- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 20 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish electricity suppliers are on track to meet the 2010 target of 18% of electrical energy being supplied by renewable sources.
Answer
The statutory consultation on the Renewables Obligation (Scotland), which was published on 3 August, contains proposals for a significant expansion in Scotland's use of renewable energy; the consultation material is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. We are confident that our policies to exploit Scotland's very considerable potential for renewable energy, coupled with the new markets for renewable energy equipment that these policies are creating, will energise Scottish electricity suppliers to deliver the additional renewable energy required to meet our objectives.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 20 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to allow more waste incinerators to be constructed in Scotland and, if so, where these incinerators will be located.
Answer
Following adoption in 1999 of the National Waste Strategy: Scotland, 11 Area Waste Plans are being developed across Scotland to identify the best ways of dealing with waste and to identify the waste management facilities required.
As with other development proposals, planning applications for waste incinerators will be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Although the National Waste Strategy and Area Waste Plan are not land use planning documents, they are material considerations that decision makers should take into account when making development control decisions or preparing their development plans.
We will be publishing a Planning Advice Note on planning for waste management facilities by the end of this year. The PAN will both guide development plan policy formulation and inform development control decisions.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 20 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of Scotland's drinking water and waste water treatment works have been built using PPP and PFI finance.
Answer
No Water Treatment Works have been built using PPP and PFI.
9 contracts have been signed for Waste Water Treatment Works which have been or are being constructed using PFI/PPP.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the future funding of flood prevention and coast protection schemes by local authorities is accounted for in the grant allocations set out in Table 10.6 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive and whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority of what these funding needs are.
Answer
Table 10.6 of the Annual Expenditure Report shows the overall provision made for flood prevention and coast protection grants to local authorities, taking account of their needs, over the period 2001-2004.We are, in general, aware of the likely funding needs of local authorities for flood prevention and coast protection works. However, it is only when authorities take schemes forward on a formal basis and make grant applications, that the Executive is able to consider funding requests. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide a definitive breakdown of the individual needs of authorities for future years.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its target of confirming/approving 95% of flood prevention and coast protection schemes within three months, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive, is being achieved.
Answer
The target of 95% is being achieved. For year 2000-01 and to date in this financial year the Executive has confirmed/approved all flood prevention and coast protection schemes within 3 months of information being available.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by (a) local authority and (b) scheme of the funding being made available for flood prevention and coast protection in (i) 2001-02, (ii) 2002-03 and (iii) 2003-04 as shown in table 10.6 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive.
Answer
Table 10.6 of the Annual Expenditure Report shows the overall provision made for flood prevention and coast protection grants to local authorities over the period 200104. Distribution of these funds is dependent on which schemes local authorities decide to take forward and on the associated grant claims made. To date in the current year grants (5 payments in total) have been paid to Perth and Kinross Council for the Bridge of Earn Flood Prevention Scheme (£126,000), to Renfrewshire Council for the Moredun Flood Prevention Scheme (£49,000) and to Aberdeenshire Council for the Stonehaven Coast Protection Scheme (£12,000). We do not have the necessary information from local authorities to enable us to provide a breakdown for the balance of this year or future years.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all grants to local authorities from the Strategic Waste Fund are ring fenced for use only on Area Waste Plans (AWP), what grant funding is available in the current financial year, broken down by AWP, and which projects are currently being funded.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has allocated £50.4m over 3 years (£4.2m in 2001-02, £16m and £30.2m) to the Strategic Waste Fund for local authorities to begin to implement the National Waste Strategy. The funds are available for authorities to implement their part of the Area Waste Plans (AWP) which are currently being prepared. No specific allocation of funds has been made yet in support of any specific AWP. To date, no applications for funding have been received from local authorities as the Area Waste Plans are not yet complete, although an initial £3m was distributed between all authorities in 2000-01 to assist with recycling and composting projects.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its target of making 95% of flood prevention and coast protection scheme grant offers within six weeks as stated in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive is being achieved.
Answer
The target of 95% is being achieved. For year 2000-01 and to date in this financial year the Executive has made all grant offers for flood prevention and coast protection schemes within 6 weeks of the relevant information being available.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 20 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 17 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties will be applied if electricity suppliers do not achieve the target of meeting 18% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2010.
Answer
Licensed electricity suppliers who are unable, or who fail, to meet the targets imposed under the forthcoming Renewables Obligation (Scotland) will be required to pay a buy-out charge on every unit of shortfall during each period of the Obligation.Full details of our proposals for the paying and recycling of buy-out charges are contained in the current statutory consultation on the Renewables Obligation (Scotland); the relevant material is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Fiona McLeod, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive to whom the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports; when and in what form it presents reports on its work; where any such reports are publicly available, and whether any reported information is not in the public domain.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is accountable to Ministers for its performance. Ministers, in turn, are accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the activities and performance of SEPA.
SEPA publishes its Corporate Plan and Annual Report and Accounts detailing performance against the targets agreed annually by the Scottish Ministers. These documents are laid in Parliament and are accessible from SEPA's website (www.sepa.org.uk). Copies are also available from Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib no: 14926 and 10087).
