Chamber and committees

Vegetation management is an operational matter for Network Rail. However, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act it is required to control the spread of both Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed.

Within Scotland, Network Rail confirms it has in place a programme of vegetation management which it says meets its legal obligations. As sites requiring control are identified, they are programmed for appropriate measures to be deployed.

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) is the independent economic regulator for the water industry in Scotland. Its detailed operating costs, including subsistence and entertainment costs, are matters for WICS to determine. I have asked Alan Sutherland, Chief Executive of WICS, to respond to you directly on the detail of your questions.

I met with Sir Ian Byatt, WICS'' chair, on 14 April 2010 and reminded him that ministers, and the public, expect a high level of financial stringency from our public bodies, particularly in the current challenging economic climate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33042 on 29 April 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33042 on 29 April 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The SME Access to Finance survey published in July 2009, interviewed 1,001 small and medium-sized enterprises.

A more detailed note on methodology can be found on pages 10-11 of the main report at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/access-finance/report.

The survey sampled 1,001 small and medium-sized businesses, sourced from Dun & Bradstreet/Experian databases. The SME population in Scotland is dominated by micro firms (94%), and therefore, small and medium-sized businesses were over-sampled relative to their population size to allow for meaningful disaggregation of results at firm size level. For the presentation of the results, the overall sample was weighted by size and sector to reflect the true structure of the Scottish SME population. No sectors were excluded from the sampling in 2009, with the exception of the public sector and not for profit organisations.

More detail on the methodology can be found on pages 10-11 of the report following the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/access-finance/report.

The survey interviewed 1,001 SMEs across all sectors (with exception of public and not-for-profit organisations), and from self-employed firms to businesses with up to 250 employees. The sectors that were included were agriculture, construction, manufacturing, wholesale/retail, hotels/restaurants, transport/communication, business activities, health/social work, and other services. We do not hold information on the names of individual firms, but the types of organisations captured within the survey include a broad range of businesses including construction firms, estate agents, financial providers, childcare facilities and nursing homes and travel agents.

Please refer to page 10 of the report for further information on methodology. This can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/access-finance/report.

The Economic Recovery Plan sets out a number of priorities to accelerate economic recovery and increase sustainable economic growth across Scotland. The plan contains measures that will support urban regeneration in Lanarkshire and elsewhere; including our joint working with European partners aimed at establishing a JESSICA fund in Scotland, and our support for town centres.

In 2009-10, the Scottish Government allocated £3.59 million from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund to four projects in Lanarkshire. In addition, it has also invested over £40 million to date in Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company, with further investment planned, and allocated a total of £13.35 million from the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund to North and South Lanarkshire Councils over the period 2008-11.

The 2020 Climate Delivery Group has been convened by Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of Scottish and Southern Energy, and aims to ensure that all sectors of Scotland''s economy and civic society contribute fully to achieving Scotland''s  world-leading target of 42% emissions reductions by 2020, as set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

The group is independent of government, but the Scottish Government is represented on the group by a senior civil servant. Ian Marchant, as convener of the 2020 group, is also an observer on the ministerial/COSLA-led Public Sector Climate Action Group in order to provide crucial co-ordination between the public and private sectors.

The 2020 group is currently meeting in six sub-groups on public and business engagement, transport, built environment, land use and forestry, finance, and challenges and opportunities. Each sub-group has an observer from the Scottish Government to ensure close alignment with the objectives of the Climate Change Delivery Plan.

Externally advertised vacancies, broken down by year, are shown in the table below.

Year	Permanent	Fixed Term	All Advertised
2003 (from 1 May)	24.6	2	26.2
2004	31.5	12	43.5
2005	41	2	43
2006	42.2	2.5	44.7
2007	33.8	5	38.8
2008	36.8	5	41.8
2009	24.3	6.6	30.9
2010 (to 12 March)	0	3	3
Total	234.2	38.1	272.3

Vacancies are shown as full-time equivalent.