Chamber and committees

There has been a move awayfrom residential detoxification for people with an alcohol dependency tocommunity-based treatment and rehabilitation in the last few years, andinformation on the number of residential places is not consistently collectedby NHS boards, local authorities or alcohol action teams. The team at theNational Alcohol Information Resource will be examining the feasibility ofimproving information collection in this area.

I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:

Scottish Prison ServiceStaff are not normally required to attend court for the purpose of confirming aprisoner’s identification.

The regulation of theelectricity network is a reserved matter and network upgrades, includingundersea cables to connect the Northern Isles to the mainland electricitynetwork, are a matter for the network owners in conjunction with the regulator,Ofgem.

The planned introduction of the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA) willallow for the costs of the new transmission capability which will be necessaryto support the development of renewable energy to be borne by electricity usersacross Great Britain.

The Scottish Executive, in partnership with Renewables UK, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands andIslands Enterprise, has commissioned a study of the current status of the UKrenewables industry and its future potential. The study, which will bepublished around the end of the year, will provide information on employmentopportunities in the renewables industry, including the wind sector.

The level of community benefit is a matter between individual developers and communities and ministershave no powers to intervene. However, we are keen to work with representativesof interested parties to see if best practice guidelines can be prepared on thematter of community benefit generally.

The research and development budget for renewableenergy is administered by the Department of Trade and Industry under their Newand Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) which has an annual baseline budget of£19 million. Since 1999, the programme has committed in excess of £15 millionto research and development in this area. Additional support of £5 million willbe provided through a capital grants scheme in 2004-05, subject to a review ofprogress and state aids approval, together with a further £2 million ring fencedfor wave and tidal technologies under the NREP in financial year 2004-05.

The Scottish Executive is providing £2.125 million towards the capital cost of the European MarineEnergy Test Centre off Orkney, currently under construction and due to open shortly.The centre will be a major facility for testing marine energy devices. We willalso be providing, through Scottish Enterprise, £150 million over 10 years tothe new Energy Intermediary Technology Institute which will significantly improvethe opportunities to bring new renewable energy technologies to market.

Decisions on the future ofexisting stations are for the plant owners. The overall pattern of electricityproduction and consumption in 2010 including the proportion of non-renewableenergy used will depend on a number of factors, including variations in fuelprices, energy efficiency, and the level of commitment by generators torefurbish or to build thermal plant.

Under the Electricity Works(Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 the developer must assess the potential environmental impacts of its proposal on a number of alternative routes prior to submitting an application. The company is preparing its environmental statement and hopes shortly to consult local communities and others and expects to make an application to Scottish ministers under section37 of the Electricity Act 1989 next summer.

This will depend on a numberof factors including level of demand for electricity, variations in fuelprices, decisions taken on the operation of existing generating stations andthe construction of new generating stations.

The planned introduction of the British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements is expected toincrease the accessibility of the English market to Scottish companies.

Wardens will not be givenpolice powers to fulfil their functions and will have no powers of arrest ordetention. Local authorities are already able to give their employees powers toissue fixed penalty notices for activities such as littering, and it will befor each authority to decide whether it is appropriate for these powers to begiven to their community wardens.