Chamber and committees

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Infrastructure/Grid-Connections/EMR-consultation-UK.

In addition, the Keeper has set the following registration and customer service performance targets, which Scottish Ministers endorse:

Where it is in the Keeper''s power and is legally appropriate to:

Complete the registration of Sasine writs within an upper limit of 40 days. 80% will be completed within 20 days.

Complete the registration of Dealings with Whole carried out as Automated Registration of Title to Land (ARTL) transactions within 24 hours.

Complete the registration of Dealings with Whole that are not carried out as ARTL transactions and standard First Registrations within an upper limit of 120 days. 80% will be completed within 60 days.

Record all applications for registration on the application record within one working day. (Entrance on the application record safeguards the rights of applicants until the registration application is determined.)

As part of the continuing strategy to deal with older, complex casework, where it is in the Keeper''s power and is legally appropriate, to:

Complete pre-1 April 2011 First Registration casework by 31 March 2012.

Complete pre-1 July 2012 First Registration casework by 31 March 2013.

Complete pre-1 October 2013 First Registration casework by 31 March 2014.

Complete a further 32,000 Transfer of Part applications by 31 March 2012.

Complete pre-1 April 2011 Transfer of Part applications by 31 March 2013.

Complete pre-1 October 2012 Transfer of Part applications by 31 March 2014.

Achieve a headline 95% customer satisfaction level for registration accuracy and customer care as measured through a series of customer surveys.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/.

The Scottish Government position remains that it does not support deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. The Scottish Government policy is that the long-term management of higher activity radioactive waste should be in near-surface facilities. Facilities should be located as near to the site where the waste is produced as possible. Developers will need to demonstrate how the facilities will be monitored and how waste packages, or waste, could be retrieved. All long-term waste management options will be subject to robust regulatory requirements.

Given the challenges we face on public expenditure and the UK Government''s decision to withdraw support, the Scottish Government is announcing a package of measures today which seek to streamline provision while continuing to provide strong leadership and capacity in relation to sustainability. These are designed to ensure our purpose of enabling Scotland to flourish through sustainable economic growth continues to be central going forward.

Firstly, we have decided to cease funding the SDC at the end of March 2011. However we are concerned to protect the functions where we feel the SDC adds the most value as follows.

We attach importance to promotion of behaviour change and building capacity for sustainability delivery. We therefore intend to continue funding the work of the Scottish Sustainable Development Forum which is currently hosted by SDC. The Scottish Government is also taking forward work in the area of behaviour change and building capacity, including through our forthcoming Climate Change Public Engagement Strategy. I am pleased to announce that we also intend to transfer work in relation to sharing good practice and building capacity among communities across Scotland delivering projects through the Climate Challenge Fund. The detailed transfer and staffing arrangements required will be the subject of discussion.

We do not intend to continue SDC''s sustainability advisory role. Instead, we will rely on sustainability advice from Scottish Government officials and statutory agencies, and through external procurement from time to time. We will continue to engage with those with sustainability expertise in Scotland, notably voluntary organisations. In particular, the high level group Sustainable Scotland brings together key leaders from the public, business and voluntary sectors to focus collectively on the key sustainability issues Scotland faces, including a degree of challenge to Government.

We do not intend to continue SDC Scotland''s sustainability scrutiny role. We believe arrangements can be streamlined going forward while continuing to be robust. There have been some significant developments since the SDC was established.

In particular:

The Scottish Parliament and its committees scrutinise Scottish Government policy across the board, including sustainability. We are pleased to note the work being undertaken at present in the Scottish Parliament to support the scrutiny of sustainability.

Audit Scotland has powers to audit and report in public on how the Scottish Government and public bodies are responding to the sustainability agenda. Its focus is on performance and leadership rather than policy making. It has recently updated its capacity and procedures in this area with help from the SDC, putting in place a best value sustainable development toolkit for local authorities, public bodies and its auditors. It is just starting a performance audit of how the Scottish Government manages climate change work.

The UK Committee on Climate Change now has an important role in reviewing our progress towards achieving statutory emissions reduction targets.

Environmental voluntary organisations work in a variety of ways to hold the Scottish Government to account for particular aspects of sustainability policy, including through regular meetings with ministers.

Clearer Scottish Government reporting of our actions is proposed in response to the new climate change and sustainability duties on government and public bodies.

Several of the above have come into place or been strengthened since SDC''s annual assessments began in 2007. The UK Committee on Climate Change has been established; Audit Scotland has updated its capacity; and the public sector duties on climate change and sustainability have been put in place. Environmental non-governmental organisations have increased their own focus on sustainability and climate change policy.

Discontinuing SDC scrutiny is also in line with our approach, following the Crerar Review, of avoiding duplication of scrutiny functions and developing increasingly robust and transparent evaluation of performance.

We attach high priority to a sustainable future for Scotland. As part of the spending plans we announced on 17 November 2010, we have made substantial resources of
£15.3 million available to support the Sustainable Action Fund for 2011-12. We also announced our commitment to community-led action on climate change and sustainable development by increasing the Climate Challenge Fund component of those funds to £10.3 million. This demonstrates the Scottish Government''s determination to ensuring sustainability remains at the heart of our purpose.

Guidance on the rules for the importation of bovine embryos is on the Defra website. This guidance relates to EU legislation which applies to the whole of the UK. There are no particular Scottish dimensions.

Food products such as meat, milk and eggs from cloned animals are subject to a safety evaluation and approval by all EU Member States as a novel food before they can be legally marketed.

In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the responsible food assessment body for the EU Novel Foods Regulation (EC) 258/97. In 2007, it advised that food produced from cloned animals and their offspring would require a premarket safety evaluation under the terms of this Regulation. This advice is published on the agency''s website.

This will deliver one million euros of much needed support for broadband projects in rural areas and help towards economic recovery.

The new investment that will be delivered through the LEADER network will support small-scale, community driven projects in rural areas and is aimed at improving coverage and bringing faster broadband to rural communities.

This means that communities will have the opportunity to define their own broadband needs and develop a project which meets these needs. The LEADER Local Action Groups, with technical assistance, will then assess the merits of the applications for that area and bid for funding to the Challenge Fund.

Local Action Groups will be invited to bid to the Challenge Fund by 24 September 2010. The deadline set for submission of applications to Local Action.

Groups will be for them to determine locally, but we are keen to move this forward.

This process will streamline applications and allow bids to be made to the Challenge Fund in late September so that the funding can be delivered at a time of economic need.

I recognise that there are different broadband support needs and solutions across Scotland and believe that the Local Action Group network across Scotland is best placed to assess these local needs.

This will deliver support from the SRDP in a way that is flexible but also focused and I am delighted to be able to announce a way forward for Rural Communities and broadband.

For Rural Priorities, the amount of tree planting approved under woodland creation options is 7,500 hectares in 2010, and 1,027 hectares in 2011. The figure for 2011 is expected to rise significantly, through the two remaining assessment rounds this year, and the ongoing approvals process for forestry cases.

Under Land Managers'' Options'' small scale woodland creation option, applications have been submitted for 89.15 hectares of tree planting, to take place between May 2010 and May 2011.