Chamber and committees

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 placed a duty on local authorities to introduce a minimum £50 discount for council tax, where householders undertake efficiency improvements to their home.

The Scottish Government, as required by the act, will report on council tax rebate schemes in Scotland, after 1 April 2012.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03959 on 21 November 2011. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The operation and administration of energy efficiency discount schemes is a matter for local authorities under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended).

It will be for local authorities to consider whether and how such schemes will interact with UK Government policies.

The Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan provides support on how procurement can contribute towards delivery of a low carbon economy. This includes the use of Government Buying Standards as the minimum specification requirement across a wide range of key product groups.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, is providing further support by embedding The Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement across the wider procurement landscape in Scotland.

This internationally recognised methodology provides public sector buyers a proportionate and relevant risk based approach to deliver sustainable outcomes throughout the procurement cycle.

The Scottish Government is considering the requirements for environmental assessment of the potential Enterprise Areas, under the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005. Consideration is also being given to the requirement for Habitats Regulations Appraisal. This work is currently underway.

Environmental and planning issues, including the potential for environmental impacts, are included in the criteria developed to evaluate the potential Enterprise Area sites. These criteria include the potential for effects on Sites of Special Scientific Interest and “Natura” sites. This evaluation is currently underway.

Environmental and planning issues, including the potential for environmental impacts, are included in the criteria developed to evaluate the potential Enterprise Area sites. These criteria include the potential for effects on Sites of Special Scientific Interest and “Natura” sites. This evaluation is currently underway.

The Scottish Government is aware of criticisms of the 1980s Enterprise Zone model which highlighted displacement of economic activity and jobs from elsewhere in the country to the enterprise zones and also the limited economic benefits delivered by capital based incentives focused on buildings development.

We are currently considering how best to introduce four Enterprise Areas in Scotland to maximise their economic impact and attractiveness for investment. The government is working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to identify potential sites for inclusion in these Enterprise Areas and will assess sites against a rigorous set of criteria. By focusing on supporting the development of productive capacity in growth sectors and by adopting a rigorous approach to the identification of Enterprise Area sites, we will be able to maximise the scope for additional economic impact and minimise the potential for displacement.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires that the Scottish Ministers report whether the annual targets set for each year in the period 2010-50 have been met. The first of these reports, in respect of the 2010 target, will be published in 2012 once the necessary emissions data becomes available.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you.