- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding the Aberdeen 3Rs school project since 7 October 2008.
Answer
The Scottish Government''s expertise in supporting infrastructure projects now rests with Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). Discussions have been held between SFT and the council and its professional advisers about the schools project and how to respond to any developments.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the plans by Aberdeen City Council to introduce free school breakfasts for every pupil in P1 to P7 by 2010 will meet the objective set by Scottish ministers of free school meals for all P1 to P3 pupils.
Answer
Aberdeen City Council will be expected to roll out free school meals to all P1 to P3 pupils from August 2010, as set out in the concordat. In addition to providing free school lunches Aberdeen City Council may, if it so decides, also provide free breakfasts for all primary schools.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding additional funding for free school breakfasts for all pupils in P1 to P7, due to be implemented in 2010.
Answer
We have not had any discussions with Aberdeen City Council regarding additional funding for free school breakfasts for all P1 to P7 pupils.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to events happening in each local authority area for Homecoming Scotland 2009.
Answer
All local authorities were given an equal chance to benefit from the funding opportunities available. The following table shows funding allocated from the core Homecoming programme budget to events taking place across local authority areas. In addition to this, all local authorities have been given the opportunity to feature relevant events as part of the Homecoming partner programme. This partner programme offers in-kind support, but not direct funding.
| Local Authority | Programme Budget Allocation | % of Programme Budget |
| Aberdeen City Subtotal | £35,000.00 | 1.14% |
| Aberdeenshire Subtotal | £57,000.00 | 1.85% |
| Argyll and Bute Subtotal | £40,000.00 | 1.30% |
| Clackmannanshire Subtotal | £10,000.00 | 0.33% |
| Dumfries and Galloway Subtotal | £63,000.00 | 2.05% |
| East Ayrshire Subtotal | £40,000 | 1.30% |
| East Lothian Subtotal | £30,000 | 0.98% |
| Edinburgh Subtotal | £391,944.00 | 12.75% |
| Fife Subtotal | £102,428.00 | 3.33% |
| Glasgow Subtotal | £521,505 | 16.96% |
| Highland Subtotal | £177,000 | 5.76% |
| Midlothian Subtotal | £25,000 | 0.81% |
| Moray Subtotal | £10,000 | 0.33% |
| Orkney Subtotal | £5,475 | 0.18% |
| Perth and Kinross Subtotal | £232,700 | 7.57% |
| Scottish Borders Subtotal | £52,000 | 1.69% |
| Shetland Subtotal | £10,000 | 0.33% |
| South Ayrshire Subtotal | £259,000 | 8.42% |
| Stirling Subtotal | £3,000.00 | 0.10% |
| West Dunbartonshire Subtotal | £6,500 | 0.21% |
| West Lothian Subtotal | £25,000 | 0.81% |
| Western Isles Subtotal | £23,946 | 0.78% |
| Various Subtotal (multiple locations) | £640,140 | 20.82% |
| Unconfirmed Subtotal | £190,000.00 | 6.18% |
| Contingency | £124,460.00 | 4.05% |
| Totals | £3,075,098 | 100.00% |
| Total Programme Budget | 3,075,098 | |
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding for Homecoming Scotland 2009 has been allocated to each local authority, also expressed as a percentage of total Homecoming Scotland 2009 funding.
Answer
Fourteen local authorities, in their role as event owners/organisers, bid for and are receiving funds from the £3 million Homecoming programme budget. The following local authorities are in direct receipt of funding to support specific event activity:
| Local Authority/Applicant | Funds Direct to LAs | % of total Programme Budget £3,075,098 |
| Aberdeen City Council Subtotal | £20,000.00 | 0.65% |
| Aberdeenshire Council Subtotal | £50,000.00 | 1.63% |
| Clackmannanshire Council Subtotal | £10,000.00 | 0.33% |
| Dumfries and Galloway Subtotal | £23,000.00 | 0.75% |
| East Ayrshire Council Subtotal | £20,000.00 | 0.65% |
| City of Edinburgh Council Subtotal | £65,000.00 | 2.11% |
| Glasgow Subtotal | £120,000.00 | 3.90% |
| Highland Council Subtotal | £60,000.00 | 1.95% |
| Moray Council Subtotal | £10,000.00 | 0.33% |
| Perth and Kinross Council Subtotal | £40,000.00 | 1.30% |
| Scottish Borders Council Subtotal | £42,000.00 | 1.37% |
| South Ayrshire Subtotal | £14,000.00 | 0.46% |
| Angus and Dundee Councils (shared) Subtotal | £19,000.00 | 0.62% |
| Totals | £493,000.00 | 16.03% |
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 5 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has committed to Homecoming Scotland 2009.
Answer
There is a core budget of £5 million which has been allocated to EventScotland for delivery of Homecoming Scotland 2009. This includes £3 million for programme, £1.25 million for marketing and communications and £0.75 million for operational costs. The Scottish Government is also looking to support this national celebration by aligning various activities with the Homecoming programme. The value of this activity is not included in the £5 million budget administered by EventScotland.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with UK ministers regarding the connection of renewable generation capacity to electricity markets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16854 on 4 November 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.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-6312 by Jim Mather on 29 November 2007, what progress has been made on discussions with the Norwegian Government on proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets in Norway or elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
We have now completed a pre-scoping study on the potential for grid links from Scotland across the North Sea and will be using it as the basis for discussions with potential partners, including Norway, to carry out further feasibility work.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-6313 and S3W-6314 by Jim Mather on 11 December and 29 November 2007 respectively, what progress has been made on discussions with representatives from ofgem about proposals for the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation capacity to electricity markets elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
We are progressing studies on the potential for electricity grid connections with Northern Ireland and Ireland, and across the North Sea. Discussions have taken place with officials from the now Department of Energy and Climate Change, and from Ofgem, on the scope of such work.
The First Minister wrote to Gordon Brown on 8 October to urge that subsea interconnection is included in the European Council''s forthcoming Strategic Energy Review, and we await with interest to see whether this recommendation has been accepted.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 November 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what feasibility studies it has carried out into the connection of Scotland’s offshore renewable generation with electricity markets elsewhere in Europe.
Answer
The Scottish Government is involved in two feasibility studies which aim to help to make the business case for future commercial investment in offshore electricity grid connections.
The Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study (ISLES) explores potential grid links to exploit the offshore renewables resource in the Atlantic coasts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. A pre-scoping study has been completed, and funding for a full feasibility study has been agreed by the European Commission. We currently await a formal grant offer from the Commission in order for the feasibility study to be carried out with our Irish and Northern Irish partners.
Another pre-scoping study has been completed, examining the potential for grid connections across the North Sea, off the coasts of the north and east coasts of Scotland and the west coasts of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the north coast of Germany. The Scottish Government is now seeking potential partners for a full feasibility study to take place.
