Chamber and committees

This is a matter for individual public sector bodies. The information requested is not held centrally.

This is a matter for individual public sector bodies. The information requested is not held centrally.

Scottish Government has set out a range of measures to deal with food waste, and other kinds of waste, in Scotland''s Zero Waste Plans.

We are currently consulting on this plan and a draft may be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/08/19141153/2.

However, the reduction of food waste, as well as any other kind of waste, is not a matter solely for the Scottish Government. Public and private organisations of all types have a responsibility to reduce their own waste, including food waste, also to ensure any waste that is produced is handled responsibly.

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0903-01.htm

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the energy efficiency of Scotland''s homes to alleviate fuel poverty and help meet our ambitious climate change targets. We have a range of initiatives to support households with this:

The Energy Assistance Package (EAP) provides a holistic package of support for fuel-poor households. It aims to offer advice to around 75,000 potentially fuel-poor people in the first year. Of this, an estimated 50,000 could be referred for advice on social energy tariffs and a benefits health-check, 30,000 to CERT providers for cavity wall and/or loft insulation and up to 10,000 for enhanced energy efficiency measures at stage 4.

The Home Insulation Scheme announced in the budget is an intensive area-based approach where every household in the area will be visited and offered an energy assessment and benefit/tariff check (where appropriate) along with insulation measures. The scheme will aim to contact 90,000 households in the first year and will link to the Energy Assistance Package as closely as possible mirroring the various EAP stages.

The Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme, formerly known as SCHRI, provides funding to householders towards the installation of small scale renewables systems in Scottish homes. This scheme provides grants to householders of up to 30% of the costs of the installation, to a maximum of £4,000. The Energy Saving Trust (EST), who deliver the scheme, hope to pay out 1,000 household grants this year.

The Energy Saving Scotland Network, also delivered by EST, provides energy efficiency and microgeneration advice to anyone who calls the network. They have a target in place to engage with 220,000 customers in 2009-10.

The Energy Efficiency Design Awards was launched on 3 February 2009. This offers £1 million in prize money this year and next to generate and encourage the development of novel ideas and solutions to improve energy efficiency in hard to treat homes which number around 624,000 in Scotland.

Proposals for a loan mechanism for investing in domestic energy efficiency measures will come forward later in the year.

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to control all impacts on the water environment with the aim of achieving good ecological status for water bodies by 2015. The directive introduced river basin management plans (RBMPs) to manage our water environment. These are required to set out the environmental pressures and what can be done to address them. This includes steps to mitigate the effects of climate change on rivers and lakes. Draft RBMPs for the Solway Tweed river basin districts have now been consulted on, and SEPA will publish both RBMPs in December 2009.

The draft RBMPs are available on the SEPA website at:

http://www.sepa.org.uk/water/river_basin_planning.aspx.

The Scottish Government currently funds improvements to wetlands through a number of funding streams, to deliver the objectives of the river basin management plans. These funding streams include the Scottish Rural Development Programme, a restoration fund managed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and natural flood management demonstration work.

There is no information held centrally on how many jobs such funding might directly support.

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to control all impacts on the water environment with the aim of achieving good ecological status for water bodies by 2015. The directive introduced river basin management plans (RBMPs) to manage our water environment. These are required to set out the environmental pressures and what can be done to address them. This includes steps to restore impacts on river habitats. Draft RBMPs for the Solway Tweed river basin districts have now been consulted on, and SEPA will publish both RBMPs in December 2009.

The draft RBMPs are available on the SEPA website at:

http://www.sepa.org.uk/water/river_basin_planning.aspx.

The Scottish Government currently funds strategic research into enhancing water quality through the Scottish Rural Development Programme, to deliver the objectives of the Water Framework Directive river basin management plans. This research includes aspects of catchment management, understanding sources and movement of diffuse pollution, impacts of geomorphology and engineering upon water bodies, and adaptation of water resource management to respond to the pressures associated with climate change.

The Scottish Government is also funding research on agriculture and biodiversity, aiming to minimise the environmental impacts (including diffuse pollution) of crop and livestock systems. This research also addresses the integration of land and water management for flood alleviation, impacts of climate change, nitrogen deposition and land management on the biodiversity of wetlands.

There is no information held centrally on how many jobs such funding might directly support.

The Scottish Government currently funds improvements to water quality and river habitats through a number of funding streams, to deliver the objectives of the river basin management plans. These funding streams include the Scottish Rural Development Programme, a restoration fund managed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and natural flood management demonstration work.

There is no information held centrally on how many jobs such funding might directly support.