Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-29214

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 1 December 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding future EU funding for carbon capture and storage technology.

The Scottish Government is engaged in close dialogue with the UK Government over future EU funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology through the New Entrants Reserve of the Emissions Trading Scheme, which proposes to allocate 300 million emissions allowances to fund CCS and renewable demonstration projects.

We have made clear representations that the NER funding must support CCS projects across the range of different capture technologies “ including retrofit to existing power stations, transportation types and storage options “ especially saline aquifers, where Scotland has huge capacity.

As part of the ongoing discussions with the UK Government around the new UK Energy Bill which proposes a CCS levy to fund demonstration, we have argued that the Scottish Ministers should have a clear role in selection of CCS projects for support in Scotland, and that this principle should also be applied to Scottish projects which are co-financed under the New Entrants Reserve.

The Scottish Government, working with the Scottish European Green Energy Centre, is also in direct contact with the European Commission about future CCS funding in the European Framework Programmes for research and development.

Question reference: S3W-29213

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 1 December 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government and the European Commission regarding the rejection of Scottish Power’s bid for EU funding for carbon capture and storage technology at Longannet power station.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work closely with the UK Government to ensure that Scottish carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects “ including Longannet “ are eligible for future EU funding, in particular under the New Entrants Reserve of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Projects were selected under the EU''s Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR) by the European Commission alone. However, both the Scottish and UK Governments wrote strong letters of support for Longannet to the European Commission.

Although we are disappointed that Longannet did not receive funding, we have stressed to both the UK Government and European Commission that it remains a very strong proposal with wide support across Scotland, and a strong contender shortlisted in the UK CCS competition and as an applicant for the more substantial EU funding available in the forthcoming New Entrants Reserve in 2010. The Scottish European Green Energy Centre is working closely with Scottish Power to position Longannet strongly in the New Entrants Reserve process.

Question reference: S3W-27820

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and which, voluntary sector organisations have had grants recalled by the Equality Unit since 2003 due to a failure to meet grant criteria and what the amount was in each case.

We are unable to answer this question in full because the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

We provide funding for a number of projects for more than one year and allocate funding for each of the years of the grant. It is expected that allocations will be used in the financial year for which they are given. Where funds are not fully utilised in that financial year, the funding needs to be adjusted or reprofiled to take account of the underspend.

The table below lists projects where there was an underspend in 2008-09 and grants were adjusted accordingly.

Voluntary Sector Organisations	Underspend
Barnardo''s Scotland	£447
Dumfries and Galloway CAB	£4,000
Greater Pollock Integration Network	£5,500
Maryhill Citizens Advice Bureau	£4,669
MECOPP	£1,500
Scottish Alliance of Racial Equality Councils (SAREC)	£2,164
Scottish Islamic Foundation	£131,246
West Scotland Race Equality Council	£12,943
Young Scot	£14,573
Glasgow Women''s Library	£4,000
Scottish Women''s Convention	£9,916
WEA Women Onto Work	£11,092
Argyll & Bute Women''s Aid	£606
AWAZ FM	£11,583
Borders Women''s Aid	£374
British Red Cross	£132
Caithness & Sutherland Women''s Aid	£16,033
City of Edinburgh Council	£34,612
Dumfries & Galloway Domestic Abuse	£13,339
Dumfries & Stewart Women''s Aid	£2,641
Dundee City Council	£15,942
Dundee Women''s Aid	£6
Dunfermline Women''s Aid	£4,197
East Kilbride Women''s Aid	£1,109
Fife - Fife Council	£621
Fife DASAP	£61,691
Forth Valley - Falkirk Council	£5,263
Glasgow Women''s Aid	£10,293
Grampian - Grampian Women''s Aid	£4,181
Hematt Gryffe Women''s Aid	£2,213
Lanarkshire - North Lanarkshire Council	£6,600
Moray Women''s Aid	£3,429
Perth & Kinross Domestic Abuse Forum	£1,614
Perth & Kinross Women''s Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre	£25,325
Perthshire Women''s Aid	£8,790
Rape Crisis Scotland	£16,974
Ross-shire Women''s Aid	£17,737
Sacro	£5,363
Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline	£3,573
Shakti Women''s Aid	£13,520
Shetland - Shetland Islands Council	£1,574
Stirling Women''s Aid	£4,946
West Dunbartonshire Council	£26,589
Western Isles Women''s Aid	£7,026
Zero Tolerance	£6,094

Question reference: S3W-27821

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and which, voluntary sector organisations have been allowed to carry grants forward to future financial years or had them reprofiled to that effect by the Equality Unit since 2003 and what the amount was in each case.

We are unable to answer this question in full because the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

We provide funding for a number of projects for more than one year and allocate funding for each of the years of the grant. It is expected that allocations will be used in the financial year for which they are given. Where funds are not fully utilised in that financial year, the funding needs to be adjusted or reprofiled to take account of the underspend.

The table below lists projects where there was an underspend in 2008-09 and grants were reprofiled accordingly.

