Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17105 on 20 June 2005. 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. No revision has been made to our renewable energy targets.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17105 on 20 June 2005. 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.

No revision has been made to our renewable energy targets. In its report, the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland projected that circa 43TWh would be required in 2020 to meet demand. 40% of 43TWh equates to 17.2TWh from renewable sources in that year. The member will wish to refer to Annex A of the report, on page 16.

Although the avian influenza virus poses a risk to birds its risk to humans is extremely limited. This is because it is very difficult to catch from birds and even more difficult to pass from human to human. The major concern is the possibility that the virus could mutate into a form that can transmit easily between humans, and thus give rise to another influenza global epidemic (a pandemic) in humans. However, the veterinary risk assessment is that the risk to the UK of avian influenza is low.

Avian influenza is distinct from human pandemic influenza. The UK Health Department and the Scottish Executive, who are at the forefront of preparations for pandemic flu, continue to keep a close watch over developments in consultation with Health Protection Scotland, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Health Protection Agency.

The Executive shares the concerns of communities which are facing the loss of access to banking facilities as a result of Clydesdale Bank branch closures. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning met with Clydesdale’s Chief Operating Officer, David Thorburn, on 17 August: to relay parliamentary concerns expressed at the debate on Clydesdale branch closures on 29 June; to discuss the closures in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and to explore ways of ensuring continued access to banking services for those affected as a result of the planned closure of the 60 branches across Scotland. I understand that Clydesdale have an agreement with the Post Office whereby customers can access transactional banking services and that they have invested in both their telephone and internet banking services. If these services do not address the needs of all Clydesdale customers, then any personal or business account holder who faces difficulties in accessing banking services should approach their local Citizens Advice Bureau or local enterprise company.

The meeting on 17 August followed a series of meetings between Jim Wallace as Deputy First Minister and Mr Thorburn which have been held throughout Clydesdale’s restructuring process. The Executive will remain in close contact with Clydesdale Bank and its parent company, National Australia Group.

The Partnership Agreement contains a range of commitments to help tackle environment crime. A number of these commitments such as legislation on nature conservation, increased training for police dealing with wildlife crime, and consultation on access to courts for NGOs under the Aarhus Convention have already been implemented. On others such as the commitment to consider the case for environmental courts, work is proceeding and we shall make announcements in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-17105 on 20 June 2005. 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. Our target remains that 40% of electricity generated in Scotland by 2020 should come from renewable sources. The report referred to in the answer to S2W-17105 estimated that the amount of installed capacity (as a proportion of forecast demand) required to meet the 40% generation target could amount to 6 GigaWatts. The report also stated that this should not be regarded as a cap.

(a) Energy Costs incurred by the Scottish Executive in Years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05:

Energy Type	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Electricity	£592,545	£562,946	£529,336
Gas	£131,963	£156,656	£261,209
Liquid Fuel	£18,618	£25,346	£54,652

 

(b)(i) Energy invoices paid by the Scottish Executive in 2005-06 to 31 July 2005:

Energy Type	2005-06
Electricity	£188,042
Gas	£49,726
Liquid Fuel	£6,144

 

(b)(ii) Year on Year percentage changes on energy costs incurred by the Scottish Executive for years 2002-03, 03-04 and 04-05:

Energy Type		2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Electricity	Spend	£592,545	£562,946	£529,336
	Difference from previous year	N/A	-£29,599	-£33,610
	Year on Year % difference	N/A	-5 %	-6%
Gas	Spend	£131,963	£156,656	£261,209
	Difference from previous year	N/A	£24,693	£104,553
	Year on Year % difference	N/A	19%	67%
Liquid Fuel	Spend	£18,618	£25,346	£54,652
	Difference from previous year	N/A	£6,728	£29,306
	Year on Year % difference	N/A	36%	116%

 

(b)(iii) Projected % change in the cost of energy to be incurred by the Scottish Executive between 2004-05 and 2005-06:

Energy Type		2004-05	Projected 2005-06
Electricity	Spend	£529,339	£1,100,000
	Difference from previous year	N/A	£570,661
	Year on Year % difference	N/A	108%
Gas	Spend	£261,209	£275,000
	Difference from previous year	N/A	£13,791
	Year on Year % difference	N/A	5%
Liquid Fuel	Spend	£54,652	£100,000
	Difference from previous year	N/A	£45,348
	Year on Year % difference	N/A	83%

 

The Scottish Executive has benefited from a two year fixed price contract with Scottish and Southern Energy which was set at a particularly low point in the market.

