Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21755 on 18 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The following table shows the total capital debt and per capita debt (for all services) owed by each local authority as at 31 March 2005.

	Total Debt (£ Million)	Total Debt Per Head (£)
Aberdeen City	389.8	1,916
Aberdeenshire	365.9	1,571
Angus	118.7	1,094
Argyll and Bute	223.3	2,449
Clackmannanshire	81.9	1,698
Dumfries and Galloway	188.1	1,272
Dundee City	303.7	2,141
East Ayrshire	188.9	1,578
East Dunbartonshire	118.4	1,111
East Lothian	112.8	1,232
East Renfrewshire	104.4	1,165
Edinburgh, City of	816.1	1,799
Eilean Siar	181.3	6,905
Falkirk	194.0	1,316
Fife	487.5	1,375
Glasgow City	1,281.1	2,218
Highland	551.5	2,609
Inverclyde	224.2	2,720
Midlothian	84.4	1,061
Moray	160.1	1,825
North Ayrshire	192.4	1,415
North Lanarkshire	387.3	1,200
Orkney Islands	33.8	1,735
Perth and Kinross	159.3	1,158
Renfrewshire	274.7	1,610
Scottish Borders	161.0	1,474
Shetland Islands	51.7	2,358
South Ayrshire	172.2	1,540
South Lanarkshire	399.4	1,308
Stirling	150.5	1,743
West Dunbartonshire	188.9	2,054
West Lothian	188.2	1,156
Total all-Scotland	8,535.8	1,681

Notes:

(i) Individual local authority figures may not sum to the all-Scotland total, due to rounding.

(ii) The figures given exclude the police and fire boards/authorities, Forth Estuary Transport Authority, Tay Bridge and Strathclyde Passenger Transport.

Estimates reported by local authorities in the voluntary Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS) are set out in the tables.

Area of Vacant and Derelict Land Brought Back Into Use Since the Previous Survey (Hectares), Scotland, 2002-04^1-5

Area	2002	2003	2004
Reclaimed derelict	293	308	181
- of which formerly contaminated	25	59	37
Reclaimed vacant	391	271	286
Total	684	579	466

 

Area of Vacant and Derelict Land (Hectares), Scotland, 2002-04^1-5

Area	2002	2003	2004
Derelict	7,767	7,741	7,638
- of which tested and found to be contaminated	2,541	2,489	2,352
Vacant	3,282	3,107	3,023
Total	11,049	10,847	10,661

Notes:

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. Sites covering less than 0.1 hectares are excluded.

3. The SVDLS includes only that vacant land which is either located within an urban settlement (with a population of 2,000 or more) or which is located within 1km of such settlements, and which would commonly be considered as having the characteristics of urban vacant land.

4. The SVDLS is not a statutory survey. For those councils that did not provide data for a particular year, data from the previous SVDLS has been used.

5. The SVDLS classifies sites as either being vacant or derelict. Any site that has been tested and found to be contaminated is automatically classified as derelict. The term “contamination” used in the survey is anecdotal and refers simply to the presence of a number of potential contaminants. This differs from the statutory definition in the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Information from the 2005 survey will be published on the 31 January 2006. Results of the 2004 survey can be viewed on the Scottish Executive website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00381-00.asp.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21755 on 18 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21755 on 18 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21755 on 18 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Executive does not have jurisdiction to authorise the use of electronic listening equipment.

The Chief Surveillance Commissioner publishes details in his annual report of the number of authorisations given under the Police Act 1997 for property interference, and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for directed and intrusive surveillance.

The most recent report – (Bib. number 37809), document number SE/2005/203 – was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 3 November 2005.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21755 on 18 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Information relating to the use of informants by Scottish police forces would, if held by the Scottish Executive, be exempt by virtue of sections 31 (National Security) and 35 (Law Enforcement) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. We believe it would be contrary to the public interest, to confirm whether or not any such information exists or is held by the Scottish Executive. The terms of this refusal are provided for by section 18 (1) of the 2002 act.

The use by the police, including Special Branches, of covert human intelligence sources is governed in Scotland by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 (RIP(S)A) and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

Section 7(3) of RIP(S)A requires that any officer within a Scottish police force who grants an authorisation for the conduct or use of a covert human intelligence source must be satisfied that the authorisation is necessary for:

the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder;

in the interests of public safety, or

for the purpose of protecting public health.

Section 28(3) of RIPA provides the following additional grounds:

in the interests of national security, or

in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom.

The collection and interpretation of intelligence by police Special Branches for these purposes plays an important part in ensuring the safety of communities across the United Kingdom and the Scottish Executive supports this work.

Under section 23 of RIPSA and section 65 of RIPA, any person who is aggrieved by any conduct to which the acts apply may complain to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal if they believe that the conduct took place in relation to them or their property in challengeable circumstances.