- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 24 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) representations it has made, (b) discussions it has had and (c) correspondence it has exchanged with (i) the British Airports Authority and (ii) National Air Traffic Services Ltd in relation to (1) the objections which the consultees lodged to the proposed wind farm at Corlic Hill in Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park and (2) any conditions which might be attached to a consent, which would allow the consultees to withdraw their objections.
Answer
The Executive has made no representationsand there have been no discussions about the objection by BAA plc, dated 2 September 2003, tothis wind farm proposal. Correspondence between the Executive and BAA on this matterhas been restricted to an e-mail from the Executive and an e-mail reply both alsodated 2 September 2003.
There have been informal discussionsbetween the Executive and BAA plc, most recently in March this year, about the latter’sposition on a number of wind farm proposals in the area, including the Greenockwind farm proposal, during which the question of conditions that would address BAA’sconcerns has been discussed.
National Air Traffic ServicesLtd has not objected to the proposal and there have therefore been no discussionsor correspondence between them and the Executive on this matter.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2006
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Current Status:
Awaiting answer
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to respond to my letter of 20 December 2005, and the reminders issued on 9 March 2006 and 21 April 2006, on the performance of SEERAD officials and requests for a trial marine protection area in Lamlash Bay, Arran, and whether it is aware of any impact on constituents and the public of its delay in responding to this correspondence.
Answer
Awaiting answer
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 17 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to replace the Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Removal of Judges) Order 1999 under an Act of the Scottish Parliament.
Answer
Ministers are consulting onproposals for a Bill on the Judiciary which would include repeal of the 1999Order and its replacement with new provisions.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 16 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when it received the inquiry reporter’s recommendation and when it expects to issue a decision, in relation to the application for a 22-turbine wind farm at Corlic Hill in Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.
Answer
A report from the InquiryReporter was received by the Executive on 8 September 2005 on the Corlick Hill consent application. A determination on the application is currently being considered byScottish ministers and will be announced once that process has been completed.The PLI report and the minister’s decision will be made public thereafter.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 12 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the operation of the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow, following the removal of tolls from the Erskine Bridge, and consider the removal of the barrier which separates the two western lanes from the rest of the carriageway, thereby forcing northbound M8 traffic to divert into the city centre to access the west of the city.
Answer
The safety barrier on the westboundcarriageway of the Kingston Bridge was introduced in 1994 for safety reasons during majorworks on the bridge. As the safety barrier considerably reduced accident rates byremoving the weaving effect of traffic changing lanes to leave the bridge and alsoreduced traffic delays on the M8, it has been retained as a permanent feature.
Whilst the removal of tolls atErskine Bridge will reduce traffic levels on Kingston Bridge, in theinterests of road safety there are no plans to alter the current traffic managementlayout.
Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the (a) membership, (b) remit, (c) timescales and (d) targets for the Affordable Housing Working Party, announced by the Minister for Communities at the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland's annual conference on 7 March 2006.
Answer
The membership and work programmefor the group will be finalised in the near future. It is my intention that thefirst meeting of the group should be held in late June.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23170 by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 March 2006, whether it is also negotiating to transfer surplus public sector housing to providers of affordable housing and, in particular, whether it is pursuing an agreement with the Ministry of Defence to transfer empty houses at Smuggler’s Way, Arden Hill, Alexander Place, Jupiter Place and Beech Grove in Rhu, Argyll and Bute, to a registered social landlord or other provider of affordable housing.
Answer
There are past instances wherewe have supported the transfer of surplus public sector housing to Registered SocialLandlords, and further opportunities to do so will be considered when they arise.
In respect of the specific sitesmentioned in the question, exploratory discussions were held with the Ministry ofDefence in 2004, but did not reach a conclusion as the properties in question fellto be considered as part of a wider accommodation review being undertaken by thatDepartment. My officials in Communities Scotland intend to approach the Ministryof Defence to re-open discussions.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive , further to the answer to question S2W-24697 by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 April 2006, whether it made representations in its own submission to HM Treasury on planning gain supplement (PGS) that affordable housing developments should be exempt from the proposed PGS and, if not, whether it will now do so.
Answer
We have raised the issue of exemptionsto planning-gain supplement in discussions with the UK Government and understandother organisations have done so too as part of the consultation. We note and endorse the UK Government’s position thatany planning-gain supplement should support efforts to expand housing supply.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 2 May 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how new local strategic water and drainage infrastructure, such as major trunk sewers and trunk water mains, will be planned, funded and procured in circumstances where developer contributions to Scottish Water are required from a wide range of companies developing in areas to be serviced by such infrastructure, or from companies developing sites over a protracted time period, and in other circumstances where such contributions are unlikely to be achievable in whole in advance of the requirement to fund the infrastructure.
Answer
The detailed planning, fundingand procurement of new local strategic water and drainage infrastructure are operationalmatters for Scottish Water.
Whereinvestment in such infrastructure is included in Scottish Water’s investment programme,either through capital maintenance or theenvironmental programme, these costs would be borne by Scottish Water rather thandevelopers. Where significant new local infrastructure is required as a result ofdevelopment it will be for developers, planning authorities and Scottish Water towork together to deliver solutions and co-ordinated action is already taking placein many areas. Where such development isplanned over a long period of time, it is often sensible for infrastructure to beprovided on a similar timescale.
Scottish Water will also be ableto use the funds raised from infrastructure charges to help address demands on capacitythat cannot be attributed to particular developments.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 24 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how much income Scottish Water expects to receive from infrastructure and connection charges on new development under the Provision of Water and Sewerage Services (Reasonable Cost) (Scotland) Regulations 2006; for what purposes this income will be used, and what criteria will be applied in allocating this income where it is used to fund infrastructure.
Answer
It is not possible to estimatethe income Scottish Water will receive from infrastructure charges payable for everynew water or sewerage connection to its networks as this will depend on the totalnumber of new connections made in any year. However, for the purposes of the FinalDetermination, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland predicted a figure of £30million based on the estimated number of new housing units to be provided by ScottishWater up to March 2010.
The funds Scottish Water raisesfrom this charge will be used to help address demands on capacity that cannot beattributed to particular developments. Further information on the purposes and criteriato be used in applying this income were set out in the Scottish Executive ConsultationPaper Connecting To The System – consultation on paying for connections to thewater and sewerage system, and in the Scottish Executive report on that consultationConnecting To The System – consultation on paying for connections to the waterand sewerage system: Consultation Report. Copies of these documents have beenplaced in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 37568 and 39416).
