Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-07896

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 11 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria have been established for the forestry sales proposed in the budget which are intended to raise £15 million for reinvestment in woodlands.

The national forest estatehas been subject to a portfolio analysis, objectively assessing each part of the estate against delivery of economic, social and environmental benefits.This analysis will be used to determine priorities for sale of national forestland which contributes little to the delivery of Forestry Commission Scotland’sobjectives. Details of the process will be published in the new year as part ofa consultation on the framework strategic plan for the national forest estate.

Question reference: S3W-07963

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 10 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there are any lessons to be learnt, in light of the conclusions of the independent review into the summer flooding in England and Wales by Sir Michael Pitt.

Scotland was fortunate not to experience the widespread floodingsuffered by England and Wales, but that the Scottish Government recognise that Scotland toocan learn lessons from the floods. The Scottish Government has noted the interim findings and recommendationsof Sir Michael Pitt’s review into the summer 2007 flooding in England. The Scottish Government will consider the recommendations,and the final review findings published next summer, in the context of flood riskand flood response in Scotland.

Question reference: S3W-07605

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 21 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the costings and timescales are for each flood prevention scheme that councils have indicated that they wish to pursue which is not yet under construction or ready for construction.

Local authoritiesprovided the following information on a number of possible flood prevention schemesthat they report were under consideration; there is no guarantee that any of theseschemes will be pursued. The only firm information we have is on those schemes thatwere already under development and which have been taken into consideration in thefunding included in the block grant to local authorities. Following the spendingreview, funding is a matter for the authorities concerned.

Council	FP Scheme	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	Later Years	Total £000
Aberdeenshire	Tarland	200	2,000	2,000	700	5,000
Aberdeenshire	Fettercairn	150	0	0	0	300
Angus	Brechin, River St	3,320	2,860	100	0	7,700
Angus	Brothock Burn, Abroath	300	600	600	0	1,500
Angus	Gairie Burn, Kirriemuir	0	110	390	0	500
Angus	Barry Burn, Carnoustie	0	0	0	1,500	1,500
Argyll and Bute	Milton Burn, Dunoon	1,700	300	0	0	2,000
Argyll and Bute	Campbeltown	800	200	0	0	1,000
Argyll and Bute	Midge Lane, Strone	0	500	200	0	700
Argyll and Bute	Antrim View, Port Ellen, Islay	0	300	200	0	500
Borders	Selkirk	200	7,000	7,900	0	15,200
Borders	Galashiels	30	200	80	0	350
Borders	Jedburgh	80	100	330	900	1,500
Dumfries & Galloway	Stranraer	50	650	650	0	1,400
Dumfries & Galloway	Moffat	0	0	400	400	800
Dundee City	Central Waterfront	0	45	30	2,675	2,750
Dundee City	Riverside Avenue	0	0	0	5,000	5,000
Dundee City	Dundee Airport	0	0	0	5,000	5,000
Dundee City	Dighty Water	0	0	50	300	350
Dundee City	Fithie Burn	0	0	25	225	250
Falkirk	Chapel Burn (RSNH)	0	950	800	0	1,750
Falkirk	Grangemouth	0	0	2,000	0	2,000
Fife	Kinness Burn, St Andrews	50	70	1,220	0	1,400
Highland	Thurso	5	25	25	1,015	1,100
Highland	River Ness	100	0	0	2,800	3,000
Highland	Dell Burn, Inverness	30	0	0	1,140	1,200
Highland	Mill Burn, Inverness	30	0	0	430	480
Highland	Culloden	5	15	25	30	200
Highland	Fort William & Caol	100	0	0	7,300	7,500
Highland	Drumnadroichit	20	0	0	690	760
Highland	Acharacle	5	5	5	5	25
Moray	Forres (R Findhorn/Pilmuir)	10,000	25,000	6,000	0	41,000
North Ayrshire	Kilbirnie, Glengarnock & Dalry	2,000	9,000	0	0	11,000
North Ayrshire	Kilwinning	0	0	5,000	0	5,000
North Ayrshire	Millport	0	0	0	1,100	1,100
North Ayrshire	Adrossan, South Bay	0	0	0	500	500
South Lanarkshire	Strathaven Rd, Hamilton	0	850	1,390	0	2,240
South Lanarkshire	Lady Watson Gardens, Hamilton	0	0	500	1,000	1,500
West Dunbartonshire	Gruggies Burn	0	313	5,000	6,688	12,000
West Dunbartonshire	River Leven	0	0	250	17,750	18,000
	Total	19,175	51,593	35,670	56,148	165,055

Question reference: S3W-07636

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what schemes are being developed by local authorities for funding through the Strategic Waste Fund; what technology those schemes will utilise, and what contribution they will make to meeting the Scottish Government's targets on diversion of waste from landfill and promotion of recycling.

As outlined in thebudget announcement on 14 November 2007, the current ring-fencedStrategic Waste Fund will cease to operate from 1 April 2008. Allocations are being absorbed into the local governmentsettlement. The government is still considering the way ahead on Outline BusinessCases prepared by authorities in Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Scottish Bordersand North and South Lanarkshire on diverting waste from landfill.

