- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 26 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-498 by Sarah Boyack on 4 November 1999, whether it is working on proposals for charges on householders for the uplift of domestic refuse.
Answer
No. The National Waste Strategy: Scotland recommended that householders should be made aware of the costs of dealing with their waste and that local authorities should be required to identify collection and disposal charges separately on council tax bills or to identify these costs on leaflets accompanying the bills.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 26 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3423 by Sarah Boyack on 16 December 1999, whether it will publicise the criteria which it will use to determine whether the proposed Public Private Partnerships for the M77 Fenwick to Malletsheugh motorway extension demonstrate value for money.
Answer
Since 24 June 1999 it has been Scottish Executive policy to make Full Business Cases for all central Government public/private partnerships publicly available.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 25 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-97 by Sarah Boyack on 30 June 1999, what targets it has set for recycling aggregates; what action it has taken to ensure that adopted Structure Plans have identified 10-year supplies of aggregates, and what it plans to do to ensure that an adequate supply of aggregates is available in local authority areas where sufficient local supplies of aggregates have not been identified.
Answer
As my nswer of 30 June indicated, research is currently being undertaken to gather information on recycling activity to inform consideration of the need for future targets. Structure Plans are examined at various stages by the Scottish Executive to ensure they are consistent with national planning policy. The Scottish Ministers can modify Structure Plans that are considered to be significantly out of accord with national policy. In some instances, joint working between planning authorities may be necessary to ensure adequate reserves are available.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 25 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with representatives of aggregates and quarrying interests in connection with the proposed aggregates tax and what representations it has made as a consequence of any such meetings to Her Majesty's Government about the potential impact of an aggregates tax in Scotland.
Answer
No such meetings have taken place.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 25 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether inland waterways freight facilities grant (IWFFG) is treated as a separate budget allocation from the freight facilities grant, whether executive devolution exists in the administration of IWFFG, whether the Scottish Executive has control of the criteria by which awards of IWFFG are made, and, if so, what use has been made to date of IWFFG in Scotland, what applications are currently being considered, and whether an offer of grant will be made to facilitate timber movements from Argyll to Ayr harbour.
Answer
Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) for inland waterways is drawn from the same budget allocation available for railway projects. This amounts to £18.3 million for the three years between 1999-2000 and 2001-02. Inland waterways are a devolved matter and the Scottish Ministers have responsibility for the administration of FFG for inland waterways by applying criteria common to the FFG scheme as a whole.To date there have been no awards of FFG for inland waterways. Several proposals are under consideration, including a number dealing with the movement of timber. However, because of commercial sensitivities, it would be inappropriate to give further details.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how it has responded to the request from Scottish Border Council for an additional housing revenue account borrowing consent of #250,000.
Answer
Scottish Borders Council's request for additional housing capital consent will be considered shortly, along with the representations made by other councils, when it becomes clearer if resources are available for supplementary allocations this financial year.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-803 by Sarah Boyack on 9 December 1999, whether the rail passenger transport scheme is the only fund controlled by the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority which can be used to fund investment in new railway infrastructure in Scotland, what resources are available from this scheme in 1999-2000, and what resources are available from this scheme in 1999-2000 for new railway infrastructure in Scotland.
Answer
The Shadow Strategic Rail Authority administers the Rail Passenger Partnership (RPP) scheme and the Infrastructure Investment Fund (IIF) on a GB-wide basis. RPP is available for new or enhanced local and regional rail services that are not commercially viable. IIF is aimed at "pinch point" infrastructure projects which cannot be undertaken by Railtrack on a commercial basis. The launch of IIF is awaiting the outcome of the Office of the Rail Regulator's Regulatory Review of Railtrack. RPP and IIF are in addition to the franchise payments made by the Authority to the 25 train operating companies, which are more than £1 billion in 1999-2000.The total fund available under RPP and IIF is £105 million over the three years between 1999 and 2002. The budget for 1999-2000 is £20 million. There is no separate allocation for Scotland. Proposals for projects in Scotland will be assessed against criteria applied to all applications from across GB.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last surveyed the availability of aggregates in Scotland, and when it expects to issue its findings.
Answer
The Survey of Aggregate Working in Scotland is carried out every four years. The last published results, for the year 1993, were issued in 1995. The most recent survey covered the year 1997 but a relatively poor response rate from aggregate producers, coupled with other factors including confidentiality rules and local authority reorganisation, has to date prevented publication of the results. Ways of resolving these difficulties are currently being considered and it is not yet possible to state when, or indeed if, the 1997 results will be published.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by Mr Jack McConnell on local government finance on 8 December 1999, whether it will estimate the share in respect of each council of the #15 million held back from the total allocations and indicate whether the #15 million will affect councils' indicative spending guidelines.
Answer
The £15 million has been released within the settlement following a revision to the estimated costs to local authorities of loan and leasing charges for next year. The £15 million has been disregarded for the purposes of calculating councils' spending guidelines and consequently will have no effect on guidelines.If loan and leasing charges had been higher than the levels now expected, the £15 million would have been allocating using existing procedures.
- Asked by: Murray Tosh, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its review of the planning system will bring forward proposals to prevent or control the implementation of "begun developments" either in general where significant time periods have elapsed between development beginning and the implementation of subsequent phases of development, or in circumstances where either the adopted Structure and Local Plans have been amended materially in the interim, or where the relevant planning authority considers that the development proposal should now be subject to traffic, environmental impact or other assessments which were not required when the original consent was issued.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no current plans to amend planning legislation in the way suggested.In circumstances where a planning authority anticipates problems of the sort outlined it is open to that authority to serve a completion notice on the developer specifying a period after which the planning permission shall cease to have effect.
