Chamber and committees

Passed to the Future sets out the principles of sustainable management of the historic environment. Caring for the historic environment in a sustainable way can improve the quality of life and help to revitalise our towns, cities and countryside. It can promote confidence and stimulate economic and social regeneration.

The Executive is committed to ensuring that each public body is subject to a regular policy and financial management review. A review of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will start in June 2002. The terms of reference for the review will be:To examine the role and functions of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the effectiveness and efficiency with which these functions are carried out. The review will:consider how effectively SEPA has performed since it was established and seek the views of a range of stakeholders on its performance;consider how well SEPA responds to the policies and priorities of the Scottish ministers and if the level of delegation to SEPA from the Scottish Executive is sufficient and appropriate;examine the role of SEPA in relation to other bodies with responsibilities for environmental protection and regulation;identify ways of improving the service that SEPA provides to local communities and regulated organisations;examine the policies and practices of SEPA in relation to the charges it levies for its regulatory service;look at ways of improving the system of environmental permits and emissions monitoring, andidentify the key issues that need to be addressed to allow SEPA to meet the challenges posed by the shifting focus of environmental legislation.The review will be expected to make recommendations to the Scottish ministers in all of the key areas outlined above.The review will be informed by other relevant reviews, in particular the recent quinquennial review of the Environment Agency in England and Wales and the December 2000 Audit Scotland report A Measure of Protection.These terms of reference take account of the outcome of the 2001 Public Bodies Review, which concluded that there was no fundamental change needed to the functions and structure of SEPA. The Public Bodies Review made cross-cutting recommendations relevant to all public bodies; the implementation of these recommendations in relation to SEPA will be considered as part of the review.As an essential part of the review process, officials will be consulting widely with interested parties. It is intended to hold a stakeholder event early in the review to help define the detailed scope and identify the key questions to be answered in the review, within the broad terms of reference.

We have agreed with the UK Government that emission reductions, required to meet the UK Kyoto commitment, can be delivered by working in partnership. The policy measures, through which we will deliver our contribution, are set out in the Scottish Climate Change Programme.Data published in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-1999 (available on the Scottish Executive climate change website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange) shows the Scottish contribution amounts to a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24449 on 24 April 2002.

Councils, tenants and acquiring landlords will, where appropriate, consider energy efficiency improvements when developing transfer proposals. The detailed specification of individual proposals is a matter for local consideration.

The Executive is awaiting the outcome of the Councils for Climate Protection pilot in England and Wales, due to be completed later this month. This will inform the on-going consideration the Executive is giving to ways in which it can further engage with Scottish local authorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Scottish Executive's first annual Greening Government report Our Impact on the Environment published in December 2001 summarised the environmental performance of the Executive as a whole. There are no plans to produce annual Greening Government reports from each of its departments.

We will publish a Scottish Executive statement on sustainable development soon. This document will include a list of the indicators we will adopt to monitor progress towards sustainable development.

I am able to announce the local authority housing capital allocations for 2002-03. These are set out in the following table.Capital Allocation Allocations 2002-03

Authority	ProposedAllocations(£m)
Aberdeen City	5.293
Aberdeenshire	4.495
Angus	1.536
Argyll and Bute	1.607
Clackmannanshire	1.597
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	1.701
Dumfries and Galloway	2.125*
Dundee City	8.436
East Ayrshire	3.489
East Dunbartonshire	2.388
East Lothian	2.510
East Renfrewshire	0.964
City of Edinburgh	14.916
Falkirk	5.369
Fife	7.007
Glasgow City	22.000*
Highland	7.230
Inverclyde	3.965
Midlothian	2.122
Moray	1.848
North Ayrshire	2.953
North Lanarkshire	12.330
Orkney Islands	0.224
Perth and Kinross	2.108
Renfrewshire	8.565
Scottish Borders	0.400*
Shetland	1.000*
South Ayrshire	2.906
South Lanarkshire	5.858
Stirling	3.048
West Dunbartonshire	5.657
West Lothian	2.097
Scotland	147.744

Note:*. Reduced allocations due to expected housing stock transfer during 2002-03 (subject to tenant ballot). Supplementary allocations will be made available later in the year, to cover the period to the actual date of transfer.

Research funding for renewable energy is a reserved matter. However, the Scottish Executive is committed to the promotion and development of renewable energy, covering a range of sizes and different technologies. This is currently done under the Scottish Clean Energy Demonstration Scheme, which has already funded a photo-voltaic project. We are currently considering other ways of supporting community renewable developments throughout Scotland.