Chamber and committees

We will be working with the Capital City Partnership to explore alternative measures for funding projects.

The Scottish Government has not withdrawn Fairer Scotland Funding from the Capital City Partnership. The Community Planning Partnership for Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Partnership, was awarded £22.798 million from the Fairer Scotland Fund from 2008-11 to work together to tackle area-based and individual poverty, and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities. The ring fence from the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was removed in 2010-11 to provide local partners with increased flexibility in how to use resources to tackle local priorities. The regeneration resources associated with the former FSF have been retained and maintained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement.

In addition, the Scottish Government has been able to maintain the overall share of the budget for local government at 34.5%, the same as 2010-11.

It is for local partners to consider how to deliver the Joined up for Jobs Strategy and the impact of any funding changes to that.

The Scottish Government has not withdrawn Fairer Scotland Funding from the Capital City Partnership. The Community Planning Partnership for Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Partnership, was awarded £22.798 million from the Fairer Scotland Fund from 2008-11 to work together to tackle area-based and individual poverty, and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities. The ring fence from the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was removed in 2010-11 to provide local partners with increased flexibility in how to use resources to tackle local priorities. The regeneration resources associated with the former FSF have been retained and maintained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement.

In addition to this funding the Capital City Partnership in 2008-09 and the Edinburgh Partnership in 2009-11 were awarded an additional £2.238 million per year to address the strategic priorities for Edinburgh in respect of community regeneration, tackling poverty and improving employability.

In the face of unprecedented cuts from Westminster, the Scottish Government had to take tough decisions about expenditure across government and careful consideration of pressures and priorities in all portfolios. In these circumstances, it has not been possible to maintain this particular additional dedicated funding support.

The Scottish Government has not withdrawn Fairer Scotland Funding from the Capital City Partnership. The Community Planning Partnership for Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Partnership, was awarded £22.798 million from the Fairer Scotland Fund from 2008-11 to work together to tackle area-based and individual poverty, and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities. The ring fence from the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was removed in 2010-11 to provide local partners with increased flexibility in how to use resources to tackle local priorities. The regeneration resources associated with the former FSF have been retained and maintained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement.

In addition the Scottish Government has been able to maintain the overall share of the budget for local government at 34.5%, the same as 2010-11.

It is for local partners to consider the impact of investment decisions on client groups.

The Scottish Government has not withdrawn Fairer Scotland Funding (FSF) from the Capital City Partnership. The Community Planning Partnership for Edinburgh, The Edinburgh Partnership, was awarded £22.798 million from the Fairer Scotland Fund from 2008-11 to work together to tackle area-based and individual poverty, and to help more people access and sustain employment opportunities. The ring fence from the Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) was removed in 2010-11 to provide local partners with increased flexibility in how to use resources to tackle local priorities. The regeneration resources associated with the former FSF have been retained and maintained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement.

In addition the Scottish Government has been able to maintain the overall share of the budget for local government at 34.5%, the same as 2010-11.

Any consultation on future funding for local projects is the responsibility of local partners.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38778 on 26 January 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The National Renewables Infrastructure Fund is being administered by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Where funding is provided by SE or HIE to support infrastructure projects these will have been subject to the relevant consenting processes to ensure environmental impacts are addressed.

The Scottish Government regularly contributes to discussions with the European Commission, UK Government and EU member states on marine renewables and offshore wind energy issues. It contributed to the development of recently published EU Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and Natura 2000 and is represented on several UK groups including the UK Renewable Energy Deployment Environmental Issue Board.

There has been no specific correspondence so far with the European Commission, UK Government and EU member states regarding the potential for marine renewable projects to affect special areas of conservation and European protected species. However, ongoing work on Habitats Regulation Appraisals and other environmental assessments provide the basis for consideration of these issues and discussions with relevant countries and the European Commission where necessary.

The EU Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and Natura 2000 can be found via the following link http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/guidance_en.htm.

The Scottish Government is taking a planned approach to the development of wave, tidal and offshore wind energy sectors in a sustainable manner. The Scottish Government undertook a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to examine the wider environmental effects of wave and tidal power which was published on 31 March 2007.

Marine Scotland proposes to undertake an SEA maintenance exercise to update the 2007 SEA. This will incorporate Habitats Regulations Appraisal to assess potential impacts on Special Areas of Conservation, and Special Protection Areas and to ensure that the requirements of the Habitats Directive are met. Proposed developments will also be subject to environmental impact assessment including Habitats Regulations Appraisal at the project level. The marine licensing process will also consider the potential for impacts on European protected species.

The Scottish Government is also supporting a research programme on the environmental impacts of marine renewables to increase knowledge of the likelihood of potential impacts, provide a better baseline for environmental assessments and research mitigation strategies. Surveys have also been undertaken in the Pentland Firth to improve knowledge of the distribution of marine biodiversity features and inform licensing decisions.

A valuation of the UK''s offshore renewable resource, published in May 2010, estimated that Scotland has 169 Gigawatts (GW) of practical offshore wind resource.

The Scottish Government also published a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Draft Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in Scottish territorial waters for public consultation in May 2010. The SEA identified the potential for a likely significant effect on sites designated for their nature conservation interest at a European level. Accordingly, the Scottish Government is currently undertaking a Habitats Regulations Appraisal of the Draft Plan which will be complete by the end of January and will inform the preparation of the Final Plan for Offshore Wind. The Draft Plan proposed 10 short term options for development up to 2020 with a potential generation capacity of 6.5GW. The 10 short-term options have now been reduced to nine, due to irresolvable issues with radar impacts. The nine short-term options have a potential generation capacity of 5.8GW. The Draft Plan also proposed 25 areas of search, titled medium term options, for possible development beyond 2030. No generating capacity has been set for these areas of search and any possible areas in the longer term.

In addition, we are aware that the Crown Estate has agreed leases for two Round 3 sites in the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth, beyond the Scottish Territorial Water limit of 12 nautical miles. These sites have a potential to generate a combined capacity of 4.8GW by 2020. The Crown Estate is currently undertaking a Habitats Regulations Appraisal of the Round 3 sites.

All offshore renewable energy projects are and will be subject to assessment under the relevant legislation to ensure that there is no adverse effect on European sites and species.