Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government provides funding from the Health and Justice Directorates to support national child injury prevention and safety programmes, which promote the Scottish Government''s overarching objectives of keeping the people of Scotland healthier, safer, and stronger.

The Scottish Government has not carried out any research into this matter.

The changes to the notification procedure in no way diminish the opportunity for the public or communities to be involved in the planning process. This administrative change was therefore not subject to consultation.

There are no appeal procedures in planning legislation which allow for communities to challenge decisions that have been made by planning authorities. However, objections and representations from consultees and the public are an essential part of the decision-making process on planning applications. It is for planning authorities to give due consideration to such views when reaching a decision on planning applications. Forthcoming changes to the planning system will provide the public with greater opportunities to influence proposals through pre-applications consultation and decision making through pre-determination hearings on larger scale developments. Changes will also involve more information being available on applications and on decisions and how they were reached.

Individuals can challenge planning decisions made by local authorities through the courts.

Figures supplied by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency suggest burning one tonne of coal would produce a range of between 2.5 to 2.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Coal used in power stations in Scotland comes from various geographical locations. Due to the differing composition and moisture content of coal types, it is not possible to provide a more precise figure.

Carbon Capture and Storage Technology (CCS) has the potential to reduce emissions from power stations by up to 90 per cent. The Scottish Government supports CCS as a critical new technology that would make a significant contribution towards carbon emission reductions.

Planning applications are required by law to be decided in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Should issues related to climate change be raised in relation to a planning application, these will need to be taken in to account by the decision maker.

The Scottish Government has been notified of six opencast coal operations during that period all of which were cleared back to the respective planning authorities to determine.

In the first instance it is for the local authority to decide if it has a financial interest in an opencast coal application and whether an application requires to be notified under Circular 3/2009.

Delivering Planning Reform was published on 28 October 2008. It contained a range of commitments across the public and private sectors to accelerate the pace of planning reform. This included commitments from Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to more proportionate involvement in the planning process to focus on matters of genuine national interest. The intention to issue a revised Notification Direction and Circular was signalled in Delivering Planning Reform.

The British Geological Survey collect this data. The information is published at www.bgs.ac.uk/MineralsUK/minequar/coal/occ/home.html. Information for 2008 will be published shortly.