Chamber and committees

Local authorities are not requiredunder the Environment Act 1995 to review cadmium levels in ambient air.

However, Council Directive 2004/107/ECsets target values for concentrations in ambient air for a number of pollutantsincluding cadmium. On the basis of information gathered from measurements and modellingrequired by the Directive, there are no exceedances of the cadmium target valuesin Glasgow.

Under the Environment Act 1995all local authorities are required to regularly review and assess air quality intheir areas against objectives for a number of air pollutants, including sulphurdioxide. If a review indicates that any objective is unlikely to be achieved bythe required date, the authority concerned must declare an Air Quality ManagementArea (AQMA) and produce an action plan outlining how it intends to tackle the issuesidentified.

Glasgow City Council has notto date declared any AQMAs for sulphur dioxide.

Glasgow City Council monitorsthe levels of airborne mercury in Glasgow and has found no levels that are considered to constitutehigh levels of pollution. The council has a duty to investigate any land withinits area that may be contaminated by pollutants and carry out any necessary remediationmeasures. They have not identified any such areas to date.

Under the EC Environmental NoiseDirective we are required to provide the European Commission by the end of 2007with an estimate of the number of people living in dwellings exposed to differentlevels of ambient noise from certain conurbations and transport sources. Householdsin Glasgow will be included in this information to the European Commission. The informationwill be made publicly available in line with the requirements of the Directive andwill flow from a strategic ambient noise mapping exercise of such noise sourceswhich the Executive is undertaking now.

Under the Environment Act 1995all local authorities are required to regularly review and assess air quality intheir areas against objectives for a number of air pollutants, including carbonmonoxide and benzene. If a review indicates that any objective is unlikely to beachieved by the required date, the authority concerned must declare an Air QualityManagement Area (AQMA) and produce an action plan indicating how it intends to tacklethe issues identified.

Glasgow City Council has notto date declared any AQMAs for carbon monoxide or benzene.

Under the Environment Act 1995all local authorities are required to regularly review and assess air quality intheir areas against objectives for a number of air pollutants, including lead. Ifa review indicates that any objective is unlikely to be achieved by the requireddate, the authority concerned must declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)and produce an action plan outlining how it intends to tackle the issues identified.

Glasgow City Council has notto date declared any AQMAs for lead.

Under the Environment Act 1995all local authorities are required to regularly review and assess air quality intheir areas against objectives for a number of air pollutants, including nitrogendioxide. If a review indicates that any objective is unlikely to be achieved bythe required date, the authority concerned must declare an Air Quality ManagementArea (AQMA) and produce an action plan outlining how it intends to tackle the issuesidentified.

Glasgow City Council has declaredan AQMA for nitrogen dioxide covering the city centre. We do not hold details onthe actual number of households in the AQMA but further information, as well asa map of the streets and households covered by the AQMA, can be found on thecouncil’s website at:

www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Environment/Pollution/Air/LocalAirQualityManagement.htm.

Brownfield land is definedin Scottish Planning Policy 3 (SPP3) as land which has previously beendeveloped. The Scottish Executive does not hold centrally information on thequantity of brownfield land within local authority areas.

A significant proportion ofbrownfield land comprises land designated as vacant or derelict. Informationregarding vacant and derelict land is collected by the Executive and publishedannually in the voluntary Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS) andcan be seen as an indicator of the approximate amount of brownfield land in localauthority areas.

Results from the 2005 SVDLSindicate that out of a total of 853 sites in the Glasgow City Council area:

103 (12%) have lain vacantor derelict since 1980 or earlier

315 (37%) have lain vacantor derelict since 1985 or earlier

390 (46%) have lain vacantor derelict since 1990 or earlier

500 (59%) have lain vacantor derelict since 1995 or earlier.

Further information can befound in the 2005 SVDLS bulletin available on the internet at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/30155550/0.

Previous surveys are alsopublished on the Scottish Executive website.

Note that sites coveringless than 0.1 hectares are excluded from the SVDLS. The information presented includes only that vacantland which is located within an urban settlement with a population of 2,000 ormore.

Information from the 2006Survey will be published in January 2007.

The Information requested is not held centrally.Understanding evidence around the prevalence of mental health problems is a complex matter. The Well? What Do You Think? National Survey of Public Attitudes to Mental Health (2004) estimated that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime. These problems will differ widely in type, severity and frequency with treatment provided in a variety of different settings within health, social care and voluntary services.

It is for NHS boards working with local authorities and other partners to provide services responsive to the particular needs of their areas. Assessment of need and prevalence will form part of effective treatment and local service provision.

The Executive will be publishing a national mental health delivery plan at the end of this year to further improve the delivery of mental health services.

This information is not heldcentrally. Draft Scottish Planning Policy 11: Physical Activity and Open Space, which is out for consultation until 3 November, proposes a requirementon local authorities to undertake audits of open space in their areas and to setout a strategic approach to open space provision. Views are also being soughton the need for annualmonitoring of changes in local provision of green/open space.