Chamber and committees

No separate figures are kept for the cost of processing applications for consent for wind farms, but since the beginning of financial year 2002-03 the cost to the Energy and Telecommunications Division of dealing with all Electricity Act applications for consent has been £834,000. This includes an estimated spend of £260,888 in the current financial year.

These sums do not include costs to other parts of the Executive whose advice is required in the decision making process.

Fees for planning applications were introduced in 1981, so that potential beneficiaries of a planning permission could contribute to the processing costs incurred by local authorities. It is government policy to achieve full recovery of authorities’ costs in providing this service. The fees regime is kept as simple as possible, being based on broad categories of types of development.

It would appear that the fee required for the processing of a planning application for a wind turbine development might fall within the category “erection, alteration or replacement of plant or machinery”. This category presently incurs a fee of £260 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area, subject to a maximum of £13,000. The interpretation of the appropriate category and level of fee is, however, a matter for the relevant planning authority.

The Schools (Safety and Supervision of Pupils) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 place a duty upon every education authority to take reasonable care for the safety of pupils when under their charge, and without prejudice to such supervision as is required to comply with that duty in any circumstance also require authorities to ensure adult supervision in a playground at break times, at all of their special schools and all primary schools with a roll of 50 or more pupils.

The Executive has not issued additional guidance. It is for authorities to decide how to ensure that this duty is fulfilled.

Under the Charities and TrusteeInvestment (Scotland) Act, any body may apply for charitable status. The Officeof the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) will decide whether or not they meet thecriteria. OSCR is under a duty to produce guidance on how it will determine if abody meets the charity test. To meet the criteria, a body must have at least onecharitable purpose and provide public benefit. There are 16 charitable purposeslisted in the act and there are two which seem relevant to Rural Community TransportInitiatives. These are the advancement of citizenship or community development,which includes rural or urban regeneration and the relief of those in need by reasonof age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage. In addition,OSCR may consider that a body meets the charity test if it has a purpose that canreasonably regarded as analogous to any of the other purposes listed.

There is no fee payable for parties submitting a planning appeal. Parties to an appeal are, however, normally expected to meet their own expenses.

The Forestry Commission has identified scope for increased efficiencies in its human resources division, by combining the roles of two units: the change management team and forestry training services, given the changing nature of learning and development. The business case points to savings and the benefits of closer integration with the rest of their HR colleagues who work in Edinburgh.

Less than ten per cent of Forestry Commission Scotland staff are based in Edinburgh, and the headquarters and supporting office for Forest Enterprise Scotland are located in Inverness and Dumfries respectively. This relocation of staff from Ae to the Commission's Silvan House in Edinburgh is not against the policy of the Scottish Executive. The offices at Silvan House include employees who are providing central services like human resources, for staff in England, Wales and Scotland. This relocation ensures that jobs are kept in Scotland which could otherwise be located in other parts of Britain, whilst delivering savings which may provide for an increased ability of Forestry Commission Scotland to put more staff in the front line.

We have no plans to do so. Local authorities already have a wide range of powers which they can use in this regard, as set out in the answer to question S2W-8788 answered on 17 June 2004. 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.

My officials have completed the Review of Trunk Road and Motorway Tourist Signing Policy and are arranging for the document to be printed for consultation. I expect to consult widely on the proposals in November.

Yes.

A number of measures have been introduced following the introduction of the Action Plan for Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services and Scottish Executive officials are in regular discussion with the dental profession on taking matters forward.