Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government will ensure that should Scotland become independent, patients living in the borders but registered with a GP in England will not be disadvantaged in their health care access and treatment.

The following table provides details of the number of (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful appeals submitted by farmers who incurred financial penalties for failing to observe cross compliance requirements and standards for calendar years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The table also contains the number of appeals lodged (by 29 February) in 2012, all of which relate to cross compliance year 2011.

This information is not available. It is not possible to accurately separate the costs to the National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons for services operated under community bus permits and those which operate under a standard operator licence.

The absence of a detailed and up to date registry of Community Transport providers makes it difficult to provide anything but an approximation of the potential total costs. The report from the review of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons published in May 2009 suggested that the costs then would be in the region of £5.2 million.

The information requested is not collected.

Service routes and frequencies are a matter for individual bus operators. We are maintaining total support for the bus sector at £248.6 million per annum, a reduction of less than 3% on the 2011-12 figure. Within that total, next year will see a reduction of £7 million (or 11%) in the Bus Service Operators Grant. However, the changes to the scheme will lead to a limited redistribution of funding towards longer and more rural services, which should be beneficial for the South of Scotland.

Across Scotland, the average impact on fares of the changes we are making to the Bus Service Operators Grant scheme should be around 1% or 2%. It is for individual bus operators to decide whether to pass these costs on to customers. However, the changes will also lead to a limited redistribution of funding towards longer and more rural services. This should further reduce the impact on operators in the South of Scotland.

The following table provides details of the number of payment reductions imposed on farmers for failing to observe cross compliance requirements and standards.

Number of Payment Reductions Imposed on Farmers

Notes:

1.^.The cross compliance year follows the calendar year.

2. Inspection findings for the 2011 have still to be finalised, details correct as of 28 February 2012.

3. Figures for the first two months of the 2012 inspections year, details correct as of 28 February 2012.

All renewable energy developments on the national forest estate will require planning approval by the local authority or (for wind farms in excess of 50 megawatts) consent from Scottish ministers under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. As a part of these processes, all developments on the national forest estate will be subject to the strategic framework set out in Scotland’s National Planning Framework (NPF2) and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP). SPP explains that development plans prepared by planning authorities should provide a clear indication of the potential for development of wind farms of all scales, and should set out criteria to be considered in deciding applications, including cumulative impact.

As part of its recent competitive negotiation process, aimed at identifying development partners for renewable energy, Forestry Commission Scotland has reached agreements that will allow communities to take an equity share in these wind and hydro-power developments on the national forest estate. In addition, communities wishing to develop projects themselves may apply, through the National Forest Land Scheme, for land that is not under option or extended exclusivity with developers. Further information is available at:

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-8f2ez7.

This site includes a map showing opportunities for hydro-power development and a similar map for wind-related opportunities will be published in due course.