Chamber and committees

Bus Service Operators Grant payments in these years is as shown:

2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
£63,294,403	£64,121,631	£62,500,000	£60,018,000

As of April 2010, the Bus Service Operators Grant became budget limited. The annual expenditure for 2010-11 and 2011-12 would therefore have remained the same, if the new formula had been applied.

Prior to April 2010, the payment rate varied with fuel duty and the budget was demand-led. It is not therefore possible to apply the new allocation formula for the years 2008-09 and 2009-10.

The Scottish Government has neither approved nor rejected any pressured area status applications since the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force. The act gave local authorities the power to make, amend or revoke pressured areas themselves, without intervention from Scottish Ministers.

The Housing (Scotland) Act provided that, from 1 March 2011, houses built or acquired after 25 June 2008 are not subject to the right to buy, with some limited exceptions, so, but for cases where these limited exceptions apply, no houses will become eligible for purchase in these years. We estimate that 93,000 local authority tenants and 121,000 housing association tenants have not yet reached the qualifying period for modernised right to buy.

No. Groundwater feeds surface waters. At concentrations above 50 milligrams per litre, the threshold set in the EU Nitrates Directive, nitrate can result in undesirable ecological changes in rivers, lochs and coastal waters.

We estimate that 296,000 local authority tenancies and 237,000 housing association tenancies have the right to buy.

The Nmax figures in the Scottish Nitrates Action Programme are based on the Scottish Agricultural College's recommendations for economically optimal applications of nitrogen fertiliser. The report cited has highlighted the variability of soil mineral nitrogen test results, but provides no explanation for the variability between sites. The statement relating to the need to exceed Nmax does not take account of the yield adjustment factor, which allows for increased rates of nitrogen where there is a history of higher than standard yields. The report does not demonstrate any significant indication for the need to increase Nmax for profitable crop production.

In deciding whether woodland creation proposals are likely to have a significant effect on the environment of a site, Forestry Commission Scotland seek the views of other relevant organisations to identify potential issues and mitigations early in the application process.

For biodiversity, consideration is given to the sensitivity of the site, for example, whether proposals are within a sensitive site such as a Site of Special Scientific Interest or Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protection Area (SPA), to the presence of any priority habitats or species as identified within the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) and to the potential impacts on soil and water.

For historic environment, consideration is given to the presence of historic features such as Scheduled Ancient Monuments; other features of historic significance such as veteran trees and also the impact of proposals on the wider historic landscape aspects.

The number of woodland creation proposals which were approved without Environmental Impact Assessment consent, by area size categories, since 2007 is set out in the following table.

RPAC Region	Under 2 hectares	2-10 hectares	10-100 hectares	Over 100 hectares	Total
Argyll	12	18	23	6	59
Ayrshire	7	13	9	1	30
Borders	73	94	36	9	212
Clyde Valley	8	19	5	1	33
Dumfries and Galloway	21	74	46	7	148
Forth	23	48	14	4	89
Grampian	184	200	29	3	416
Highland	56	116	89	27	288
Northern Isles	5	3	0	0	8
Outer Hebrides	1	1	2	0	4
Tayside	20	71	20	6	117
Total	410	657	273	64	1,404

Note: *Information by Conservancy is not available as woodland creation approval figures are compiled by Regional Proposal Assessment Committee (RPAC) Region.

<>The current programme of land acquisition and new planting on the national forest estate was included in The National Forest Estate Strategic Plan 2009-2013, which had a Strategic Environmental Assessment. A copy of The National Forest Estate Strategic Plan 2009-2013 is available on the Forestry Commission website at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6pelhd.

Prior to the purchase of an individual site a detailed survey is undertaken and a report is produced covering the potential impact of any proposed new planting on environmental considerations. This report informs the decision making process on whether or not to purchase a site.

Once a site has been purchased, an Environmental Impact Assessment screening exercise is undertaken. Further information on this can be found on the Forestry Commission website at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-5zgmp7.

A Forest Design Plan or amendment for new planting is submitted to the relevant Forestry Commission Scotland Conservancy for approval. The approval process normally involves putting the Forest Design Plan or amendment on the public register.