Chamber and committees

The Report of the Independent Working Group on Snares was commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In response to the recommendations in the working group''s report, Defra has commissioned research into the use of snares and into their humaneness, including the effects on non-target species. Scottish ministers will read any report on the research findings with interest with a view to considering whether they have any application in relation to the use of snares in Scotland.

The decision by the Department for Transport to uprate Bus Service Operators Grant in line with the fuel duty rise does not affect the amount of money coming to Scotland. As such, no extra money was made available by the UK Government in relation to Bus Service Operators Grant.

Decisions on the allocation of the £25 million over the next three years to incentivise new council house building will be reached following discussions with our partners in local government.

Recent proposals for change to the standard assumptions and allowances used when calculating subsidy reflect the actual performance reported by associations, which includes only those rent increases that housing associations themselves are projecting. Rent levels are a matter for individual associations to agree in consultation with their tenants.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11580 on 22 April 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11580 on 22 April 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.

There are already plans for the Energy Saving Scotland advice network to deliver water conservation advice from 2009. We are actively exploring how the network can build on and add value to current initiatives on household waste, such as Waste Aware Scotland. Funded by the Scottish Government, it provides information and practical advice to householders on waste prevention.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11580 on 22 April 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.

Scottish ministers have issued screening decision on 14 projects under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (Uncultivated Land and Semi-Natural Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2002 which they replaced. For 12 of these projects it was decided that there were no significant environmental effects and the applicants were notified appropriately. It was decided that the remaining two projects were relevant projects likely to have a significant effect on the environment and accordingly could not be carried out without consent of the Scottish ministers. If those projects are to proceed Environmental Statements are required in order to assess environmental impact and to determine if consent can be given. Environmental Statements are awaited from these applicants and consequently no consent decisions have been made.

Rural Payments and Inspection Directorate (RPID) are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the regulations. It is for land managers to ensure that their farming actions comply with the regulations. RPID will offer advice and guidance on whether proposals fall within the scope of the regulations. An offence only occurs if works are covered by the regulations and the requirements of the regulations are not complied with. The regulations provide for powers of entry and inspection of land for the purposes of determining whether an offence under the regulations has occurred. Provision is also available to serve a stop notice to ensure that unauthorised works are stopped with immediate effect. The Scottish ministers may also serve a reinstatement notice upon persons responsible for committing an offence under the regulations requiring them to reinstate the relevant land to the condition it was before the project was commenced.

Details of proposals submitted for screening can be viewed on the public register maintained under regulation 7(7) (b) of the 2006 Regulations on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Agriculture/Environment/16808/Publicregister/publicregister.

It was last updated on 10 April 2008.

 

A wide range of actions is required to meet the 2012 target and it is for each local authority to decide the most effective methods of achieving the target in their area. It is also the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities. Central government funding formerly ring-fenced for homelessness services has been absorbed into the main local government settlement for 2008-11 and local authorities and their partners can access a wide range of resources in order to progress towards the target.