Chamber and committees

As part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), The Scottish Government is investing £25 million at Haymarket Station to accommodate the anticipated growth in patronage and deliver further significant benefits, transforming passenger access and facilities at Haymarket Station.

As is the case with the existing station pedestrians accessing the station from Dalry Road will enter the station from Haymarket Terrace. All passengers, particularly those with impaired mobility will benefit from significantly improved access arrangements and more entrance points with lift and step free access to all platforms.

Cyclists accessing or alighting from the new station facility will also benefit from improved access arrangements and Network Rail are working to improve cycle storage provisions through innovative design.

Discharging patients during the night is not normal practice in Scotland. However, there may be instances when discharges take place during the night such as mothers who give birth during the night and want to go home or when patients discharge themselves against clinical advice.

The Scottish Government’s Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) brings together three shared equity schemes to help first time buyers access home ownership. The schemes are the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme, formerly known as Homestake (OMSE), the New Supply Shared Equity Scheme (NSSE), and the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers Scheme (NSSE with Developers).

The following table shows the number of properties purchased from 2006 onwards. While the number of properties subsequently sold in each year since 2006 is not readily available, the following information is provided on the total number of shared equity sales for each year.

Note:

*This information is recorded on the Sales Log monitoring database from returns completed by registered social landlords.

Figures for 2011-12 will be available at the end of May 2012.

As part of the 2011 Spending Review the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed to a new mechanism for funding major new flood protection schemes for the period 2012-15. The following table identifies the eligible bids considered by a joint Government – COSLA assessment panel. At this stage project costs are indicative, actual costs will be dependent on the outcome of work currently underway to secure tenders for these schemes. Grant will be provided for up to 80% of the actual project costs.

 In addition applications were made by Edinburgh and Renfrewshire Councils for additional support for flood prevention schemes which are already reflected in the distribution of General Capital Grant for 2008-14. Fife, North Ayrshire and Angus provided indications of projects which are likely to be brought forward under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. These were outside the scope agreed by COSLA and Ministers and were therefore not considered by the panel.

Membership of the virtual network of stakeholders, who support the work of the Scottish Private Rented Sector Strategy Group, comprises of the following organisations:

Aberdeen University Students Association

Angus Council

Association of Student Residential Accommodation

Association for the Conservation of Energy

Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research

Cardiff School of City and Regional Planning

Citizens Advice Scotland

Citylets

Consumer Focus Scotland

Crisis

Dunedin Canmore

Greenlaw Park Ltd

Hillcrest Housing Association

Inverclyde Council

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Link Group

Midlothian Council

National Association of Estate Agents

National Federation of Property Professionals

National Union of Students

Newhaven Research

North Lanarkshire Council

Orchard and Shipman

Perth and Kinross Council

Qualye Munro

Renfrewshire Council

Rettie & Co

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

Ryden Lettings

Scottish Council for Single Homelessness

Sustainable Communities Scotland

Tenant Information Service

Tenant Participation Advisory Service

University of St Andrews Student Association

West Dunbartonshire Council.

One individual tenant is also represented on the virtual network of stakeholders. As we have not sought their consent to the public release of their personal information, this person is not detailed above.

Membership of the Scottish Private Rented Sector Strategy Group comprises of:

Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers and COSLA (represented by Glasgow City Council)

Chartered Institute of Housing

City of Edinburgh Council

Scottish Association of Landlords

Scottish Land & Estates

Shelter Scotland.

The Scottish Private Rented Sector Strategy Group is independently chaired by Professor Douglas Robertson (School of Applied Social Science, Stirling University).

The Scottish Government has provided funding by means of capital grant to Regional Transport Partnerships, and since 2008, to local authorities to enable them to develop and enhance transport, including the provision of park and ride sites, in their areas. It is the responsibility of each authority to determine how they allocate their funding towards competing priorities locally.

Specifically, in early 2009 we announced a financial package to bring forward capital funding from 2010-11 to 2009-10, to support investment and boost the Scottish economy. Of this £294 million package, some £5 million of capital grant funding to Strathclyde Partnership for Transport was brought forward to support a programme of developing and delivering 10 park and ride sites across west central Scotland.

In the financial year 2009-10, the Scottish Ministers provided Grant-in-aid funding of £25,000 to the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) as a contribution to the costs of a technical feasibility study and initial scheme design of a Park & Ride facility south of the River Tay.

In addition, a grant of up to £4.5 million was made to Fife Council in April 2011 as contribution towards the cost of providing a 1000 space park and choose facility with dedicated hub building at Halbeath.

The Scottish Government is technology-neutral in supporting the transition to low carbon vehicles, recognising that a range of technology options are likely to be required in order to meet ambitious emissions reduction targets.

We made £4.3 million of funding available in 2010-11 to enable Scotland's public services to purchase 145 low carbon vehicles, including cars, vans and street sweepers, and install 74 charging points across the country. This scheme was open to all alternative fuel technologies, including hydrogen.

Additionally, we made £4.4 million available under the Scottish Green Bus Fund in 2010-11. This will fund 48 new hybrid vehicles for introduction by August 2012. The Fund was open to hydrogen powered vehicles, although none were procured due to the high relative cost compared to hybrid alternatives. A second round of the scheme was announced on 17 January 2012, with a budget of £2 million. This will also be open to hydrogen powered vehicles.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with stakeholders in the low carbon transport, renewables and energy sectors to ensure that new transport technologies not only deliver emissions reduction for transport but support the Scottish Government’s wider agenda of efficient energy storage and use.

The Scottish Government accepted Parliament’s decision on 27 June 2007 to support the capital cost of the Edinburgh Trams project, subject to a maximum contribution of £500 million.

Details of funding are as follows:

The funding for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05 were authorised under a previous grant arrangement.