Scottish greenhouse gas emissionsdata are available in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1999-2002, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 34590) and is also available on the Executive’sclimate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange. The inventory enables a directcomparison with emissions in England andWales. The inventory covering the period1990 to 2003 is currently in draft and is expected to be available soon.

Emissionsdata for each EU member state is available from the European Environment Agencyin the report entitled Annual EuropeanCommunity greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2003 and inventory report 2005. An equivalent report is availablefor the period 1990-2002. Both reports are available on the European EnvironmentAgency website at www.eea.eu.int. Data drawnfrom different publications may not be directly comparable and care should be takenin making comparisons.

The following table provides details of the forest planting rates in each of the last five years, also showing year-on-year percentage changes. The figures refer to areas for which Forestry Commission Scotland paid grants and the area planted by Forestry Commission Scotland on the national forest estate.

Year ended 31 March	Area of new planting for which Forestry Commission Scotland paid grants (hectares)	Area of restocking for which Forestry Commission Scotland paid grants (hectares)	Area of new planting on Forestry Commission Scotland estate (hectares)	Area of restocking on Forestry Commission Scotland estate (hectares)	Total (hectares)	% change (+ or -)
2001	11,627	3,561	92	4,449	19,729
2002	7,880	2,884	100	4,874	15,738	-20%
2003	6,634	3,489	95	4,987	15,205	-3%
2004	6,703	3,618	90	5,195	15,606	+3%
2005	5,647	4,193	35	5,283	15,158	-3%

 

The latest available information on unoccupied dwellings – i.e. dwellings which are not the sole or main residence of a household – comes from information supplied by councils to the Executive from council tax billing systems at 6 September 2004. This source cannot distinguish (a) empty homes from (b) homes where the owner is not a permanent resident. The available information shown in the following table for (i) each council area and (ii) nationally and expressed as a percentage of all dwellings in each council area; distinguishes unoccupied dwellings which were exempt from council tax and dwellings in receipt of 50% discount. Unoccupied exempt dwellings include dwellings awaiting improvement or demolition and dwellings unoccupied for less than six months. Dwellings in receipt of 50% discount include dwellings unoccupied for more than six months, second homes and some dwellings let as holiday accommodation.

Local Authority	Number of Unoccupied Dwellings		As a Percentage of all Dwellings in the Council Area
	Unoccupied Exemptions	50% Discount*	Unoccupied Exemptions	50% Discount*
	Number	Number	Percentage	Percentage
Aberdeen City	2,094	3,165	2.0	3.0
Aberdeenshire	1,446	3,485	1.4	3.4
Angus	852	1,956	1.7	3.8
Argyll and Bute	726	4,716	1.6	10.4
Clackmannanshire	339	396	1.5	1.8
Dumfries and Galloway	834	2,650	1.2	3.8
Dundee City	3,449	1,714	4.8	2.4
East Ayrshire	469	798	0.9	1.5
East Dunbartonshire	192	290	0.4	0.7
East Lothian	432	891	1.1	2.2
East Renfrewshire	612	295	1.7	0.8
Edinburgh, City of	3,093	6,372	1.4	2.9
Eilean Siar	668	1,317	4.9	9.6
Falkirk	601	969	0.9	1.4
Fife	2,294	5,180	1.4	3.2
Glasgow City	11,036	4,282	3.8	1.5
Highland	3,071	6,748	2.9	6.5
Inverclyde	1,237	1,375	3.1	3.5
Midlothian	313	221	0.9	0.7
Moray	652	1,464	1.6	3.7
North Ayrshire	651	2,405	1.0	3.8
North Lanarkshire	1,153	1,031	0.8	0.7
Orkney Isles	159	687	1.7	7.2
Perth and Kinross	1,119	2,899	1.7	4.5
Renfrewshire	2,039	1,242	2.5	1.5
Scottish Borders	1,128	2,157	2.1	4.1
Shetland	192	645	1.9	6.4
South Ayrshire	467	1,178	0.9	2.3
South Lanarkshire	2,153	1,452	1.6	1.1
Stirling	594	1,014	1.6	2.7
West Dunbartonshire	693	903	1.6	2.1
West Lothian	423	513	0.6	0.7
Scotland	45,181	64,410	1.9	2.7

Source: As reported by local authorities in the statistical return “Council Tax Base 2004”.

