Chamber and committees

Scottish Executive officials and staff from Consolidated Communications, the company handling smoke-free PR for the Executive, attended the regular meetings of the Scotland CAN Communications Group. No financial support was provided.

The level of funding is still under negotiation. The Minister of Health and Community Care is meeting the President of COSLA at the end of the month to discuss a range of implementation issues, including funding for enforcement.

The Scottish Executive appointed Consolidated Communications from its roster of PR agencies to undertake a range of PR activities in support of the smoke-free legislation. The cost for the period April 2005 to March 2006 is £169,000 (net).

The core work on the current Northern Isles ferry tendering process is being carried out by a team based in the Transport Group of the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department. However, inputs to the work are being made by senior officials in Transport Group and by staff in a range of policy and professional divisions across the Scottish Executive. It is not possible to quantify the staff costs incurred on this work by such officials as work on the tendering exercise represents only one element of their duties. On similar grounds, it is not possible to cost the ministerial involvement in the process. However, on the basis of the staff costs of the core team (without any allowance for general Scottish Executive overheads relating, for example, to accommodation costs), it is estimated that a total of £242,100 (in outturn prices) has been spent on the exercise up to 31 July 2005 broken down as follows:

Staff Costs - £84,000

Travel and Subsistence - £2,700

Consultation - £400

External Advice - £145,000

Advertising - £10,000.

The total administration costs that will be associated with the re-tendering of the contract cannot be estimated with any degree of precision at this stage of a complex procurement process.

The payments made to NorthLink in each year since they took over the contract, broken down by category of payment, are set out in the following table.

Category of Payment	Oct 2002 - Sept 2003	Oct 2003-Sept 2004	Oct 2005-July 2005	Total Oct 2002 – July 2005
Basic grant	£11,605,168	£10,702,000	£9,275,218	£31,582,386
Capital expenditure	£400,000	£400,000	£333,333	£1,133,333
Material change – staff costs	£828,615	£593,016	£491,778	£1,913,409
Material change – harbour dues	£1,758,368	£2,922,587	£2,298,050	£6,979,005
Scrabster Pier delays	£831,158			£831,158
Lease and loan payments		£4,149,377		£4,149,377
Additional funding	£3,000,000	£9,966,445	3,606,287	£16,572,732
Total	£18,423,309	£28,733,425	£16,004,666	£63,161,400

 

The basic grant line provides the basic grant figures uprated for inflation (but for only a 10 month period for 2004-05).

The capital expenditure line reflects the provision in the grant agreement to pay NorthLink up to £400,000 per annum in additional grant depending on the extent to which the aggregate capital expenditure related to the new vessels exceeded the grant agreement benchmark of £88 million. The actual capital expenditure incurred triggered this allowance in full.

The material change – staff costs line records the payments made to NorthLink as a result of actual staff costs being higher than projected in the company’s bid. This provision stemmed from the fact that the previous operator would not release details of their staff costs to other bidders in the subsidy competition. From April 2004 the figures are notional as the support to NorthLink was provided through a single monthly payment without a specific sum hypothecated for material change.

The material change – harbour dues line records the payments made to NorthLink as a result of actual harbour dues being higher than projected in the company’s bid. This provision was necessary as the scale of harbour dues payable was unknown at the time of the subsidy competition, not least because some new facilities were still to be constructed. From April 2004 the figures are notional as the support to NorthLink was provided through a single monthly payment without a specific sum hypothecated for material change.

The payments related to Scrabster Harbour delays were intended to meet some of the costs faced by NorthLink as a result of the delay in the completion of the new pier at Scrabster, including the costs of laying up the new vessel for that route and chartering a replacement for a period of approximately six months.

The lease/loan payments were made in September 2004 and were aimed at paying off, in one instalment, a loan which NorthLink had entered into and leases related to some of the assets used by NorthLink. As a result, the Scottish Executive secured control of these assets for use in the follow-on contract. These payments also served to reduce the total level of support which NorthLink required as they involved interest payment savings.

The additional funding line aims to present the additional funding that has been provided to NorthLink, over and above the other categories, to maintain its delivery of the lifeline services. However, this category has also been the source of funding to cover other items that could have been the subject of a material change claim under the terms of the grant agreement. For example, the grant agreement provided for NorthLink to bear the first 10% of any increase in fuel prices over the benchmark April 2000 figure. No material change claim for additional grant under this heading was made by the company before the funding system was changed in 2004. However, the company estimates that, up to 31 July 2005, it would have been entitled to approximately £2.2 million to cover the increase in fuel prices over the 10% margin stipulated in the grant agreement. Allowing for this figure would reduce the additional funding awarded to NorthLink over the period October 2002 to July 2005 to £14,372,732. There are also, for example, legal costs associated with the consideration of the applicability of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE) to the transfer of staff to NorthLink and costs arising from the outcome of the TUPE Employment Tribunal decision that fall into the same category.

