Chamber and committees

The report on the independent review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland will be published on the Scottish Government website by the end of April 2008.

Managed by Salix on behalf of the Scottish Government, the energy efficiency fund for Scotland''s universities and colleges has been operational since January 2008. The original £4 million investment from government will leverage additional funding now bringing the total funding for energy saving projects to £6.7 million.

The Scottish Government is taking a great deal of action to improve the delivery of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland including:

A new one-stop-shop for domestic consumers in Scotland providing advice on energy efficiency, micro-renewables and transport. The Energy Saving Scotland advice network has more ambitious targets to reach twice as many people and produce four times the carbon savings;

From autumn 2008, rolling out a new Home Help service providing intensive support to help households make the right choices about microgeneration;

Next year allocating nearly £9 million in grants to support community and household microgeneration projects;

From December 2008, introducing the Home Report for house purchasers “ this will include a comprehensive report on the energy efficiency of a property in advance of submitting a bid;

Developing a CERT Strategy to ensure that Scottish households get the maximum benefit from the new Carbon Emissions Reduction Target;

Reviewing our Fuel Poverty programmes to ensure that they are operating fairly across Scotland and seeking opportunities to strengthen the links with energy efficiency and climate change objectives;

Developing tools and guidance for communities to help them gain maximum benefit from renewable projects;

Providing additional advice and financial support to small businesses to help them invest in microgeneration. This includes investment of a further £2 million in our successful loan scheme, and

Better targeting support to business and the public sector through the Carbon Trust.

We are also making use of the findings of the independent review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland, along with the responses to the draft energy efficiency and microgeneration strategy consultation, to help inform future policy development and action for improving and streamlining delivery.

In addition, we are carrying out a range of activities designed to enhance the planning and building standards systems including; publishing a Planning Advice Note to support the SPP6 policy for on-site zero and low carbon equipment; a consultation paper on permitted development rights for domestic microgeneration equipment; considering the recommendations of the Sullivan report which related to the energy performance of buildings, and a consultation on proposals for improving the energy performance of existing buildings is currently being drafted.

The responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in an area rests with the NHS board for that area. The Scottish Government do not hold waiting lists for NHS dental treatment.

The Glennie Report, which was commissioned by the previous administration, highlighted a number of issues facing the dental profession as a whole. We will however, take the opportunity to take account of the impact on the number of people not registered with a dentist when the new dental strategy group is formed.

A number of financial measures are in place to recruit and retain dentists in the NHS, including a remote areas allowance. We are also working to continue to increase the dental workforce in Scotland.

The consultation on the draft Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy closed on 12 June 2007 and individual responses have been published on the Scottish Government website. We have been analysing the response and will publish a summary report in spring 2008. This will give the government''s response to the consultation and outline our next steps.

The work programme commenced by the Scottish Building Standards Agency will continue to be taken forward by Scottish building standards, a part of the directorate for the built environment. Working party meetings with the industry have already begun to consider recommendations relating to both the compliance issues and the proposed changes to the energy standards of the building regulations. Research is also being undertaken to consider the financial implications of the recommendations.

The number of farmers and crofters who had Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) land management agreements requiring a reduction in livestock numbers over the single farm payment (SFP) reference period of 2000-02 is shown in the first column of the following table. The second and third columns show the number of farmers and crofters who had SNH land management agreements over the same period which restricted proposed increases in livestock numbers, and those where there was a mixture of both. Some of these management agreements may have expired since the SFP reference period. The figures are broken down by SNH Area rather than SGRPID Area Office Area as this is how they are recorded.

Number of SNH Management Agreements with Farmers and Crofters that
Reduced/Restricted Increases in Livestock Numbers during the Single Farm Payment Reference Period of 2000-02¹

SNH Area	Reduction in Livestock Numbers	Restriction of Proposed Increase  in Livestock Numbers	Cases Where a Mixture of Both	Total
Argyll and Stirling	2	18	0	20
Dumfries and Galloway	1	4	0	5
East Highland	1	0	0	1
Forth and Borders	0	6	0	6
Grampian	0	9	0	9
North Highland	0	13	0	13
Northern Isles	4	69	3	76
Strathclyde and Ayrshire	4	19	0	23
Tayside and Clacks	1	5	0	6
West Highland	2	1	0	3
Western Isles	0	4	1	5
Total	15	148	4	167

Note: 1. These figures are based on best available information held centrally by SNH.

The creative industries are identified as a key sector of the economy in the Government Economic Strategy, and the Scottish Government wishes to strengthen Scotland''s reputation as a source of contemporary crafts of the highest quality. Advice and support to enable small craft businesses to network, to represent Scotland at key events abroad and to receive advice and training in business development, is available through the activities of the Scottish Arts Council, the Cultural Enterprise Office, the Business Gateway and others. Work is in hand in the context of the establishment of Creative Scotland to improve further the support provided to the creative industries.

There are no current plans to do so in relation to Defra''s Water Strategy. However, the Scottish government is keen to encourage the development of anaerobic digestion projects in Scotland.

I would refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10453 on 12 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Government intends commissioning some research shortly to review and analyse data and evidence relating to migration which exists at both a national and local level to see what it can tell us about migration and its impact, and to identify information gaps which need to be addressed. This will include looking at local research and surveys, such as that carried out by the Fife multi-agency working group.