Chamber and committees

The negotiation of International Trade Agreements, including World Trade Organisation talks is a reserved matter and consultations with interest groups, including industry, is a matter for the UK Parliament.The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with DTI on Trade issues and any future WTO talks and how these may impact on the Executive's responsibilities.

The negotiation of International Trade Agreements, including World Trade Organisation talks is a reserved matter and consultations with interest groups, including industry, is a matter for the UK Parliament.The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with DTI on Trade issues and any future WTO talks and how these may impact on the Executive's responsibilities.

The negotiation of International Trade Agreements, including World Trade Organisation talks is a reserved matter and consultations with interest groups, including industry, is a matter for the UK Parliament.The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with DTI on Trade issues and any future WTO talks and how these may impact on the Executive's responsibilities.

Emissions of dioxins from waste incinerators are not controlled on the basis of a permitted maximum daily level. Except for very small incinerators burning animal remains, all industrial and commercial waste incinerators in Scotland are regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) under the provisions of Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Each incinerator is required to operate in accordance with an authorisation granted by SEPA. The authorisation sets down the conditions under which the incinerator is required to operate. Conditions in authorisations are designed to prevent, or where that is not practicable, minimise the release of substances, including dioxins, into the environment. Such conditions include specifying the types of waste that may or may not be burnt; the operating conditions under which incineration may take place; emission limits; and monitoring requirements. Where an incinerator is subject to EC Directives, SEPA is required to include the necessary requirements in the relevant authorisation. Authorisations, monitoring results and details of any enforcement action are available for inspection in the public registers held in SEPA offices.Emissions of dioxins from incinerators are required to be kept as low as possible and emission limits are set on a case by case basis. European legislation requires that the concentration of dioxins in the waste gases from new hazardous waste incinerators does not exceed 0.1ng/m³. Emissions of dioxins from all other types of incinerators are expected to be less than 1ng/m³.

Guidance for planning authorities is contained in National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG)10: Planning and Waste Management and NPPG 6: Renewable Energy. A copy of each of these has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies of all NPPGs are available on the Scottish Executive website, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/planning/.

I refer to my answer to question S1W-2736.

The contract will be awarded after completion of the discussions referred to in my answer of 16 November have taken place and a competitive tendering exercise has been completed. No firm date is available at this time.

Full details of the Scottish Arts Council's grants to the four National Companies over the last three years are shown below, together with the SAC forecast for 2000-01 and 2001-02:

National Companies Grants

						Forecast
		1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000		2000-01	2001-02
		£	£	£		£	£
Scottish Opera		4,670,290	6,010,600	6,085,530		6,314,887	6,472,759
RSNO		1,841,750	2,310,550	2,339,350		2,427,522	2,488,210
Scottish Chamber Orchestra		1,000,000	1,290,600	1,306,690		1,355,937	1,389,835
Scottish Ballet		2,121,000	2,121,000	2,151,180		2,228,376	2,284,085
Ballet Development Fund			300,000	300,000		300,000	300,000
Touring Funds		46,000
NCCG Money		2,400,000
		12,079,040	12,032,750	12,182,750		12,626,722	12,934,889
		£million	£million	£million		£million	£million
SAC Arts Expenditure		25.437	25.676	26.589		28.042	29.422
National Companies		12.079	12.033	12.183		12.627	12.935
Proportion		47.49%	46.86%	45.82%		45.03%	43.96%

Under the previous administration, CalMac were directed to sell the Claymore to Sea Containers in order to facilitate the operation of the Campbeltown-Ballycastle ferry service. The Scottish Executive first became aware of the sale of the Claymore through the article in the Herald dated 17 November. This matter has not been discussed with any of the parties mentioned; ownership arrangements for the vessel are a matter for Sea Containers Ltd or its subsidiaries.

I refer you to my earlier answer to Parliamentary Question S1W-718 from Mr Keith Raffan dated 10 August which confirmed that budgets have not been set for individual Committees but expenditure incurred by each would be reported at the end of the financial year when actual expenditure was known.The majority of direct budgets for Committee work are presently held within the Clerking Directorate's budget. However, the budgets for support services to Committees are held by the relevant business area, e.g. broadcasting costs are met from the Broadcasting Office budget, the official report costs are met from the Official Report budget. Additionally, Members travel costs are met from a central budget. There is an indicative element for Committees travel, which is separate from other parliamentary travel costs allowed under the Allowances Resolution.