Chamber and committees

The work programme commenced by the Scottish Building Standards Agency will continue to be taken forward by Scottish building standards, a part of the directorate for the built environment. Working party meetings with the industry have already begun to consider recommendations relating to both the compliance issues and the proposed changes to the energy standards of the building regulations. Research is also being undertaken to consider the financial implications of the recommendations.

The one-stop-shop advice network, known as the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Network, went live on 1 April 2008.

The one-stop-shop advice network will provide free and impartial advice and practical support to householders on all aspects of sustainable energy including energy efficiency, renewables and transport. This will be achieved with a range of activities including telephone advice, home visits and marketing campaigns targeted at householders.

The network will help householders find the right solution for their individual needs, signpost them to any financial assistance that may be available and help them find suitably qualified trades people.

The network will also act as a gateway for other energy services and will make referrals to other programmes such as Scottish Government fuel poverty schemes and wider local authority carbon saving initiatives.

The report on the independent review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland will be published on the Scottish Government website by the end of April 2008.

The consultation on the draft Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy closed on 12 June 2007 and individual responses have been published on the Scottish Government website. We have been analysing the response and will publish a summary report in spring 2008. This will give the government''s response to the consultation and outline our next steps.

Managed by Salix on behalf of the Scottish Government, the energy efficiency fund for Scotland''s universities and colleges has been operational since January 2008. The original £4 million investment from government will leverage additional funding now bringing the total funding for energy saving projects to £6.7 million.

The number of farmers and crofters who had Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) land management agreements requiring a reduction in livestock numbers over the single farm payment (SFP) reference period of 2000-02 is shown in the first column of the following table. The second and third columns show the number of farmers and crofters who had SNH land management agreements over the same period which restricted proposed increases in livestock numbers, and those where there was a mixture of both. Some of these management agreements may have expired since the SFP reference period. The figures are broken down by SNH Area rather than SGRPID Area Office Area as this is how they are recorded.

Number of SNH Management Agreements with Farmers and Crofters that
Reduced/Restricted Increases in Livestock Numbers during the Single Farm Payment Reference Period of 2000-02¹

SNH Area	Reduction in Livestock Numbers	Restriction of Proposed Increase  in Livestock Numbers	Cases Where a Mixture of Both	Total
Argyll and Stirling	2	18	0	20
Dumfries and Galloway	1	4	0	5
East Highland	1	0	0	1
Forth and Borders	0	6	0	6
Grampian	0	9	0	9
North Highland	0	13	0	13
Northern Isles	4	69	3	76
Strathclyde and Ayrshire	4	19	0	23
Tayside and Clacks	1	5	0	6
West Highland	2	1	0	3
Western Isles	0	4	1	5
Total	15	148	4	167

Note: 1. These figures are based on best available information held centrally by SNH.

The creative industries are identified as a key sector of the economy in the Government Economic Strategy, and the Scottish Government wishes to strengthen Scotland''s reputation as a source of contemporary crafts of the highest quality. Advice and support to enable small craft businesses to network, to represent Scotland at key events abroad and to receive advice and training in business development, is available through the activities of the Scottish Arts Council, the Cultural Enterprise Office, the Business Gateway and others. Work is in hand in the context of the establishment of Creative Scotland to improve further the support provided to the creative industries.

The Scottish Government has significant legal advice at its disposal. The Scottish Government does not normally publish the legal advice which it receives.

The Scottish Government intends commissioning some research shortly to review and analyse data and evidence relating to migration which exists at both a national and local level to see what it can tell us about migration and its impact, and to identify information gaps which need to be addressed. This will include looking at local research and surveys, such as that carried out by the Fife multi-agency working group.