- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 22 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is made available to local authorities to provide concessionary travel cards for pensioners and whether any additional funds will be made available.
Answer
Grant aided expenditure for councils' discretionary concessionary travel schemes is included in the local government finance settlement; the figure for 2000-01 is £33.8 million. The GAE allowances for individual services are not spending targets or limits. They are a relative assessment of need to spend and contribute towards the calculation of councils' total grant allocation. It is a matter for local authorities to determine their spending priorities and allocate resources accordingly.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to extend fuel duty rebate to commercial vehicles; whether it will detail the basis of these powers or restrictions, and whether it has any plans to extend the fuel duty rebate schemes to encompass an essential user rebate scheme for road haulage vehicles.
Answer
The Bus Fuel Duty Rebate scheme is operated under section 92 of the Finance Act 1965. Legislative competence and financial responsibility for this scheme was devolved to the Scottish Parliament on 1 July 1999. The Scottish Executive's Transport (Scotland) Bill is seeking powers to make regulations as to which class of buses the scheme may apply. We have no plans to extend the scheme beyond public transport service vehicles.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what its timetable is for a decision on the Freight Facility Grant Application for the Stirling/Alloa/Dunfermline line and what is the maximum and likely sum to be made available.
Answer
The Scottish Executive received Railtrack's application on 8 May and this is in the process of being assessed. The application is subject to a detailed economic analysis and a final decision about any grant award will only be reached once the assessment process - which can vary in terms of the length of the time taken between different applications - has been completed.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources and incentives have been provided to local authorities to assist them in a recycling strategy annually since 1997 and what will be available in future financial years for which figures are available.
Answer
Local authorities are given an annual budget and normally it is for the individual authority to decide how the money is spent. Grant Aided Expenditure for waste, including recycling, was some £116 million in 1999-2000.
In recognition of the additional administrative burden created by the National Waste Strategy: Scotland, £2.5 million per annum was identified for preparation and planning for implementation of the strategy. This money is available from this year onwards.
Future spending on recycling and waste management will depend on the results of the Spending Review, which will be announced in the autumn.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the classes of vehicles which are entitled to rebated fuel in Scotland.
Answer
The Executive keeps in regular contact with Treasury on a range of reserved issues which affect Scottish interests.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what its strategy is to support the separation and recycling of household waste.
Answer
The National Waste Strategy: Scotland defined 11 Waste Strategy Areas which group together local authorities, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the waste industry, waste producers, voluntary organisations and local business.
These groups are working to identify the best method of dealing with waste in each area, including the role for separation and recycling of waste. I have asked that area waste plans should be submitted to the Executive by the end of this year.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the recycling of household waste.
Answer
No targets have been set to date.
If targets are to be realistic and worthwhile they must be based on sound data. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has committed itself to providing guidance on targets for household waste recycling by the end of this year.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any input and involvement it had into the investigation by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions into ports and harbours and whether it can advise when any report of this investigation will be published.
Answer
The Scottish Executive maintains regular contact with DETR on a wide range of ports and harbour issues. This includes the devolved aspects of a UK wide review of ports policy following a consultation paper issued by DETR in February 1999. The Executive plans to publish the outcome of the review in the form of a ports "daughter document" to the White Paper Travel Choices in Scotland in co-operation with DETR during the course of this year.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to legislate to ensure that water companies and other relevant bodies have a statutory duty to tell householders of high lead levels noted in the water supply following testing or inspection.
Answer
The draft Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, that are currently out to consultation, require water authorities to notify householders of any breach of the lead standard detected as a result of sampling. In practice, the Scottish water authorities already carry out such notification.
- Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 June 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review port investment.
Answer
Investment in ports is the responsibility of the individual port and harbour authority owner and operator involved.
