Chamber and committees

The current investmentprogramme to 2012 will see the delivery of almost £21 million investment in theA75, A76 and A7. The Strategic Transport Projects Review will also examine thelonger term needs of Scotland’s nationally strategic transport network to developthe investment plan for 2012 to 2022.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted if required.

One of our centralpriorities is to support Scotland’s economic growth. We have already made clear thatone of the ways in which we will do so is by removing or reducing the burden ofbusiness rates for small businesses, many of which are located in traditionaltown centres across Scotland. We will announce further measures in due course.

The lender may terminate the tenancyagreement. However, under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988, for tenants covered byan assured or short assured tenancy, a sheriff may not consider proceedings forpossession unless notice has been served on the tenant in accordance with section19 of the act or the sheriff considers it reasonable to dispense with this requirement.

The court is required under the 1988act to grant possession where a lender is entitled to sell the property becausethe landlord has not abided by the conditions of the mortgage. This requirementonly applies where the landlord gave the tenant notice in writing before the beginningof the tenancy that possession might be recovered on this ground, although thesheriff may still judge it reasonable to dispense with the requirement for notice.

Further information about proceduresfor all private rented sector tenancies is available at:

http://www.betterrentingscotland.com.

The Executive recognises technicalissues such as cable quality can affect the download speeds of existing broadbandconnections and indeed broadband availability itself.

We have helped to deliver broadbandto every community and to over 99% of Scottish households. Furthermore, at the endof last year, I announced £5 million of funding to further extend broadband coveragewhere it is currently unavailable. Detailed plans are being developed, with deploymentof solutions anticipated over 2007-08.

I can confirm that plotnumber 39 in the Glasgow-Carlisle Special Road (M74) (Water of Milk to Ecclefechan)Compulsory Purchase Order 1992 remains in the ownership of the ScottishMinisters.

The Chief Executive ofTransport Scotland, Dr Malcolm Reed, is happy to handle anycorrespondence or queries from MSPs. His contact details are:

8^th Floor,

Buchanan House

58 Port Dundas Road

Glasgow

G4 0HF.

Telephone: 0141-272 7112.

E-mail: Chief [email protected] information oncontacting Transport Scotland can be found on its website: www.transportscotland.gov.uk.

I can announce that Scottishministers have granted consent to this proposal in terms of section 36 of the ElectricityAct 1989. Additionally this consent carries deemed planning permission in termsof the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

This announcement follows a lengthyconsultation process which involved a wide range of stakeholders and members of the public. Following consultation with Dumfriesand Galloway Council and other bodies, conditions were attached to this consentto safeguard local and environmental interests.

The proposed development raiseda number of issues in respect of its likely impact on the operation of air trafficcontrol radars at Prestwick Airport; the NATS En Route installation at Lowther Hill, andthe Ministry of Defence low flying Tactical Training Area. I am pleased to adviseyou that following detailed negotiation between the parties involved, solutionshave been agreed to the complete satisfaction of the aviation authorities, whichensure that the wind farm development canproceed without impairing the safe operation of these facilities.

It is estimated the wind farmwill save over 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ in its lifetime, providing electricityfor up to 50,000 homes. The Executive has already met its target of 18% renewablegeneration by 2010. We have tremendous potential for renewables in Scotland andare on track to meet our target of 40% by 2020. This is a central plank of the ScottishClimate Change Programme.

This proposal delivers clearenvironmental benefits, but it is also an important step towards securing Scotland’s position as a keyplayer in the development of a renewable energy sector in Europe.

Full details of the supportavailable to Scottish-domiciled students at higher education-level undertakingdance and drama training in England can be found on the Student Awards Agency Scotlandwebsite www.saas.gov.uk.

Other than accessing theDance and Drama Awards (DADA) scheme, Scottish students studying a non-advanceddance or drama course at a private provider outside Scotland, can apply forfunding to help with living costs support through their local education department.

The implementation of majorroadworks, such as those undertaken on the A7 at Langholm, is managed and monitoredby the trunk road operating company on behalf of Transport Scotland. Carefulplanning of roadworks is important in reducing the impact on local communities.Trunk road operating companies are required to carry out consultation with thelocal community and local businesses affected by roadworks. They also discussarrangements with the police and local authorities and, through that process,decide on the best time and method of undertaking the works.

Theclosures and works in Langholm were developed through very close liaison withthe local community council and local traders. In addition the Road HaulageAssociation, bus operators and other statutory consultees were consulted. Duringthe closure Amey had full-time staff monitoring the work and placed sentries ateither side of the diversions to advise road users of the best alternativeroutes to take and to distribute leaflets. The works were supervised at alltimes by an experienced Amey road engineer with good local knowledge.

Asa result of ongoing consultation with the local community during the works,Amey agreed that additional works at Ashley Bank and Thomas Telford junctionwould be carried out during the closure to avoid a future closure and minimiseany further disruption to the local community.

TransportScotland and Amey met with the local community council and local traders inLangholm on 2 March 2007 to review the works and reflect if any alternativestrategies for future works affecting Langholm would be appropriate.

Transport Scotland hasoperational responsibility for this area and can be contacted for furtherinformation if required.

I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-31878 on 2 March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.