Chamber and committees

The £1 million announced in October last year was to help promote long term resilience in the red meat sector. Of this, £330,000 has been allocated to Quality Meat Scotland to fund a strategic review of the pig sector and a project aimed at adding value to the carcases of cattle, sheep and pigs.

The £1 million awarded to the industry in October 2007 as part of the foot-and-mouth disease package was to help promote the long-term resilience of the red meat sector. £330,000 has already been allocated to Quality Meat Scotland. We will work with the industry to determine how best to use the remainder of the funding and will consider any proposals that come forward.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with management from Pringle of Scotland in Hawick on Wednesday 2 July 2008, two days after the company announced its plans, to discuss the implications of the announcement and see what assistance the Scottish Government could give in order to retain the manufacturing operation in Hawick.

Officials will remain in close contact during the consultation period.

We are concerned about the impact of fuel costs on both rural communities and businesses such as the road haulage industry, where fuel represents a significant cost burden. We also recognise that there is greater reliance on private car transport in rural than in urban Scotland. Adapting to higher fuel prices will therefore present particular challenges in rural areas, in respect of both public and private transport.

Scottish Enterprise and the relevant local authorities contribute to the promotion of economic development in the south of Scotland. The area is also well placed to draw on the £1.6 billion which we have made available under the Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-13.

HM Treasury''s response to a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth confirmed that fuel duty is a UK-wide central government tax and that the UK Government has no plan to introduce regionally differentiated rates of duty. The Scottish Government is concerned about the impact of fuel duty rises on rural communities and businesses - such as the road haulage industry - where fuel costs represent a significant cost burden, and on the wider economy. It continues to press for introduction of a fuel duty regulator.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the impact that high fuel prices are having upon rural communities. This issue was discussed with UK Government Ministers at Ofgem''s fuel poverty summit on 23 April 2008.

The central heating and warm deal programmes which we inherited from the previous administration set out to help with domestic heating costs by reducing the amount of fuel needed to keep the home warm. Our internal review of these programmes is nearing completion and we will share its outcomes with the Parliament shortly.

Higher fuel prices represent a significant cost burden upon rural communities and businesses; such as agriculture, the road haulage industry and the wider economy. The Scottish Government continues to press for introduction of a fuel duty regulator which would see greater protection for motorists and the road haulage industry.

We are also aware that the high price of fuel is currently causing great concern to the fishing industry and a five-point plan of action to help counter the effects of rising fuel costs was agreed between the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment and industry representatives on Monday. As part of this plan, the Scottish Government will establish a task force to develop steps to help the industry, meet with the UK Government to discuss impact of fuel prices, continue to press the EU for a level playing field on subsidies, and work with industry to develop a fuel efficiency scheme. We have already committed £300,000 to extending payment of the warranty for vessel monitoring systems, and further immediate help will be provided with £400,000 for the annual maintenance of life raft costs on every vessel in Scotland.

Last year, a record 14,377 central heating systems were delivered to the private housing sector and 5,259 homes benefited from the Warm Deal.

We are reviewing the fuel poverty programmes inherited from the previous administration to ensure that they are tackling fuel poverty in all parts of Scotland, including rural communities. This review is nearing completion and we will share its outcomes with Parliament shortly.

We have taken steps to ensure that these programmes are operating fairly across Scotland. Regular discussions take place with the managing agent to ensure, among other things, equitable delivery across Scotland. As a result of these discussions, the managing agent (Scottish Gas) put in place an Islands Plan which achieved the commitment which they made at the Local Government and Communities Committee. We will continue a regular dialogue with Scottish Gas to ensure that their commitment to equitable delivery in the Islands and other rural communities is maintained.

Further action on fuel poverty will be considered in the light of the review including how to take forward the results of our pilot to explore the potential of renewables technologies in tackling fuel poverty which are expected in the summer. The pilot focuses upon low income families in homes off the mains gas network and compares renewables heating systems such as heat pumps against oil and electric systems. Most of these homes are in rural areas.

We are also keen to ensure that Scotland gets its share of funding available under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and have appointed a CERT Strategy Manager to develop a strategy for Scotland, which includes appropriate measures for our rural housing stock.

There are no current plans to provide help with the cost of glasses to people who do not qualify under the NHS voucher scheme.

There are no current plans to amend the NHS voucher scheme to extend the categories of people entitled to a voucher.

We do, indeed, recognise and appreciate the significant contribution that the wood panel industry makes to Scottish employment and to the economy. We fully expect the sector to continue to play a leading role in this respect and in adding value to Scotland''s forest resource.