Chamber and committees

No guidelines were issued to police following the winter of 2009-10. Police forces, working in partnership with other agencies under local strategic co-ordination groups, agree the operational response according to local circumstances.

The Scottish Government provided an extra £5 million, which was allocated to all 32 Scottish local authorities, to support the repair of potholes resulting from the severe weather last winter.

As was made clear in the parliamentary debate on the Scottish Variable Rate (SVR) on Wednesday 24 November, the Scottish Government has been in dialogue with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) since 2007 about the work required to re-establish the capability of HMRC''s systems to operate the SVR following the mothballing of the SVR from 2000, and about the costs and timescales associated with that work.

After providing, in 2007, initial cost estimates ranging from £1.2 million to £3.4 million, HMRC on 28 July 2010 sought a payment of £7 million from the Scottish Government in order for the work to be undertaken. HMRC indicated that if agreement to pay was reached by 21 August, work would go ahead to enable the Scottish Parliament returned in May 2011 to exercise the SVR powers in the Scotland Act 1998 with effect from the tax year beginning 5 April 2012. This timescale could be achieved provided that the decision to vary the tax rate was made and communicated to HMRC by the end of May 2011.

The Scottish Government''s response to HMRC drew attention to a number of legitimate concerns, including questions about value for money given the UK Government''s planned introduction of new income tax provisions set out in the report of the Calman Commission which would lead to the replacement of the SVR, and sought a meeting at which these concerns could be examined. Despite a reminder, no meeting was arranged. Since the Parliament debated this important issue on 24 November, HMRC and Scottish Government officials have met and further work is now in hand on costs and timescales associated with returning the SVR systems to an operable condition.

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) was in place between the then Scottish Executive and its predecessor organisations from 2000 to 2003, and from 2003 to 2007, when the agreement expired. Under the SLA that expired in 2007, an annual payment of £50,000 was made to HMRC in return for maintaining the database of Scottish taxpayers. The existence of an up to date list of Scottish taxpayers was a necessary but not a sufficient condition for operating the SVR. Operable IT systems were also required. The work required to return the IT systems to a fully operable condition was much more significant and many times more expensive than the annual cost of the SLA.

On 24 November I apologised for not informing or consulting Parliament about the unavailability of the SVR systems either in 2007, when the condition of the SVR systems first became known, or this summer, when it emerged that only by spending a substantial amount of public money could the capacity of the SVR systems be restored in time for use in 2012-13.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37713 on 6 December 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37713 on 6 December 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37713 on 6 December 2010. The decision to continue in dialogue with HMRC and to seek adequate and reliable information about costs and timescales was mine.

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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The report of the public local inquiry into objections to the Corunna Street Glasgow compulsory purchase order has been received and is being considered. A decision will be issued once these considerations have been completed. While no precise date can be given, I hope that it will be possible to issue the decision before the end of the year.

The public local inquiry to hear objections against this compulsory purchase order commenced on 13 January 2010 and concluded on 20 May 2010. The inquiry and the evidence presented raised both complex and unique issues that required very careful consideration by the reporter. The report on the inquiry was submitted to Scottish ministers on 14 September 2010.

Creative Scotland is currently establishing partnerships with broadcasters, including the BBC. Opportunities for marketing Scotland''s culture overseas will be explored within these partnerships.

The Scottish Government has regularly encouraged broadcasters to promote Scottish culture internationally. For example, I raised the issue at my most recent meeting with Ken MacQuarrie, the Controller of BBC Scotland, on
13 September 2010.

The Scottish Government invested £150,000, as a co-sponsor with the Daily Record, for the Homecoming brand to sponsor three STV series in 2009 “ Scotland Revealed, The Greatest Scot and Made in Scotland. Made in Scotland was subsequently sold by STV to Australia and New Zealand, and across the UK. Scotland Revealed was sold to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia. DVD sales of the programmes have also been made in the UK, Canada, and the United States.

The Scottish Government is supporting a range of initiatives to encourage people to cycle to work, school and for other journeys. Funding has been available for projects which encourage cycling including extending the National Cycle Network and providing safe routes to schools. Local authorities continue to receive £9m per year for Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets projects. And as part of the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme seven local authority areas have received funding to promote active travel choices, including cycling.

The Government provides funding to Cycling Scotland to promote cycling through the mass participation ride, Pedal for Scotland, grant schemes for Cycle Friendly Employers, Cycle Friendly Schools and Cycle Friendly Communities. These schemes provide incentives to those who want to cycle.