- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government who the members are of the Harbour Porpoise Project Board; how often the board has met, and whether it will publish the minutes of the meetings.
Answer
Members of the Harbour Porpoise Project Board include all UK administrations and other relevant government departments and agencies, as appropriate. The project board has met on six occasions, as required. The meetings facilitated discussions on policy development and matters of a legally sensitive nature, and therefore we do not intend to publish the meeting documents. The conclusions of this policy development process will be available in due course.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will seek to have delegated to the First Minister the responsibility for appointing or approving appointments of senior civil servants previously held by the Prime Minister.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24166 on 9 February 2015. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how much was paid in planning fees to (a) it and (b) local authorities by wind farm developers in each of the last five years and what average fee was paid per turbine.
Answer
The Scottish Government has received the following in fees in relation to applications for on-shore wind developments under s36 of The Electricity Act. A proportion of the fee paid to the Scottish Government (2/3) is passed to the relevant planning authority.
| Year | Total fees paid to the Scottish Government | Total fees paid by the Scottish Government to planning authorities | Total number of turbines applied for | Average fee per turbine |
| 2010 | £112,000 | £74,848 | 245 | £457 |
| 2011 | £155,000 | £102,666 | 244 | £635 |
| 2012 | £230,000 | £140,000 | 358 | £642 |
| 2013 | £240,000 | £160,000 | 244 | £983 |
| 2014 | £216,000 | £144,000 | 270 | £800 |
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 4 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24001 by Alex Neil on 21 January 2015, what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding raising the maximum planning fee for wind farm developments to the same level as applied in England, Wales and North Ireland.
Answer
Following discussions with planning authorities and business representatives, the Scottish Government consulted in 2012 on proposals for a revised structure for planning fees, including the introduction of a new category for wind farms and an ‘across the board’ increase of the maximum fee for development to £100,000.
Following the consultation, it was decided that the existing fee structure and classes should be retained and that planning fees and fee maxima should instead be increased by approximately 20%. This ‘across the board’ increase was implemented in 2013, with a further increase of, on average, 5% in 2014.
Larger wind farm developments of over 50 megawatt generating capacity are not dealt with through the planning system, but are instead considered under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Increasing planning fees would therefore have no impact on the fee payable for such developments.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 4 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24001 by Alex Neil on 21 January 2015, whether it will bring forward proposals to allow the maximum planning fee for a wind farm to be increased to the same level as applied in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answer
Planning fees and fee maxima in Scotland were subject to an ‘across the board’ increase of approximately 20% in 2013 followed by a further 5% increase in 2014. The Scottish Government is not considering further increases at the present time.
Larger wind farm developments of over 50 megawatt generating capacity are not dealt with through the planning system, but are instead considered under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Increasing planning fees would therefore have no impact on the fee payable for such developments.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 4 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24001 by Alex Neil on 21 January 2015, whether it has made an assessment of the impact on achieving renewables targets if the maximum planning fee for wind farm developments is raised to the same level as applied in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answer
The Scottish Government consulted on proposals to amend the planning fee structure in 2012. As part of that consultation comments were invited on a draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment based on the proposed changes. Responses included some concern from industry that the proposed changes could adversely affect the viability of development projects.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2015
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress made in relation to the Malawi Development Programme funding round 2015-18 and on its response to the recent floods in Malawi.
Answer
I am pleased to announce that funding from our Malawi Development Programme amounting to a total of £9,245,384 over three years will be provided to 20 projects during the period 2015-18.
The Scottish Government responded to the recent floods in Malawi on 21 January 2015 by making £150,000 available to work to tackle the current humanitarian crisis there. £30,000 of that £150,000 donation has been awarded to member organisations of the Scotland Malawi Partnership who are working locally in the affected areas to deliver aid to local communities. The remaining £120,000 has been awarded to UNICEF for its Malawi flood appeal, to assist wider humanitarian efforts. Following this immediate response, we will of course also continue to work with organisations on the ground to assess the longer term impacts of this crisis.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 21 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what planning fees apply to proposed 17-turbine wind farm developments, and how these compare with the fees charged in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answer
<>Any planning application to install wind turbines is considered, for the purposes of fee calculation, as an application for the erection, alteration or replacement of plant or machinery. As such, the fee is calculated based on the area of land covered by the development, including the area covered by access tracks etc., rather than the number of turbines. The fee payable for applications containing the same number of turbines could therefore vary from site to site. The potential for variation in the fee is the same for applications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Current fees for applications for full planning permission for the erection, alteration or replacement of plant or machinery are set out in the following table:
| Scotland | £401 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area, subject to a maximum of £20,055. |
| England | Where the site area does not exceed five hectares, £385 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area. Where the site area exceeds five hectares, £19,049; and an additional £115 for each 0.1 hectare in excess of five hectares up to a maximum total of £250,000. |
| Wales | Where the site area does not exceed five hectares, £335 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area. Where the site area exceeds five hectares, £16,464; and an additional £84 for each 0.1 hectare in excess of five hectares up to a maximum total of £250,000. |
| Northern Ireland | Where the site area does not exceed five hectares, £357 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area. Where the site area exceeds five hectares, £17,824; and an additional £106 for each 0.1 hectare in excess of five hectares, subject to a maximum in total of £265,806. |
Applications for wind farms which would have a capacity of more than 50 megawatts electricity would not be dealt with through the planning system, but would be considered under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. The fee for such an application would range from £18,000 to £60,000 depending on the capacity of the wind farm.
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist dairy farmers contracted to First Milk who have been notified over the weekend of a further reduction in price and the postponement of payments due.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2015
- Asked by: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider designating the Firth of Lorne as a Special Area of Conservation for porpoises given the reported favourable conditions as a result of the absence of scallop dredging and the removal of nets.
Answer
The UK, with support from the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations, commissioned the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to undertake data collection and analysis in order to put together the most comprehensive set of data for harbour porpoise in UK waters. The JNCC has now issued initial advice to the government as part of this analysis process. The finalised advice will provide the basis for the UK Government, the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations to make decisions about Special Areas of Conservation for harbour porpoise in UK waters, including Scottish inshore waters and the Scottish offshore zone.
