Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the North Sea Commission on this matter.

The Contingency Planning (Scotland) Regulations 2005 place a duty upon Category 1 responders, as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to have regard to the activities of voluntary organisations.

Guidance advises responders to integrate those activities at all stages of preparation in order to ensure a coordinated response to emergencies.

The Contingency Planning (Scotland) Regulations 2005 place a duty upon Category 1 responders, as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to have regard to the activities of voluntary organisations.

Voluntary sector involvement in planning will vary from area to area, according to the requirements of the Category 1 responders and the ability of local voluntary sector organisations to provide support.

The Scottish Government works closely with the eight Strategic Co-ordinating Groups (SCGs) in each of the police force areas in Scotland, to ensure that they are prepared for the risks that might be faced in their area, including flooding. Scottish Government is in regular contact with all responders (including emergency planning staff) through these groups.

In 2006, a National Resilience seminar was held that considered severe weather and flooding. After the flooding in parts of England during the summer of 2007, the Scottish Government wrote out to each of the SCGs asking for confirmation that they were adequately prepared to respond to similar events, should they occur in Scotland. All SCGs indicated they had assessed the flooding risk in their area, and had undertaken planning for such eventualities.

In January 2008, Scottish Government also asked the SCGs to complete a self-evaluation in relation to extreme weather (including flooding). The results are currently being collated. Scottish Government is also planning to host an national exercise in 2009 focusing on an extreme weather scenario.

Contingency planning is primarily a matter for local responders, as defined under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The responsibility for warning and informing the public, as well as co-ordinating the response, lies with those responders.

In the event of a major incident, and depending on the circumstances, it is possible that the Scottish Government would invoke its emergency response arrangements. These arrangements would facilitate discussions between responders, and also co-ordinate any appropriate communications strategies. In addition, a sub-group of the Resilience Advisory Board for Scotland has been established to create a national framework for information sharing and communicating with the public.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency flood map shows an estimate of the areas in Scotland with a 0.5% or greater probability of being flooded in any given year. Scottish Planning Policy (SPP)7 “ Planning and Flooding characterises areas within this range as having a medium to high risk of flooding. In such areas the SPP''s Risk Framework sets out the appropriate planning response. The central purpose of the SPP is to prevent further development which would have a significant probability of being affected by flooding or which would increase the probability of flooding elsewhere.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12324 on 9 May 2008. 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/webapp/wa.search.

The research cited in that answer has identified a range of potential consequences, including changes in the range of retail and entertainment services available, as well as a reduction in community cohesion.

The basis of the proposal set out in Scottish Planning Policy 3 “ Planning for Housing (SPP3) is to address planning issues about over-concentrations of HMOs in particular areas. It will be for local authorities to consider whether and how to develop and implement such policies in the wider context of housing need in their area. The consultative draft of SPP3 encourages local authorities to consider the need for HMO accommodation when preparing local housing strategies, and to reflect that in development plans.

The proposal set out in Scottish Planning Policy 3 “ Planning for Housing (SPP3) is not intended to tackle antisocial behaviour. Where planning authorities decide to implement a policy on HMO concentrations, they should balance the need to provide adequate numbers of HMO accommodation with the need to safeguard the character, integrity and amenity of communities.

The responsibility for enforcing legislation on the licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) rests with local authorities and they have a range of powers available to them to ensure that private landlords comply with licensing requirements. New HMO licensing provisions, set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, will increase the maximum fine for a landlord found guilty of operating an unlicensed HMO from £5,000 to £20,000 and allow local authorities to use rent penalty notices to prevent unlicensed HMO landlords from collecting rent from their tenants. The Scottish Government does not currently collect information on enforcement action taken by local authorities in relation to HMO licensing.

In relation to planning permission for HMOs, the Scottish Government believes that sufficient enforcement measures are in place already to allow local authorities to take action where there has been a breach of planning control.  Again, it is for local authorities to apply these measures. The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 extended existing powers and introduced new enforcement powers. We have recently consulted on these; the consultation is closed and we are considering how to take this forward.