The grant agreement of December 2000 between the Scottish Executive and NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd provided for basic grant payments, expressed in April 2000 prices, as follows:

October 2002 to September 2003 - £10.773 million

October 2003 to September 2004 - £9.662 million

October 2004 to September 2005 - £9.250 million

October 2005 to September 2006 - £8.139 million

October 2006 to September 2007 - £7.828 million.

However, the agreement provided for these figures to be uprated in line with inflation and also made provision for extra payments to be made to the company principally to cover cost factors which were unknown at the time of the contract award and to cover cost increases (egg in fuel prices) that were beyond the control of the operator.

The core work on the previous Northern Isles ferry tendering process (which culminated in an award of contract to NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Limited in December 2000) was carried out by a team based in the Transport Group of what is now the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department. However, inputs to the work were made by senior officials in Transport Group and by staff in a range of policy and professional divisions across the Scottish Office/Scottish Executive. It is not possible to quantify the staff costs incurred on this work by such officials as work on the tendering exercise represented only one element of their duties. On similar grounds, it is not possible to cost the ministerial involvement in the process. However, on the basis of the staff costs of the core team (without any allowance for general Scottish Office/Scottish Executive overheads relating, for example, to accommodation costs), it is estimated that a total of £100,000 (in outturn prices) was spent on the exercise broken down as follows:

Staffing - £86,000

Travel and Subsistence Expenses for Officials - £ 1,000

External Advice - £13,000.

The information in the followingtable shows that 17 planning applications involving multiple wind turbines havebeen referred to ministers on appeal after being refused by local authorities since1999. Of the 17 appeals, six appeals remain current and three were withdrawn beforeany decision was reached. Of those that have been determined the appeal was allowedand planning permission granted in four cases and in a further four the appeal wasdismissed and planning permission refused.

File Reference	Date of Receipt	Development Site	Development Description	Decision Date	Decision
P/PPA/130/69	25.07.01	An Suidhe, Argyll	Wind farm comprising 24 turbines	N/A	Withdrawn
P/PPA/170/80	22.02.02	Carlesgill Hill, Langholm	Erection of 5 wind turbines	11.07.02	Planning permission granted
P/PPA/340/283	23.04.03	Balado Activity Centre, Balado, Kinross	Installation of 3 wind turbines	14.01.04	Planning permission refused
P/PPA/380/232	25.07.03	Penbreck & Carmacoup Forest, Nr Glespin	Formation of wind farm	26.05.04	Planning permission refused
P/PPA/170/102	07.11.03	Carlesgill Hill, Langholm	Erection of 3 wind turbines	N/A	Withdrawn
P/PPA/300/128	23.01.04	Hills of Towie, Drummuir, Keith	Erection of 21 wind turbines	11.04.05	Planning permission granted
P/PPA/310/88	31.03.04	Clydeport, Hunterston Terminal, Largs	Erection of 13 wind turbines	08.02.05	Planning permission refused
P/PPA/270/285	01.04.04	Borrowston Mains, Dounreay, Thurso	Erection of 10 wind turbines	03.03.05	Planning permission refused
P/PPA/110/456	01.04.04	East Mains of Dummuie, Drumblade, Huntly	Erection of 7 wind turbines	22.09.04	Planning permission granted
P/PPA/110/460	13.04.04	Smiddyhill Farms, Laurencekirk	Construction of wind energy project	N/A	Withdrawn
P/PPA/170/117	23.06.04	Carlesgill Hill, Langholm	Erection of 5 wind turbines	09.11.04	Planning permission granted
P/PPA/110/504	12.01.05	East Bradieston, Laurencekirk	Erection of 6 wind turbines	N/A	Current
P/PPA/250/507	27.01.05	Clatto Farm, Ladybank, Cupar	Erection of 17 wind turbines	N/A	Current
P/PPA/330/32	14.03.05	Enyas Hill, Rendall, Orkney	Erection of 3 wind turbines	N/A	Current
P/PPA/340/420	17.03.05	Land at Green Knowes, By Glendevon	Erection of 18 wind turbines	N/A	Current
P/PPA/300/166	25.05.05	Balnamoon, Crossroads, Keith	Construction of a wind turbine	N/A	Current
P/PPA/340/459	08.08.05	Land at Drumderg, Blairgowrie	Erection of 16 wind turbines	N/A	Current

 

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18110 on 25 August 2005. 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.