Since that contract was signed energy markets have been subject to a period of unprecedented volatility. Increases in oil and gas prices, political instability in key production areas and increased demand for energy have all combined to force prices up. The Executive has been protected from these changes during the period of the contract but the new contract reflects prevailing global market conditions.

Since devolution the workload of the Executive has increased considerably. This has inevitably been reflected in the use of utilities such as electricity however the Executive is determined to reduce energy consumption where possible and has a wide range of energy efficiency measures in place – including low energy lighting, automatic lighting controls and flat screen computer monitors. In addition we are undertaking audits of all the Executive’s main buildings to identify further ways of reducing energy consumption.

Due to the large volume of data requested, the information has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37395).

The demand for midwives reflects the continuing falling number of births in Scotland. The number of births has reduced from 56,589 per year in 1999 to 52,112 in 2004, a drop of 7.9%.

The workforce required to meet the future shape of maternity services in Scotland is being led by the National Maternity Services Workforce Planning Group, jointly chaired by Patricia Purton (RCM) and Professor Andrew Calder (NHS Lothian).

The arrangements, which are in place between the Scottish and UK authorities to protect the public, work on a reciprocal basis. However, at the time of his arrival in Aberdeen in March 2002, Mr Beech’s legal status was such that there was no formal statutory requirement for supervision on the part of any UK jurisdiction and as a UK citizen he was at liberty to reside anywhere within the UK. The question of recovery of costs did not therefore arise.

As a result of the extent and nature of his previous criminal record and the assessment of his risk, the decision was then taken to put in place with immediate effect an intensive monitoring and support package. The Scottish Executive agreed to meet the costs of the supervision package under Section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. The principal components of this funding package were the accommodation costs incurred by Aberdeen City Council and the 24 hours supervision services provided by SACRO on behalf of the authority. The cost of these services was as follows.

Year	Amount
2001-02	£18,888.23
2002-03	£318,982.59
2003-04	£99,949.53
Total	£437,820.35

 

In addition, Grampian Police incurred costs of £7,238.16.

The funding issues involved in this type of case are fortunately rare and require to be considered on a case by case basis to ensure appropriate resources are in place to maintain community safety. It is considered that overall these provisions work well and there presently are no plans to review the arrangements.

In Scotland, all written complaints received by the Environment and Rural Affairs Department about ragwort, and the other four weeds specified in the Weeds Act 1959 (spear thistle, creeping or field thistle, broad-leaved dock and curled dock) are investigated by the staff in the Department’s Area Offices. The act places responsibility for the control of these weeds on the occupier of the land in question.

Where scheduled weeds are found on agricultural land, the occupier is asked to take control action to control the spread of the weeds. Where weeds are found on other land, the case is referred to the appropriate authority.

Where persuasion fails to secure action, the Executive will serve a notice requiring the occupier to take control action within a specified period. Failure to comply with this notice is an offence, and can lead to prosecution. The Executive has served five notices in the last ten years. It has not been necessary to bring prosecutions in any of these cases.

The Weeds Act 1959 also empowers Scottish ministers to take control action themselves and recover the costs of this action from the occupier of the land.

It is already an offence to plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild certain invasive non-native plants including giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Penalties on summary conviction include imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine not exceeding £40,000.

A Horticultural Code of Practice for Scotland was launched on 1 June 2005. This provides practical information on how to help prevent the spread of undesirable plants, including invasive non-native species (this can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/invasivespecies).