Note: Dwellings in receipt of 50% discount include holiday homes let for less than 140 days in the year. Dwellings let as holiday accommodation for 140 days or more are liable for non-domestic rates rather than council tax and are therefore not included in the table.

The analysis covers dwellings of all tenures. Available information from the council tax base on occupied and vacant dwellings does not distinguish tenures.

The numbers of households on waiting lists for each local authority are published on an annual basis for 2000-01 onwards in the quarterly Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin (Housing Series) Housing Trends in Scotland. This is available online in the publications section of the housing statistics branch reference site at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref (bulletins HSG/2001/6, HSG/2002/3, HSG/2003/4 and HSG/2004/4). The published table shows the position at the beginning and end of the year. The most recent figures are for 2003-04 and the 2004-05 figures will be published at the end of August 2005.

The Housing Trends bulletins also show the numbers of local authority dwellings.

There is no central register of problem drug users in Scotland.

Some £1.47 million of FIFG funding remains to be allocated to projects in the Highlands and Islands area representing some 8.95% of the FIFG allocation. The equivalent Lowland Scotland figures are £13.9 million and 38.6%.

A record of ScottishMinisterial attendance at EU Council of Ministers meetings since 1999 canbe found on the Scottish Executive website at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/InternationalRelations/Europe/Page6.

To date Scottish Ministershave attended Council of Ministers meetings on 68 occasions. Ministerialattendance at Councils is an important aspect of the Executive’s EuropeanStrategy and, where appropriate, the participation of Scottish Ministers canplay a significant role in promoting Scottish and UK interests.Scottish interests are of course represented at all Councils by the UKdelegation. In addition where devolved issues are concerned the Executive worksclosely with the UK Government to ensure that Scottish circumstances andconcerns are reflected in the UK’s negotiating position.

Details of all Councilmeetings can be obtained from the Council of the European Union website at:

http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.ASP?id=1&lang=en&mode=g.

The information requested isnot held centrally. However, comprehensive information on energy costs andperformance within NHSScotland is publicly available on the NHSScotlandProperty and Environment Forum internet site under the heading “EnvironmentReports” at: http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/pef/.

At a meeting between theindustry and the Commission on 29 July 2005, Commissioner Borg outlined fivepotential fuel support measures, as follows:

Paymentsunder FIFG for the temporary cessation of fishing on the grounds of adverseimpacts of viability due to high fuel costs. Such payments would need to comefrom existing FIFG budgets and could be given for three month periods, with amaximum of six months funding between now and the end of 2006.

Paymentsunder FIFG for re-gearing activity which leads to the introduction of more fuelefficient fishing gear. This did not extend to re-engining.

 Commissionreview of the de minimis level of state aid which is exempt from the ban onfisheries operational subsidies. At present 3,000 Euros per boat over a threeyear period can be paid.

ACommission review of adjustments to the European Fisheries Fund to cover longerterm fuel related restructuring activities.

A Commission review of the possiblecreation of a guarantee fund for fuel.

The Scottish Executive remainsin close dialogue with the industry, the UK government and the EU Commission regarding theeffects of high fuel costs and will continue to explore what options might beavailable.

The Executive has commenceda review of National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable Energy. Thisreview, which will be underpinned by strategic environmental assessment, willconsider the need for a national spatial framework and/or regional targets foron-shore wind farms. It is hoped to issue revised policies for publicconsultation early in 2006.

The role of on-shore windfarms in contributing to the Executive’s renewable energy targets was one of anumber of issues considered by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development inScotland (FREDS) in Realising the 2020 Target - Future Generation GroupReport 2005, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. number 36765). FREDS confirmed that the development of onshore windhas an important role to play in providing the economic justification for thedevelopment of Scotland’s grid, which in turn could also substantiallybenefit other renewable technologies which will come on stream over a longertime. The Executive has accepted the findings of this report.