- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils in P1 to P3 in the Aberdeen City Council area are entitled to free school meals and at what total cost.
Answer
The free school meals survey data does not contain information by pupil stage. The most recent school meals data are available on the Scottish Executive website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/24125730/0.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance has been issued to local authorities to ensure that school grounds and facilities are more accessible after school hours and at weekends.
Answer
We are committed, as are the local authorities, to improving community access to school facilities, and we are working together to enhance both the quality and accessibility of such facilities. Our joint work with COSLA on the new School Estate Strategy provides an excellent opportunity to look again at how best to accommodate the expectations of local communities.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the allocation of £100 million brought forward from 2010-11 to 2008 for the Affordable Housing Investment Programme will vary according to existing funding commitments in each local authority area.
Answer
In allocating the accelerated spend, we will prioritise bringing forward new construction but will also spend on off the shelf units and land acquisitions where this is strategically sensible and offers good value for money. Allocations will be made to projects rather than to specific local authority areas and will be prioritised to:
housing market areas with shortfalls
homelessness pressures
local pressured areas or specific regeneration projects.
We announced the first tranche of £9 million of projects, including site starts and land acquisitions on 7 October. Further announcements will be made when projects are agreed.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding for Homecoming Scotland 2009 has been allocated to each local authority, also expressed as a percentage of total Homecoming Scotland 2009 funding.
Answer
Fourteen local authorities, in their role as event owners/organisers, bid for and are receiving funds from the £3 million Homecoming programme budget. The following local authorities are in direct receipt of funding to support specific event activity:
| Local Authority/Applicant | Funds Direct to LAs | % of total Programme Budget £3,075,098 |
| Aberdeen City Council Subtotal | £20,000.00 | 0.65% |
| Aberdeenshire Council Subtotal | £50,000.00 | 1.63% |
| Clackmannanshire Council Subtotal | £10,000.00 | 0.33% |
| Dumfries and Galloway Subtotal | £23,000.00 | 0.75% |
| East Ayrshire Council Subtotal | £20,000.00 | 0.65% |
| City of Edinburgh Council Subtotal | £65,000.00 | 2.11% |
| Glasgow Subtotal | £120,000.00 | 3.90% |
| Highland Council Subtotal | £60,000.00 | 1.95% |
| Moray Council Subtotal | £10,000.00 | 0.33% |
| Perth and Kinross Council Subtotal | £40,000.00 | 1.30% |
| Scottish Borders Council Subtotal | £42,000.00 | 1.37% |
| South Ayrshire Subtotal | £14,000.00 | 0.46% |
| Angus and Dundee Councils (shared) Subtotal | £19,000.00 | 0.62% |
| Totals | £493,000.00 | 16.03% |
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has committed to Homecoming Scotland 2009.
Answer
There is a core budget of £5 million which has been allocated to EventScotland for delivery of Homecoming Scotland 2009. This includes £3 million for programme, £1.25 million for marketing and communications and £0.75 million for operational costs. The Scottish Government is also looking to support this national celebration by aligning various activities with the Homecoming programme. The value of this activity is not included in the £5 million budget administered by EventScotland.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to events happening in each local authority area for Homecoming Scotland 2009.
Answer
All local authorities were given an equal chance to benefit from the funding opportunities available. The following table shows funding allocated from the core Homecoming programme budget to events taking place across local authority areas. In addition to this, all local authorities have been given the opportunity to feature relevant events as part of the Homecoming partner programme. This partner programme offers in-kind support, but not direct funding.
| Local Authority | Programme Budget Allocation | % of Programme Budget |
| Aberdeen City Subtotal | £35,000.00 | 1.14% |
| Aberdeenshire Subtotal | £57,000.00 | 1.85% |
| Argyll and Bute Subtotal | £40,000.00 | 1.30% |
| Clackmannanshire Subtotal | £10,000.00 | 0.33% |
| Dumfries and Galloway Subtotal | £63,000.00 | 2.05% |
| East Ayrshire Subtotal | £40,000 | 1.30% |
| East Lothian Subtotal | £30,000 | 0.98% |
| Edinburgh Subtotal | £391,944.00 | 12.75% |
| Fife Subtotal | £102,428.00 | 3.33% |
| Glasgow Subtotal | £521,505 | 16.96% |
| Highland Subtotal | £177,000 | 5.76% |
| Midlothian Subtotal | £25,000 | 0.81% |
| Moray Subtotal | £10,000 | 0.33% |
| Orkney Subtotal | £5,475 | 0.18% |
| Perth and Kinross Subtotal | £232,700 | 7.57% |
| Scottish Borders Subtotal | £52,000 | 1.69% |
| Shetland Subtotal | £10,000 | 0.33% |
| South Ayrshire Subtotal | £259,000 | 8.42% |
| Stirling Subtotal | £3,000.00 | 0.10% |
| West Dunbartonshire Subtotal | £6,500 | 0.21% |
| West Lothian Subtotal | £25,000 | 0.81% |
| Western Isles Subtotal | £23,946 | 0.78% |
| Various Subtotal (multiple locations) | £640,140 | 20.82% |
| Unconfirmed Subtotal | £190,000.00 | 6.18% |
| Contingency | £124,460.00 | 4.05% |
| Totals | £3,075,098 | 100.00% |
| Total Programme Budget | 3,075,098 | |
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what feasibility studies it has carried out into the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation with electricity markets elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
The Scottish Government is involved in two feasibility studies which aim to help to make the business case for future commercial investment in offshore electricity grid connections.
The Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study (ISLES) explores potential grid links to exploit the offshore renewables resource in the Atlantic coasts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. A pre-scoping study has been completed, and funding for a full feasibility study has been agreed by the European Commission. We currently await a formal grant offer from the Commission in order for the feasibility study to be carried out with our Irish and Northern Irish partners.
Another pre-scoping study has been completed, examining the potential for grid connections across the North Sea, off the coasts of the north and east coasts of Scotland and the west coasts of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the north coast of Germany. The Scottish Government is now seeking potential partners for a full feasibility study to take place.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with UK ministers regarding the connection of renewable generation capacity to electricity markets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16854 on 4 November 2008.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive with which national governments it has had discussions about proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity.
Answer
Earlier this year the Scottish Government applied through the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON), along with the governments of Germany and the Netherlands, for funding to undertake a Territorial Impact Assessment of grid links across the North Sea.
I met recently with the Norwegian Energy Minister to discuss a number of renewable energy matters of mutual interest to Scotland and Norway, including potential offshore grid links.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-6312 by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007, what progress has been made on discussions with the Norwegian Government on proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets in Norway or elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
We have now completed a pre-scoping study on the potential for grid links from Scotland across the North Sea and will be using it as the basis for discussions with potential partners, including Norway, to carry out further feasibility work.