Voluntary Sector Organisation	Amount Reprofiled
Dundee Citizens Advice Centre	£5,884
Greater Pollock Integration Network	£2,500
Inverness Citizens Advice Bureau	£3,612
Scottish Alliance of Racial Equality Councils(SAREC)	£5,500
Scottish Islamic Foundation	£7,000
West Scotland Race Equality Council	£4,287
Young Scot	£6,000
WEA Women Onto Work	£3,200
Deaf Blind Scotland	£20,000

Question reference: S3O-08115

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 8 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to local authorities to meet its recycling targets and how it will encourage the local authorities that are failing to meet these targets.

Question reference: S3W-27647

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides have been recorded over the last five years, broken down by Scottish Parliament constituency and expressed as a percentage of the Scottish average.

The figures requested are as follows. These statistics have been produced on the same basis as the published information on probable suicides available on the website of the General Register Office for Scotland. Details can be accessed via this link:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/deaths/suicides/index.html.

Deaths caused by intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent, by Scottish parliamentary constituency, (ICD-10 codes X60-X84, Y10-Y34, Y87.0, Y87.2):

Scottish Parliamentary Constituency	Number of Deaths 2004-08	Percentage of Scottish Total 2004-08
Aberdeen Central	73	1.8%
Aberdeen North	33	0.8%
Aberdeen South	55	1.4%
Airdrie and Shotts	70	1.7%
Angus	52	1.3%
Argyll and Bute	51	1.3%
Ayr	49	1.2%
Banff and Buchan	63	1.6%
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	46	1.1%
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	44	1.1%
Central Fife	53	1.3%
Clydebank and Milngavie	63	1.6%
Clydesdale	62	1.5%
Coatbridge and Chryston	51	1.3%
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	39	1.0%
Cunninghame North	45	1.1%
Cunninghame South	66	1.6%
Dumbarton	80	2.0%
Dumfries	70	1.7%
Dundee East	67	1.7%
Dundee West	64	1.6%
Dunfermline East	54	1.3%
Dunfermline West	42	1.0%
East Kilbride	53	1.3%
East Lothian	42	1.0%
Eastwood	50	1.2%
Edinburgh Central	69	1.7%
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh	57	1.4%
Edinburgh North and Leith	70	1.7%
Edinburgh Pentlands	49	1.2%
Edinburgh South	43	1.1%
Edinburgh West	66	1.6%
Falkirk East	40	1.0%
Falkirk West	43	1.1%
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale	56	1.4%
Glasgow Anniesland	72	1.8%
Glasgow Baillieston	59	1.5%
Glasgow Cathcart	53	1.3%
Glasgow Govan	73	1.8%
Glasgow Kelvin	71	1.8%
Glasgow Maryhill	85	2.1%
Glasgow Pollock	49	1.2%
Glasgow Rutherglen	49	1.2%
Glasgow Shettleston	95	2.3%
Glasgow Springburn	78	1.9%
Gordon	60	1.5%
Greenock and Inverclyde	50	1.2%
Hamilton North and Bellshill	66	1.6%
Hamilton South	46	1.1%
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	93	2.3%
Kilmarnock and Loudoun	54	1.3%
Kirkcaldy	48	1.2%
Linlithgow	62	1.5%
Livingston	46	1.1%
Midlothian	48	1.2%
Moray	56	1.4%
Motherwell and Wishaw	58	1.4%
North East Fife	42	1.0%
North Tayside	69	1.7%
Ochil	53	1.3%
Orkney	14	0.3%
Paisley North	65	1.6%
Paisley South	62	1.5%
Perth	66	1.6%
Ross, Skye and Inverness West	75	1.9%
Roxburgh and Berwickshire	44	1.1%
Shetland	22	0.5%
Stirling	42	1.0%
Strathkelvin and Bearsden	42	1.0%
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale	43	1.1%
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	38	0.9%
West Renfrewshire	37	0.9%
Western Isles	29	0.7%
Scotland Total	4,044	100.0%

Question reference: S3W-27648

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's listed events review.

Question reference: S3W-27649

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 1 October 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has written in support of the BBC Trust submission to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport listed events review, which recommended the inclusion of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Scotland’s international football matches as part the BBC's free-to-air events.

The Scottish Government responded on 14 July 2009 to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport''s consultation on listed, or free-to-air events. I have also met twice with Dougie Donnelly, the Scottish member of the review team.

The Scottish Government''s response expressed concern that nationally significant sporting events are not always shown on terrestrial television. It therefore recommended adding the men''s national football teams qualifying matches (home and away) for the European Championship and World Cup to the list of events that must be shown live to a free-to-air television.

The Scottish Government also recommended that governments of the devolved administrations should be granted powers to add or remove events for their nation. This would allow Scotland to maintain a list more specifically relevant to Scottish citizens. The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role that broadcasting will play in making the Games accessible to people in Scotland and the rest of the Commonwealth.

Question reference: S3W-26731

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what organisations the Equality Unit has funded since 2003, showing the amount and date of each award.

Question reference: S3O-07847

Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures contained in the draft Housing (Scotland) Bill are intended to reform the situation surrounding the licensing of houses in multiple occupancy.

Chamber and committees