Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and I will ask its Chief Executive to write to the member about it.

There have been no discussions with Scottish Enterprise about the creation of a city development company in Aberdeen.

In general, the approval of Scottish Ministers is required if a local authority wishes to dispose of land held on the Housing Revenue Account, or which forms part of common or open space or is held for use as allotments. Otherwise, local authorities may generally dispose of their assets without the Scottish Ministers'' consent, providing they comply with any statutory requirements relating to the disposal.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37323 on 16 November 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The legal basis for the transfer of a local authority''s assets would be for the local authority concerned to determine.

Whether the Scottish Government''s approval was required would depend on the nature of the proposal and, to date, Aberdeen City Council has not approached the Scottish Government about its proposal.

Decisions about Scottish Enterprise''s participation in a city development company in Aberdeen are operational ones for Scottish Enterprise and I will ask its Chief Executive to write to the member about it.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37327 on 16 November 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The Scottish Government has had no formal discussions with Aberdeen City Council about its plans to create a city development company in Aberdeen.

The joint Scottish Government and COSLA school estate strategy, Building Better Schools: Investing in Scotland''s Future, commits national and local government to ensuring that schools should be ˜greener'', more sustainable and environmentally efficient.

The schools renewables development officers, who are funded by the Scottish Government, have helped local authorities secure funding from grant schemes such as the extended Low Carbon Buildings programme and our Community and Renewable Energy scheme.

We have recently introduced new building regulations to deliver a 30 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions from new buildings and in many cases, compliance will involve use of renewable technologies.

With Scottish Government funding, the Carbon Trust provides energy efficiency and emissions saving support to the public sector in Scotland. This includes advice on the installation of renewables technologies, where appropriate. In addition, the Central Energy Efficiency Fund continues to provides interest-free loans for local authorities to invest in energy saving and renewables measures.