Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27165 on 22 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The forthcoming Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan will give guidance to public sector organisations on how to procure more sustainably. The action plan will include reference to some key points on how to minimise waste, for example by considering how to avoid waste when drawing up contractual requirements. This would ensure that construction contractors have waste prevention and management plans in place to forecast outcomes, specifying recycled content when purchasing materials such as paper and packaging, and specifying minimum packaging, reusable packaging and take-back of packaging.

The Scottish Government''s current target to recycle 80% of the waste that we produce across our estate by 2011 remains in place and in 2007-08 we achieved a 76% recycle rate for waste.

I expect to lay an Order before Parliament very shortly which will make changes to the regulation of snaring in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27165 on 22 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0917-01.htm

Information relating to financial assistance available to students over the age of 55 wishing to study Higher National courses is available from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Please refer to their website http://www.saas.gov.uk/.

Paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to the regulations requires police authorities to reduce an injury award by the amount of any entitlement to defined benefits payable by the UK Government. Given that former police officers benefit from these provisions there is a clear expectation that former police officers will provide police authorities with the necessary information to allow them to determine and pay the appropriate amount of injury benefit.

As police authorities are required to reduce the amount of an injury award in line with the former police officer''s entitlement to any additional benefits, they may require the beneficiaries to update them with information in order that the authority may fulfil its statutory duty to pay the correct award.

In determining the entitlement to an injury award in any given week, the regulations require police authorities to take into account entitlement to any additional benefits payable in that same week, including those paid by the UK Government. Consequently, police authorities actively seek that information in order to ensure that the former officer will receive the amount of Injury Benefit to which he or she is entitled.

The EMA programme has been fully devolved since 2007-08 and the English and Scottish EMA programmes are not directly comparable.

No young people will be made worse off as the changes to the system are only being introduced for new entrants. Young people who have previously qualified for EMA will continue to be eligible at the previous rates.

The changes we have made this year removed eligibility for the £10 and £20 awards. A young person from a family with a household income of £25,000 would previously have been eligible for a £20 award. On average, young people in receipt of the £20 award received £744 in total in academic year 2007-08.