- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide sufficient revenue to fund the increasing maintenance required in the transport networks to cope with heavy or prolonged rainfall.
Answer
Transport Scotland will continue to ensure that suitable adaptation measures are built into its annual trunk road maintenance programme within the constraints of the current Scottish Government financial settlement.
As the owner of Great Britain''s rail infrastructure, Network Rail is responsible for ensuring the continued resilience of the Scottish rail network.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct an assessment of the resilience of the transport networks to heavy or prolonged rainfall and what the timescale and funding will be for such an assessment.
Answer
In June 2005, the Scottish Government published the
Scottish Road Network Climate Change Study. This examined the potential impact of future predicted climate conditions on the operation of the Scottish road network. Rainfall was one of the six broad categories of weather considered in the study. Transport Scotland is implementing the recommendations from the study, including changes to the design standard for surface drainage systems, which has now been modified to account for a 20% increase in rainfall intensity.
As the owner of Great Britain''s rail infrastructure, Network Rail is responsible for ensuring the continued resilience of the Scottish rail network.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 8 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) steps it is taking and (b) funding it is providing to map and address pluvial flooding.
Answer
The forthcoming Flooding Bill will make provision for all types of flooding to be mapped by 2013 as required by the EC Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks. Funding to map and address these types of flooding will be considered at the next spending review.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that the transport networks are of a sufficient standard to withstand heavy or prolonged rainfall to prevent further disruption from flooding.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15712 on 8 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s web site, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 29 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether energy performance certificates will give information on (a) the asset rating of a building, (b) the operational rating of a building or (c) both and what the reasons were for its decision on this matter.
Answer
All energy performance certificates will be produced using an asset based rating that follows the methodology framework set out in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The principal benefit of an Asset Rating is that it has the power to influence the people who can make a difference to the building fabric and services, the building owners. A consultation on the implementation of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Directive was carried out in 2006, and a significant majority of consultees supported the asset based approach.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 29 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the European Court of Justice decision C-418/04 (Commission v Ireland), what steps it is taking to ensure that Scotland’s network of Special Protection Areas is large enough to meet the requirements of the EU Birds Directive, in particular in respect of coverage (a) for wide-ranging species such as golden eagle, (b) for scarce species such as bean goose and (c) in inshore waters for those species that depend on them.
Answer
A substantial UK-wide review of the sufficiency of the network of special protection areas was completed in 2001. Following on from that review, work relating to additional areas in Scotland for golden eagle, for bean goose and for species in inshore waters is being progressed by Scottish Natural Heritage.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 29 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure compliance with the requirement to display energy performance certificates where the building in question is owned or leased by a local authority.
Answer
Responsibility for compliance for all buildings lies with the local authority. Where cases of non-compliance occur, an authority will be in a position to serve a notice in order to address contraventions.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the data collected for the Home Energy Efficiency Database will assist in efforts towards achieving the Scottish Government’s target of abolishing fuel poverty, so far as reasonably practicable, by 2016.
Answer
The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum is considering how best the target can be achieved, and we expect their recommendations may cover data collection requirements to assist in targeting action and monitoring its impact.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the data from the Scottish House Condition Survey will be compatible with that from the Home Energy Efficiency Database and what steps it is taking to ensure that both data sets will assist in delivery of its targets on abolishing fuel poverty.
Answer
The two data sources have different purposes but both provide data which can be used to help alleviate fuel poverty.
The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is a two phase survey - with a social survey interview with the householder followed by a physical survey of the dwelling by a trained building professional. It is a statistically-robust, stratified, random sample designed to provide an estimate of fuel poverty on a national basis annually and at local authority level every three years to a known level of precision.
The Home Energy Efficiency Database is a central repository for data on energy efficiency measures from a number of sources of varying quality, and as such does not provide the same representative, unbiased data on fuel poverty which the SHCS does. Nonetheless it measures the level of home energy efficiency activity by area (and smaller areas than the SHCS) and is a very rich data source.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 16 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what quality monitoring it intends to introduce to ensure that energy performance certificates are accurate.
Answer
Energy performance certificates (EPCs) for new buildings form a part of the building warrant completion certificate process and the local authorities have responsibility for carrying out the verification work. EPCs for existing buildings will be produced by members of professional institutions who have entered into protocol agreements with the Scottish Government. Every protocol organisation has rules to which their members must adhere.
