- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 1 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Finance and Public Services was referring to specific civil servants when he used the phrase “gifted amateur” (Official Report c 10409) and, if so, to which civil servants he was referring.
Answer
The Minister for Finance and Public Services was not referring to any specific civil servants when using the phrase “gifted amateur”. The minister was referring to the changes being introduced more generally to the civil service in Scotland, based on the lessons learned from the Holyrood Inquiry Report.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 1 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that money saved by local authorities from reducing the council tax discount on second homes will be spent on affordable housing.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is currently consulting with COSLA and Communities Scotland as to how local authorities’ actual spend on affordable housing should be monitored and compared, against the additional income generated from reducing the discount.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in respect of making land owned by the state, including that owned by it, Her Majesty’s Government, the Crown Estate Commission, government departments and agencies, non-departmental public bodies and other public bodies, available for housing development.
Answer
In general, where public land is surplus to requirements, it can be sold on the open market in accordance with the public finance guidelines which would normally require it to be sold at market value. Local authorities can, however, seek consent to disposals at less than best consideration from Scottish ministers including disposals to provide land for affordable housing.
We see potential for greater use of surplus public land for affordable housing and are keen to encourage public bodies to release such land for this purpose. Under the Affordable Housing Review, the Executive has been examining the scope for preferential schemes for land release by public bodies. In handling sales of surplus land, the Forestry Commission Scotland now provides a preferential opportunity for Registered Social Landlords, supported by Communities Scotland, to acquire its surplus land for affordable housing. Over 20 sites are currently being assessed for transfer. We are exploring the prospect of applying these principles to other public bodies, including those in the Health, Education, Transport and Environment sectors, and UK Government Departments, such as the Ministry of Defence.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 26 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what area of land in Scotland is owned by the Forestry Commission.
Answer
The area of land owned by Scottish ministers and managed by Forestry Commission Scotland extends to 656,200 hectares (as recorded in Forest Facts & Figures, 2004, published on 30 September 2004).
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether more use should have been made of publicly-owned land for the purpose of building more houses or enabling more houses to be built.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-10983 on 26 October 2004. 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.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, within the relevant rules regarding sewerage for new homes, such sewerage may be provided by septic tanks; what relevant legislative provisions apply to the provision of sewerage for new homes by septic tank, and what its policy is on this matter.
Answer
I can confirm that sewerage for new homes can be provided by septic tanks provided the arrangement results in no deterioration in water quality, as specified in the Water Environment and Water Services Act 2003. Before granting planning permission for the building of the new houses, the planning authority will, if appropriate, seek the views of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), who are responsible for ensuring that relevant environmental standards are met. In relation to the relevant legislative provisions, the position is as follows:
The Water Environment and Water Services Act 2003 implements the European Water Framework Directive and places upon SEPA and Scottish ministers a duty to prevent further deterioration in the water environment.
Under the terms of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (as amended) SEPA’s consent is required for a discharge of sewage effluent to controlled waters. Discharges to soakaway arrangements do not automatically require SEPA’s consent.
The Urban Waste Water Treatment (Scotland) Regulations 1994 require that urbanwastewater entering collecting systems is subject to prescribed standards of treatment. The specified date for provision of treatment and the standard of treatment are determined according to the size of the agglomeration and the sensitivity of the receiving waters.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Ministry of Defence about making land that it holds available for housing development.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-10983 on 26 October 2004. 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.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes have been built in each of the last five years on land owned by (a) it, (b) the Ministry of Defence, (c) Executive agencies, (d) non-departmental public bodies and (e) any other public body.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
The information requested is not held centrally. Records of previous owners are available through the Register of Sasines/Land Register, but that only highlights the sale of the land from seller to purchaser and not the subsequent number of homes constructed on this land.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 18 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that the water supply for the communities at Ardgour and Clovullin has been contaminated with cryptosporidium since the end of August 2004 and that there has been no potable supply of water since that date; what steps Scottish Water has taken, and is taking, to address the situation; how it will now provide a clean water supply; why Scottish Water did not supply bottled water immediately after the discovery of cryptosporidium; who was responsible for taking the decision not to supply bottled water, and whether such a decision was taken to save costs.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is aware that the Consultant in Public Health Medicine (CPHM) for Highland NHS Board has required Scottish Water to issue advice to its customers in Ardgour to boil their drinking water because of high levels of Cryptosporidium in the supply. Boiling the water makes it safe to drink but Scottish Water is also supplying bottled water to customers in the area with special needs. Customers with special needs are identified by the local authority and the NHS Board.
Scottish Water has plans in its current investment programme to improve the Ardgour supply but these are not scheduled to be complete until 2005. The plans involve a sub-sea pipeline under Loch Linnhe and although Scottish Water is looking at how these plans can be accelerated, this may not be possible due to technical difficulties.
Scottish Water continues to liaise with the CPHM regarding the Boil Water Notice which will stay in place until the level of Cryptosporidium in the supply falls to an acceptable level.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Communities Scotland’s policy in respect of affordable housing enables land in private ownership to be used for this purpose and, if not, what policy changes it will make.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
Communities Scotland operates a number of grant schemes for affordable housing and in many cases housing investment is used to fund house construction and rehabilitation on land that is privately owned, by RSLs, developers or individuals, for example, via Housing Association Grant, GRO Grants for Owner Occupation and the Rural Home Ownership Grant scheme.
