- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what timescale it envisages for carrying out research on permitted development rights for micro wind turbines and air source heat pumps.
Answer
Recommendations are expected before the end of 2009, with the intention that, if applicable, a further Amendment Order could be laid within 12 months of the original coming into force.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committed to introducing permitted development rights for the installation of renewable technology for non-domestic buildings.
Answer
Research published in early 2007 recommended that permitted development rights distinguish between domestic and non-domestic buildings. We have given priority to domestic buildings. The research recommended that the same rights apply to all non-domestic buildings. However, non-domestic buildings vary enormously in their scale, location and type of activity. We intend to progress work on non-domestic microgeneration when matters are resolved for domestic.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is still committed to removing the need for planning permission for micro wind turbines.
Answer
The government is committed to this objective but a decision on removing the need for planning permission for micro-turbines will depend on the recommendations of the study, which will look at all the relevant issues.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it intends to put in place to ensure that local authorities fully implement Scottish Planning Policy SPP 6: Renewable Energy.
Answer
Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 6, Renewable Energy (March 2007) is a non-statutory document. It is for planning authorities to apply the policy as they deem appropriate.
The Scottish Government has put in place a number of measures to assist planning authorities with this including:
providing consultancy support and advice to local authorities on the preparation of Supplementary Planning Guidance for windfarms.
issuing PAN 45 Annex 2, Spatial Frameworks and Supplementary Planning Guidance for Windfarms.
issuing PAN 84, Reducing Carbon Emissions in New Development.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what draft secondary legislation it expects to make available to the Transport Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee to aid its Stage 2 consideration of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
The draft regulations which have not been subject of detailed research or scrutiny to support the provisions of Section 50 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill [as introduced] will be provided to the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee at Stage 2.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the brief for the research to be carried out into permitted development rights for micro wind turbines and air source heat pumps.
Answer
The normal procedures for procuring research include:
Advertising the project on the Scottish Government website and requesting Expressions of Interest from organisations.
Issuing the specification to organisations which have been shortlisted from the previous stage and asking them to tender for the contract.
It is therefore not normal procedure to publish the specification.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to address the level of skill in carbon assessment linked to the implementation of planning regulations.
Answer
Officials are in discussion with the Improvement Service about a range of training and development matters associated with planning modernisation.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 19 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to respond to the outcome of the consultation, Climate Change and the National Forest Estate - Consultation on forestry provisions in the Scottish Climate Change Bill.
Answer
We announced our response on 13 March 2009.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 13 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that Scotland’s higher target for the development of renewables compared with the rest of the United Kingdom will produce more than 10% of the estimated number of UK jobs to be created in the renewables industry over the next decade.
Answer
The Scottish Government considers that Scotland''s enormous potential renewable energy resource, its energy infrastructure and skills, opportunities in sectors like carbon capture and storage, combined with the scale of our ambitions for the energy sector mean that we can go higher than the estimate for 16,000 green energy jobs over the next decade.
Our Renewables Action Plan, to be published in the summer, will include an analysis of economic development opportunities and future potential for growth across the renewables sector, and identify how we can facilitate the creation of jobs by the private sector.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 13 March 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 2 February 2009, whether it will outline the (a) types of jobs, (b) industries and (c) exact number of jobs in each industry that constitute the 16,000 renewable energy-related jobs to be created over the next decade.
Answer
The estimate is based on analysis by the UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform of the potential expansion in centralised renewable electricity generation, renewable microgeneration, and in domestic biofuel feedstock and refinery activities necessary to meet the EU renewable energy transport targets.
Our Renewables Action Plan, to be published in the summer, will include an analysis of the economic benefits and supply chain opportunities associated with expanding renewable energy capacity across Scotland.
In addition, we anticipate that both the Energy Technology Partnership and the Scottish European Green Energy Centre will create further energy research and development opportunities in Scotland.
