Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has made an initial estimate that the Home Insulation Scheme could save in the region of 24,250 tCO₂e in 2009-10. The actual emission savings achieved will depend on a range of factors including the characteristics of the areas chosen, and the scale of contribution from partners. The emission savings achieved will be calculated within the framework for standard carbon assessment being developed by the Scottish Government.

The total householder contribution to measures part-funded by the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 will depend on factors such as the eligibility criteria agreed and the areas selected.

The proportion of fuel poor households within each area that will benefit under the Home Insulation Scheme will depend on the characteristics of the areas selected.

In delivering the Home Insulation Scheme, we will aim to ensure that best practice procurement is followed to achieve value for money, balancing specification for the work with its cost effective delivery.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23524 on 11 May 2009. 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.

We intend to publish the Identity Management and Privacy Draft Principles consultation very soon after summer recess.

The proportion of households within each area that will be entitled to free insulation measures will depend on a range of factors including the eligibility criteria agreed and the characteristics of that area.

The Scottish Government is committing £15 million of investment to the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 and is seeking £15 million of complementary investment from other sources. These sources could, for example, include local councils and housing associations. Private householders and energy companies are also expected to contribute through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target. On 1 May 2009, we wrote to councils seeking proposals for areas to be selected under the scheme and anticipated contributions from them, and their local partners, for the scheme. It is therefore too early to say how the contributions from the various partners will breakdown.

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure & Climate Change attended the British-Irish Council meeting of 17 April 2009, at which the Irish and Manx governments were present, and during which the issue of the Sellafield nuclear power plant was raised.

Ministers from the Irish and Manx Governments advised that they are close to completing a revised joint paper on Sellafield and radioactive waste. The paper will address current operations at Sellafield, the safety of those operations, the final disposal of radioactive waste and the control of environmental discharges. This topic will be given fuller discussion at the next ministerial level meeting of the council in 2010, at which Scottish ministers will be present.

The next summit meeting of the British-Irish Council is scheduled to take place in October in Jersey; however the agenda is yet to be determined.