- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether oil for use in the production of animal feed, bio-diesel fuel and food products can be produced by processing hemp oil and what information it holds on other products that can be produced from the hemp plant.
Answer
Technically hemp oil could be used for these purposes, but for animal feed and biodiesel other materials, such as oilseeds, are more economically viable. Hemp oil use in the food sector would most likely be restricted to higher value products.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned, or plans to commission, any research into (a) the potential benefits to be derived from the cultivation of hemp and (b) the number of products hemp can be used to produce.
Answer
The Scottish Office commissioned several research projects on the potential of hemp as an industrial or novel crop in recent years. Brief information on these projects and others carried out in the UK are available on the DEFRA website. Further information may be found on the Interactive European Network for Industrial Crops and their Application (IENICA) website.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the establishment of community farms to produce hemp and assist in the production of any other environmentally-friendly products.
Answer
The Executive has no specific plans to support the establishment of community farms to produce hemp or any other environmentally friendly products. However, provided that the eligibility criteria are met under the Arable Area Payments Scheme, area aid is available for hemp production. Further information may be obtained from any of the local SEERAD Area Offices.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 8 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Glasgow Housing Association has spent to date and whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of this expenditure.
Answer
In 2000-01, £3.401 million of New Housing Partnership resources was allocated to meet purchaser's pre-transfer costs in connection with the proposed transfer of Glasgow City Council's housing stock. The actual spend at 31 March 2001 was £3.043 million.
A further £15 million has been earmarked for allowable transfer costs expected to occur after 31 March 2001 (actual spend as at 17 August £1.102 million). These resources are required for a variety of activities including tenant consultation, business planning and setting up local housing organisations, and will be recoverable in the event of a successful transfer.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 8 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money the Glasgow Housing Association has received to date; whether any of this money was ring-fenced for specific purposes, and, if so, what these purposes were.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to PQ S1W-18125.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 8 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes in each local authority area qualify for central heating and insulation installation according to the criteria currently being used in its central heating programme.
Answer
Local authorities and housing associations have advised that they have the number of dwellings eligible for the central heating programme as set out in tables 1 and 2. The authorities not shown have no dwellings which lack central heating. Details on the housing association sector is not available by local authority area. We estimate that some 40,000 homeowners and private renters throughout Scotland are eligible for the programme but this figure cannot be disaggregated to local authority level.
Table 1
Local authority dwellings
Council | Dwellings |
Aberdeen | 83 |
Angus | 6 |
Argyll and Bute | 150 |
Dundee City | 2,668 |
East Ayrshire | 540 |
East Dunbarton | 12 |
East Lothian | 10 |
East Renfrewshire | 650 |
Edinburgh | 590 |
Falkirk | 106 |
Fife | 1,086 |
Glasgow City | 12,138 |
Highland | 40 |
Inverclyde | 83 |
Midlothian | 81 |
Orkney | 126 |
Renfrewshire | 637 |
Shetland | 82 |
South Lanarkshire | 3,200 |
West Dunbarton | 545 |
Total | 22,833 |
Table 2
Housing association dwellings
Housing association | Dwellings |
Abbeyfield Edinburgh | 8 |
Abertay | 422 |
Bute | 57 |
Canmore | 325 |
Castle Rock | 35 |
Castlemilk East | 58 |
Dunedin | 150 |
East Kilbride & District | 8 |
Edinvar | 169 |
Elderpark | 469 |
Glasgow Jewish | 33 |
Glasgow West | 79 |
Govan | 287 |
Govanhill | 60 |
Gowrie | 64 |
Hillcrest | 123 |
Hjaltland | 30 |
Lanarkshire | 12 |
Link | 300 |
Linthouse | 435 |
Lister | 11 |
Lorne | 114 |
Maryhill | 222 |
Old Town | 42 |
Paisley South | 14 |
Paragon | 97 |
Parkhead | 56 |
Partick | 728 |
Port of Leith | 400 |
Prospect Community Housing | 77 |
Queens Cross | 106 |
Reidvale | 153 |
Southside | 121 |
Springburn & Possilpark | 121 |
Thistle | 289 |
Tollcross | 81 |
Housing association | Number of dwellings |
Victoria | 22 |
West Highland | 15 |
West of Scotland | 355 |
Whiteinch & Scotland | 55 |
Williamsburgh | 20 |
Yoker | 50 |
Yorkhill | 127 |
Total | 6,400 |
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 8 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15291 by Ms Margaret Curran on 17 May 2001, whether sufficient details of the Glasgow housing stock transfer are now available for the VAT implications to be assessed; if so, whether, in the event of a vote for stock transfer in the forthcoming ballot, the Glasgow Housing Association will have to pay VAT on its planned capital expenditure and, if so, how much VAT it expects the association will have to pay, in both real and cash terms, in the period over which this expenditure is planned.
Answer
The implications of VAT will be neutral to tenants because the effects of VAT will be reflected in the transfer price. The impact on the public purse would also be neutral since the impact on the price would be offset over time by VAT payments. The level of VAT payable under the Glasgow Housing Association's proposal is a matter for that organisation in line with its business plan.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to set up an MMR helpline and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
We have no plans to set up an MMR helpline. However, in order to provide parents and health professionals with an accessible source of balanced information about MMR, new publicity materials have been developed. A leaflet, poster and discussion pack was issued to health professionals in September. The discussion pack is intended to allow health professionals and parents to consider any issues of concern together, and help parents make an informed choice about the health of their child.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 27 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new build homes for social renting in (a) Glasgow and (b) the rest of Scotland (i) were built over the last five years and (ii) are expected to be built over the next five years as a result of grants to housing associations.
Answer
The table shows the number of new build houses for social renting by housing associations that Scottish Homes approved in Glasgow City, and the rest of Scotland, over the five years to 2000-01 and the estimated number of approvals likely to be given in the current year. Information is not yet available for the number of houses approved for construction beyond this year.
| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 (estimated) |
Glasgow City | 642 | 493 | 643 | 818 | 1,032 | 1,110 |
| Rest of Scotland | 2,684 | 2,109 | 2,418 | 3,061 | 3,423 | 3,300 |
Total | 3,326 | 2,602 | 3,061 | 3,879 | 4,455 | 4,410 |
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 27 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much grant funding (a) was made available over the last five years and (b) is expected to be made available over the next five years to housing associations in (i) Glasgow and (ii) the rest of Scotland.
Answer
The table shows the grant funding made available by Scottish Homes to housing associations for the construction of houses of all tenure types in Glasgow City and the rest of Scotland for the 5 years to 2000-01, and an estimate of the grant funding that will be made available in the current year. No figures are available yet for the funding levels beyond the current year.
| 1996-97 (£ million) | 1997-98 (£ million) | 1998-99 (£ million) | 1999-2000 (£ million) | 2000-01 (£ million) | 2001-02 (estimated) (£ million) |
Glasgow City | 71.04 | 48.157 | 46.745 | 48.768 | 53.817 | 51.0 |
| Rest of Scotland | 179.539 | 122.629 | 116.7 | 122.847 | 127.316 | 126.5 |
Total | 250.579 | 170.786 | 163.445 | 171.615 | 181.133 | 177.5 |
