Chamber and committees

We have had no discussion with South Ayrshire Council about this energy from waste plant, which is being proposed on land managed by Forestry Commission Scotland. The commission wants to encourage development of a railhead on this site to help take timber traffic off public roads and has proposed that ancillary developments, such as the energy to waste plant, be allowed to help improve the economic viability of the project. Such a development would of course be subject to securing necessary land-use planning consent from the local authority and environmental permit from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

I regularly meet with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to discuss matters affecting the service. My last such meeting was on 12 August 2010.

There are no ferry services operating between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. However, there are three commercial services currently operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland, as follows:

Stranraer to Belfast (operated by Stena Line)*

Cairnryan to Larne (P & O Irish Sea Ferries)

Troon to Larne (P & O Irish Sea Ferries).

The A75 Cairntop to Barlae scheme, which is due for completion in October 2010, will see a new 1.4 mile stretch of dual carriageway. This will improve the access to and from Stranraer and Cairnryan in support of the above services. It will also support businesses, communities and tourism across Scotland.

In addition, Scottish ministers remain supportive of the provision of a service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle in Northern Ireland in view of the benefits it will bring to the people across Scotland and Northern Ireland. Consideration is currently being given to the timing of further work on the re-establishment of this service. However, in view of the limited funding available for the route in the 2010-11 budget, it would be inappropriate to say when any tendering of the route could start.

*Stena Line is planning to move its Belfast service from Stranraer to Old House Point, Loch Ryan. A Harbour Empowerment Order for the Loch Ryan Port has recently been approved by the Scottish Parliament which will enable Stena Line to develop and operate its new facility at Old House Point. In summary, the project will:

trigger a £200 million investment by Stena (including two new vessels).

safeguard around 500 port operation jobs (420 in Stranraer).

create around 900 new jobs during the construction period (100 will be local).

shorten the crossing time between Loch Ryan and Belfast.

enable significant regeneration proposals for Stranraer.

There is regular liaison and discussion between the Scottish and UK Governments regarding a wide range of maritime matters, including the Scottish ferry industry.

Information on wind farm applications being considered by Scottish Ministers is available by local authority areas.

Applications for onshore wind farms in excess of 50 megawatts (MW) are considered by Scottish Ministers under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Currently two section 36 wind farm applications are under consideration. One is located in the South Ayrshire local authority area and the other in East Ayrshire.

Wind farm applications below 50 MW are initially considered by the planning authorities but such applications may be referred to Scottish Ministers for consideration under either the notification or appeals procedures. There are currently no notified applications being considered but there is one appealed application with the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals for a development in the East Ayrshire local authority area.

Guidance on making payments was issued to local authorities in February 2009 and was further clarified in June 2010 in light of the decision by the UK Government to abolish Child Trust funds. I wrote to all local authorities on 29 July 2010 reminding them of their obligation to ensure every eligible child receives the appropriate Child Trust Fund payments. xm

We have no plans to make further payments.

This information is not centrally held.

The Scottish Government has held no such discussions regarding wind farm applications under Section 36 of the Electricity Act (1989). However, where applications are to be determined by Scottish ministers there are robust and transparent planning procedures in place to ensure that all landscape, environment and visual impact issues relating to any development are taken fully into account.

In addition, Scottish Planning Policy (SPP), which sets out the Scottish Government''s planning policies on the siting of wind farms, indicates that planning authorities should consider the likely impacts of wind farm developments on tourism and recreation interests.

Applications were approved on a first come, first served basis until the initial allocation of vouchers was equal to the budget allocated. The system did not record unsuccessful applications. A total of 4,602 vouchers were allocated during the initial allocation. Following subsequent appeals by individuals and the clarification of these and existing cases the number of current applications is 4,645, 20 of these are duplicates.

The reason for refusal of applications, broken down by postcode, is tabled below.

Postcode	Reason		Postcode	Reason
AB14	Not ESTR		EH55	Not G Rated
AB14	Not ESTR		FK1	Not ESTR
AB16	Not ESTR		FK5	Incorrect address
AB16	Not ESTR		FK9	Has Home Loan
AB21	Not G Rated		G11	Incorrect address
AB43	Incorrect address		G41	Not ESTR
AB44	Not home owner		G42	Not ESTR
AB55	Incorrect address		G42	Not ESTR
AB56	Incorrect address		G46	Not ESTR
AB56	Incorrect address		G53	Incorrect address
DD3	EAP Funding		G53	Incorrect address
DD4	Incorrect address		G61	Incorrect address
DD4	Incorrect address		G61	Not ESTR
DD4	Has Home Loan		G61	Not ESTR
DG1	Withdrawn by applicant		G61	Not ESTR
EH12	Not ESTR		G61	Not ESTR
EH12	Not ESTR		G62	Incorrect address
EH13	Has Home Loan		G62	Not ESTR
EH16	Has Home Loan		G64	Not ESTR
EH26	Not G Rated		G66	Incorrect address
EH52	Incorrect address		G66	Not ESTR
EH55	Not G Rated		G72	Not ESTR

 

Postcode	Reason
ML1	Not ESTR
ML2	Has Home Loan
ML2	Has Home Loan
ML2	Incorrect address
ML2	Incorrect address
ML3	Not ESTR
ML3	Not G Rated, Not ESTR
ML3	Not ESTR
ML5	Not ESTR
ML6	Not ESTR
PA1	Not G Rated
PA10	Incorrect address
PA2	Not ESTR
PA2	Not ESTR
PA2	Not ESTR
PA2	Not ESTR
PH1	Not ESTR
PH1	Incorrect address
PH1	Incorrect address