Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-04797

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to conservation agencies to protect the Scottish wildcat.

Scottish Natural Heritage is the main funder of the Cairngorm Wildcat Project through the Species Action Framework (2007-12). Project management is delivered via the Cairngorms National Park Authority and, over the lifetime of the project, Scottish Government agencies will have contributed £172.5 thousand to the project. Following conclusion of the project, there will be an evaluation of the approaches trialled and an assessment of the costs of their application to other geographies.

Question reference: S4W-04800

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is providing Perth and Kinross Council to improve flood prevention measures.

The Scottish Government has agreed with COSLA that for the three years of the 2011 spending review period the flooding component of the General Capital Grant should be targeted towards major new flood protection projects. Local authorities have been asked to apply for funding against agreed criteria, which were circulated to all local authorities on 5 December. The initial focus will be on those schemes which have already been granted approval and necessary planning permission as part of the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961. Priority will then be given to new flooding schemes which have been granted appropriate statutory consent as outlined within the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. This reflects the priorities placed on projects by COSLA and the Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S4F-00400

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2012

To ask the First Minister what impact the sale of Robert Wiseman Dairies to Müller Dairy will have on the Scottish economy.

Question reference: S4W-04548

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what weight it will give to responses from outwith Scotland to its consultation on same-sex marriage.

Question reference: S4W-04517

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government to protect the interests of consumers in rural areas regarding the procurement of smart utility meters.

Question reference: S4W-04518

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to ensure that consumers living in remote rural areas will have access to smart utility meters.

Policy on smart electricity and gas meters is a matter reserved to the UK Government under powers conferred under the Energy Act 2008 and extended by the Energy Act 2011. The UK Government will place regulatory obligations on energy suppliers that will require them to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters for all their domestic and smaller non-domestic customers by the completion date in 2019. UK Government officials have stated that this obligation will apply equally to customers in remote rural areas as to others.

Question reference: S4W-04516

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of public funds directed at increasing access to broadband has been spent in (a) rural and (b) urban areas.

The Scottish Government is making available up to £144.3 million for the delivery of next generation broadband in areas of market failure throughout Scotland. This comprises the Next Generation Digital Fund of £50 million, announced in the Scottish Spending Review 2011 on 21 September; £68.8 million from the UK Government; plus up to £25.5 million ERDF funding in the current programme.

In recognition of the importance of making early progress in rural areas, £15.5 million of this funding stream has already been allocated to Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s Next Generation Broadband Project, and £5 million to the South of Scotland Alliance’s Next Generation Broadband Project. These projects are currently in procurement and pre-procurement phases respectively, and have not yet drawn down this funding.

We will set out our approach to how the remainder of these funds will be spent in (a) rural and (b) urban areas in our national broadband action plan which will be published in January 2012, to be followed in March with a detailed delivery plan.

In terms of previous support for rural areas, the Scottish Government has provided the following funding:

2010: around £800,000 committed to a number of rural broadband projects through the Rural Broadband Challenge Fund. Around £100,000 has currently been spent, with the remainder expected to be spent by 2013.

2007 to 2014: £90 million committed to the Pathfinder North and Pathfinder South project, providing public sector broadband connectivity. Around £74.09 million has currently been spent, with the remainder expected to be spent by 2014.

2008 to 2010: around £2.95 million in the Broadband Reach Project, in which approximately 2,400 premises were provided with satellite or wireless broadband services.

2005: £16.5 million in the Broadband For Scotland Project, in which 378 uneconomic exchanges were upgraded to provide broadband.

Separately, the UK Government is making £100 million available to deliver ten “super connected cities” through its Urban Broadband Fund. Edinburgh has already been pre-selected by the UK Government as one of the ten; the Scottish Government will be pressing to secure inclusion of other Scottish cities.

Question reference: S4W-04515

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that homes and businesses in rural areas receive access to broadband at the same time as those in urban areas.

As set out in our Digital Strategy, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the availability of next generation broadband for all by 2020, with significant progress by 2015 – with particular focus on ensuring that rural households and businesses are not left behind.

We are clear that the majority of next generation broadband investment should be market-led, and that public sector support should only be targeted in areas of market failure. We recognise that the majority of private sector investment is likely to be in urban areas where consumer demand is sufficient to make commercial investment viable.

Our approach to delivery in rural areas will be set out in our national broadband action plan which will be published in January 2012, to be followed in March with a detailed delivery plan.

Question reference: S4W-04549

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 21 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the summary and analysis of its consultation on same-sex marriage will incorporate responses from outwith Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-04469

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the possibility of including the recording of animal casualties in vehicle crime and accident reports.

Some information on the recording of animal casualties in vehicle accidents is collected via a national (British) system for collecting and processing statistics on road accidents involving personal injury. Data is collected for ridden horses involved in accidents and also identifies accidents where a vehicle hit an animal in the carriageway.

If any offence is committed against an animal, such as causing unnecessary suffering or a wildlife type offence, it would be recorded under the appropriate protective legislation and would not be directly attributed to vehicle crime. There are currently no plans to include the recording of animal casualties in vehicle crime reports.

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