |
| Wind as percentage of Total generation in Scotland | 0.9% (+0.1%) | 1.7% (+0.8%) | 2.6% (+0.9%) |
The Scottish Executive has notset specific targets or projections for wind generation. The Executive has targetsof 18% of Scotland’s electricity being generated from renewables by 2010 and 40%by 2020.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial assistance has been made available for schools towards renewable energy installation projects in each of the last three years, showing also the amount awarded by each local authority in the same timescale.
Answer
The Executive’s general financialsupport for school buildings is not allocated for specific aspects of investment,although in announcing recently £30 million of extra capital grant we specificallyemphasised the benefits and importance of improving energy efficiency in schools.This extra £30 million brings total Schools Fund grant available to authoritiesthis financial year to over £131 million, a five fold increase since 2002-03.
Local authorities are also eligibleto apply for grant from the Scottish Community & Householder Renewables Initiative(SCHRI). Since 2002 grants totalling £587,000 for the installation of renewableenergy devices in schools have been made to the following local authorities:
| Aberdeenshire £100,000 | Argyll and Bute £3,553 |
| Dundee City £158,400 | East Lothian £15,948 |
| Eilean Siar £48,392 | Fife £21,476 |
| Highland £72,183 | North Ayrshire £24,618 |
| North Lanarkshire £119,662 | Renfrewshire £13,040 |
| Shetland Islands £10,100 | |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 4 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to provide access to justice for individuals wishing to pursue legal aid cases in Moray, in light of the number of legal professionals unwilling or unable to take on such cases.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is takinga number of steps to ensure that there is a nationwide supply of legal aid servicesto provide access to justice for individuals.
Firstly, we are working withthe Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Law Society of Scotland to ensure that the legal aid fee structure provides adequateremuneration for work necessarily performed by solicitors.
Secondly, in civil law, the Scottish Legal Aid Board is taking forward the development of a network of publicly employed solicitors where there is unmet need. In criminal law, the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office based in Inverness would cover access to justice issues in Moray.
Lastly, it is proposed that the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill should include provision for funding non lawyers to provide advice and assistance in specialist areas.
Ways of supporting use of appropriatetechnology to facilitate remote provision and minimise administrative burdens onsolicitors may also be considered for the future.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 3 October 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many operational wind energy projects there have been in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area and showing also the total megawatt capacity and number of turbines in each area and giving year-on-year percentage changes.
Answer
Wind farm developments, in excessof 50MW, consented under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 which moved to operationalmode in the last three years are detailed in the following tables:
2004
| Wind Farm | Authority | Turbines | MW Capacity |
| Rothes | Moray | 22 | 56 |
2005
| Wind Farm | Authority | Turbines | MW Capacity |
| Causeymire | Highland | *24 | 55.2 |
Note: *Includes extension grantedfor three additional turbines.
2006
| Wind Farm | Authority | Turbines | MW Capacity |
| Black Law | S Lanark | 54 | 124.2 |
| Farr | Highland | 40 | 92 |
| Paul’s Hill | Moray | 28 | 65 |
| Hadyard Hill | S Ayrshire | 52 | 120 |
Comprehensive details of windfarm applications of 5OMw and below which are considered by local Planning Authoritiesunder the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 were provided in responseto written parliamentary question S2W-26084. We do not however hold details of theyear in which they first went operational.
