Chamber and committees

The eligibility criteriafor the Blue Badge scheme was widened in April 2007 to include disabled childrenunder two years with specific medical conditions which require bulky medical equipment.Department for Transport are currently carrying out a three month review of thescheme which will assist in a comprehensive Blue Badge Reform Strategy by April2008 and the government will have input into both the review and reform strategy.

Civil legal aidis not available for employment tribunals, but other forms of support areavailable under the broader scheme of legal aid and assistance.

Legal assistancein employment matters, by way of oral or written advice or negotiations, can begiven under advice and assistance, which is granted by a solicitor not the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). Applications for sanction to increaseexpenditure under advice and assistance are considered by SLAB. Advice and assistancein employment matters will include cases in which there is a negotiatedsettlement without the need to go to an employment tribunal.

If there isthought to be a need for representation at an employment tribunal, anapplication for assistance by way of representation (ABWOR) may be made toSLAB. A case may begin as a grant of advice and assistance and move to ABWOR ifproceedings are raised.

Civil legal aidmay be may available for proceedings in an employment appeal tribunal.

Table 1 sets outintimations received by SLAB, in respect of Advice and Assistance foremployment matters, and grants and refusals of solicitors’ applications by SLABfor sanction for further expenditure under Advice and Assistance.

Table 1

EmploymentMatters  -  Advice and Assistance

Year	2004-2005	2002-2006	2006-2007 1
Intimations from Solicitors	2,980	2,592	2,098
Applications for sanction to increase2	3,340	2,804	2,483
Grants for sanction to increase2,3	2,375	1,979	1,880

Notes:

1.The figures for 2006-2007 are provisional.

2.The figures include increase applications and grants for ABWOR.  An applicationfor an increase may be a request to move to assistance by way of representationand the data collection does not record this separately.

3.The figures include applications received in one year but granted in thefollowing year.

 

Table 2 sets outapplications and grants for Assistance by Way of Representation in relation toEmployment Tribunals.

Table 2

EmploymentTribunals -  Assistance By Way of Representation¹

Year	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006
Applications	720	728	781
Grants1	488	530	543

Notes:

1.The 2006-2007 figures are not available.

2.The figures include applications received in one year but granted in the nextyear.

 

Table 3 sets outapplications and grants of civil legal aid for proceedings in Employment AppealTribunals.

Table 3

EmploymentAppeal Tribunal - Civil Legal Aid

Year	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-20071
Applications	4	9	10
Grants	2	6	6

Note: 1. The figures for2006-2007 are provisional.

The Scottish Executive isworking closely with key stakeholders to implement Moving into the Future – anAction Plan for Buses to benefit passengers and further improve the experienceof using bus services. As part of this implementation the Scottish Executive isreviewing government funding to ensure it is directed at improving the qualityand reliability of services.

However, the provision oflocal bus services is a matter for bus operators and local transportauthorities working together to meet the needs of local communities and todetermine the vehicle types used to provide these services.

I have asked Dr. PaulStollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), toanswer. His response is as follows:

Scottish Planning Policy(SPP) 6, Renewable Energy, sets a specific and measurable target for improvingthe use of renewable energy in new developments. It introduced the requirementthat all future planning applications proposing development with a totalcumulative floorspace of 500 square metres or more should incorporate on-sitezero and low carbon equipment contributing at least an extra 15% reduction inCO2 emissions, beyond the 2007 building regulations carbon dioxide emissionsstandard.

Local authorities (in commonwith all building owners) who build new heated and cooled buildings and haveexisting ones converted, altered or extended require to comply with the energystandards in current building regulations. The revised standards introduced on 1 May 2007 have thecapability to deliver the best carbon dioxide savings in the UK. Theemissions from new buildings can be assessed from the energy performancecertificates that are now required with the introduction of the new standards.

It is for the ScottishEnvironment Protection Agency (SEPA) to apply the definition of waste in Scotsand Community law and its decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis.As a general rule however,SEPA’s current guidance, which can be found at www.sepa.org.uk/pdf/guidance/waste/is_it_waste_v2.pdf,states that “forestry brash, lop and top is unlikely to be waste if it is beingproduced for a specific use and there is certainty that it will be used forthat purpose.” If it is certain that the materials you describe will be used inenergy production, my understanding is that SEPA will not treat them as waste.

The Executive hascommissioned an independent review of Energy Efficiency Support in Scotland which is due to report in October 2007. This reviewwill provide evidence on the effectiveness of the current process and frameworkof energy efficiency advice in Scotland and its impact in terms of costeffectiveness and carbon savings. It will look for any gaps, overlaps,duplication or unhelpful competition and any barriers to effectiveness. It willalso look at different options for improving the delivery of energy efficiencysupport in Scotland including the option of a single EnergyEfficiency Agency for Scotland. I will consider the results of thisreview as soon as it is available.

A report by the Forumfor Renewable Energy Development in Scotland in 2006 concluded that by 2020,given appropriate support, 40% of renewable energy installations could havehydrogen production and storage facilities and 20% of homes be fitted with fuelcell based combined heat and power systems.

In order topromote this technology seven projects have been awarded support totalling £1.5million under the Executive’s Renewable Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Support Scheme.

The Business Start-up Grantscheme for 18-30 age group followed an extensive period of analysis whichindicated that funding restraints can be a particular problem for young people.

The start-up grant is onlyone form of assistance which can be accessed by individuals looking to set upin business. Business Gateway staff can advise on a range of financial supportthat may be available, for example in the form of equity or loans. Such supportis not automatic and will depend upon the nature of the business and theviability of the business proposal and whether that meets the criteria of the relevantfinancial programme.

I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-326 on 8 June 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

No. The Charter forGrandchildren was designed as a non-legislative document to complement theFamily Law (Scotland) Act 2006.