Chamber and committees

I am working withpartners to bring forward specific proposals, from developing the workforce to ensuringhigh-quality services, which address the issues raised. I will announce these proposalsto Parliament in due course.

The informationrequested regarding agencies is not held centrally. I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-6943 on 6 December 2007. All answersto written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website,the search facility for which can be found at:

The Scottish Governmentwants to ensure that, going forward, the support we provide for community and microgenerationachieves the best value for money, maximises carbon savings, whilst at the sametime provides the right conditions for stimulating and transforming the market formicrogeneration technologies. Work is currently underway to ascertain how futuresupport will be targeted and I will announce plans early in the new year.

As part of our commitmentto introduce carbon impact assessments for policy options, we will aim to identifyand quantify the likely carbon savings that will result from increasing spendingon community and microgeneration.

It intends to continueand improve programmes delivered under the previous administration, including: supportprovided by the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust across the domestic, publicand business sectors; the energy efficiency fund for the public sector; the interest-freeloan scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises; the fuel poverty programmesand revisions to the Scottish Building Standards.

Over and above thiswork, specific new measures include:

The introduction ofa one-stop shop for domestic and small business consumers in Scotland covering energyefficiency, renewables and transport advice. The new network of advice centres willgo live from April 2008 and will deliver a more strategic approach to customer engagementand will have more challenging targets: to reach three times as many customers anddeliver a four-fold increase in carbon emission reductions compared to existingperformance.

Work to develop astrategy for attracting more funding and benefits in to Scotland from the UK Government’s Energy Efficiency Commitment(EEC). An EEC Strategy Manager was appointed in August 2007 (based within the EnergySaving Trust) and their key role is to develop a more strategic and integrated approachto take-up.

The establishmentof an Expert Panel in August 2007 to advise the Scottish Government on a Low CarbonBuilding Standards Strategy. The key objective is to move construction of new buildings,including housing, to the rigorous energy performance levels imposed in Scandinavia. The panel’s report will be published before the endof the year.

Additionally, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that it has in place the right incentives toencourage energy efficiency. It is currently considering the results and recommendations of a recently commissioned independent reviewof energy efficiency support. This will help to inform future action for improving, simplifying and streamliningdelivery whilst ensuring that support is effectively targeted.

The Scottish Governmentwill also be consulting on proposals to introduce a Scottish Climate Change Bill,which will set a mandatory target of cutting emissions by 80% by 2050. Discussionshave already taken place with a number of key stakeholders from business, non-governmentalorganisations, public sector and research to discuss potential policy proposalsand the consultation will seek views on further incentives to encourage energy efficiency.The Scottish Government intends to launch a public consultation on the bill in January.

We are currently undertakingresearch to identify a range of options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions inScotland, including emissions from non-carbon dioxidegases. Measures already being taken forward that are expected to reduce non-carbondioxide greenhouse gas emissions include our commitment to a Zero Waste fund thatwill support a number of measures such as waste prevention, community sector recycling,waste awareness and provision of advice and support for local authority recyclinginitiatives. In addition, we are funding initiatives by farmers and other stakeholdersin the rural community to reduce climate change emissions from land management practicesand to manage our rural environment more effectively, through the £1.6 billion RuralDevelopment Programme.

Amey InfrastructureServices took over full inspection, management and maintenance responsibility forthe bridge, as part of the trunk road network, when tolls were abolished on 1 April2006. Decisions to close the bridge, solely for the safety of users, are taken inaccordance with the severe weather procedures laid down in the Bridge OperationsManual. Amey receive Met Office five-day and 24-hour weather forecasts, specificto the Erskine area. When severe conditions are forecast these are supplementedby immediate “Storm” or “Gale” warnings to which Amey have the facility to seek“real time” updates. An anemometer located on the bridge deck transmits continuouswind-speed data to Amey’s Operational Control Room. Amey’s engineering and meteorologicalassessments are then subject to liaison with Strathclyde Police. The outcome maybe a formal decision to close the bridge, wholly or in part, under the authorityof the Chief Constable. Agreed wind-speed thresholds are 45mph for crosswinds and60mph for head/tail winds.

The traffic managementfor the closure process takes nearly two hours to implement fully and about onehour to remove, with priority given to the immediate approaches then the M8/M898on the south side of the river. The police, Traffic Scotland and media are advised when a closure is imminent and when it is expectedto be lifted and are regularly updated where an incident may be protracted.

The criteria for weather-relatedclosures have not changed since tolls were removed but new and more accurate windmeasuring and data recording equipment became operational from early October 2006.Prior to then, there was no data record of actual wind speeds on the bridge andreadings were noted manually from dial gauges showing speed and direction, locatedin the bridge administration offices. For this reason, no comparison can be madebetween closures, pre and post abolition of tolls. However, each closure can bedirectly related to independently documented (Met. Office) records.

In order to minimisethe disruption caused by closures of the bridge, strategic signs on approach routesare being installed. These will include warnings specific to high-sided vehicleswhich will allow the phased closure to certain classes of vehicles when appropriate.