Question reference: S3W-07635

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what money has been allocated from the Strategic Waste Fund in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority and scheme.

Details of individualrecycling schemes by local authority are available at Waste Aware Scotland’s websiteat www.sort-it.org.uk/index.asp.

Details of fundingallocated to each local authority from the Strategic Waste Fund is provided in thefollowing table:

Local Authority	2000-01 (£ Million)	2001-02 (£ Million)	2002-03 (£ Million)	2003-04 (£ Million)	2004-05 (£ Million)	2005-06 (£ Million)	2006-07 (£ Million)	2007-08 (£ Million)	Total (£ Million)
Aberdeen City	0.106		0.212	1.896	1.691	2.736	1.844	1.555	10.041
Aberdeenshire	0.188		0.926	1.979	2.242	4.742	6.367	4.203	20.647
Angus	0.075		0.150	0.359	1.706	2.753	1.284	1.262	7.589
Argyll and Bute	0.080	1.102	1.814	1.654	2.881	3.537	3.150	3.151	17.367
City of Edinburgh	0.223		0.446	0.464	4.511	9.760	6.685	4.982	27.071
Clackmannanshire	0.025		0.155	1.149	0.235	0.310	0.284	0.284	2.442
Dumfries and Galloway	0.123		0.000	0.130	3.613	4.342	4.326	4.420	16.954
Dundee City	0.072		0.144	0.000	0.932	1.552	1.420	3.134	7.255
East Ayrshire	0.066		0.132	0.324	2.310	1.994	0.694	0.848	6.368
East Dunbartonshire	0.053		0.106	0.212	2.148	1.769	1.302	1.413	7.003
East Lothian	0.053		0.106	0.193	0.720	1.395	1.643	1.490	5.601
East Renfrewshire	0.042		0.504	0.665	0.633	1.207	1.032	1.158	5.241
Eilean Siar	0.029		0.023	0.125	1.943	6.118	2.536	1.240	12.014
Falkirk	0.073		0.251	2.601	2.844	0.423	0.432	1.237	7.861
Fife	0.187		0.244	2.275	4.398	5.784	6.819	4.506	24.212
Glasgow	0.302		0.604	0.596	3.663	5.313	3.140	5.693	19.310
Highland	0.190		0.311	0.069	3.122	5.845	4.481	4.393	18.411
Inverclyde	0.041		0.015	0.067	1.221	1.623	0.376	0.576	3.919
Midlothian	0.043		0.067	0.000	1.257	1.847	2.271	3.828	9.313
Moray	0.058		0.108	0.082	1.979	1.742	1.233	1.062	6.265
North Ayrshire	0.076		0.152	0.314	2.031	1.117	1.682	1.404	6.776
North Lanarkshire	0.158		0.672	0.618	4.749	5.345	3.832	3.192	18.566
Orkney Islands	0.021		0.017	0.024	0.391	0.505	0.347	0.478	1.782
Perth and Kinross	0.101		0.202	0.585	2.177	1.821	3.359	1.636	9.881
Renfrewshire	0.087		0.174	0.000	2.425	3.003	1.381	1.343	8.413
Scottish Borders	0.083		0.166	0.000	1.516	2.925	4.217	2.456	11.364
Shetland Islands	0.025		0.050	0.000	0.588	0.529	0.417	0.306	1.916
South Ayrshire	0.069		0.105	0.534	2.375	1.403	1.740	1.272	7.498
South Lanarkshire	0.165		0.330	2.747	3.927	3.468	3.795	3.392	17.824
Stirling	0.059		0.285	2.917	1.560	1.680	2.354	1.696	10.551
West Dunbartonshire	0.046		0.023	0.062	1.751	2.638	1.152	1.370	7.042
West Lothian	0.081		1.460	0.775	2.602	1.800	2.583	2.882	12.183
Total	3.000	1.102	9.954	23.415	70.141	91.025	78.178	71.864	348.678

Minor discrepancyin the total figure is due to rounding.

Question reference: S3W-07634

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to meet the EU targets on diversion of domestic waste from landfill.

The Landfill AllowanceScheme places limits on the amounts of biodegradable municipal waste which can besent to landfill. Authorities which exceed these limits can be subject to penalties.In addition, Indicator 39 in the National Performance Framework, at Annex A in theconcordat between the Scottish Government and local government, relates to reducingthe amount of waste sent to landfill in 2010, in line with the first EU LandfillDirective target. The Scottish Government is currently discussing with local authoritieswhat should be included in the single outcome agreements.

We will support workby local authorities to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill through ourzero waste fund. The rising cost of landfill also provides a further incentive todivert waste from landfill.

Question reference: S3W-07716

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning applications it has called in and determined without recourse to a public inquiry under the terms of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 between the establishment of the Parliament in May 1999 and 30 November 2007.

Question reference: S3W-07717

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister will make a ministerial statement regarding the decision to call in the Menie Estate planning application.

Question reference: S3W-07715

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether SSSI designations on the Menie Estate will require to be considered by the Scottish Government in determining the planning application that it has called in.

Question reference: S3W-07714

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning proposals were called in after a decision to refuse planning permission had been taken by a local authority between the establishment of the Parliament in May 1999 and 30 November 2007.