Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government contract with Sodexo is for the provision and delivery of a catering and related services requirement. It is not a bespoke contract for the provision of a particular category of produce.

The Scottish Government contract commenced on 1 June 2010, seven months before the guidance Catering for Change was issued. It requires Sodexo to follow government policies and places on them an obligation to be an exemplar with regard to the use of fresh, seasonal and healthy food produce.

Forestry Commission Scotland''s estimate of the wind energy capacity likely to be installed as a result of this announcement is 500MW. This is of course simply an initial estimate and the position will become much clearer in eight months time when the selected developers will have completed an assessment of the lots.

However, based on the 500MW, we would expect around 540 hectares in total to be required. Unless this area is agreed as open space for other reasons, Forestry Commission Scotland will require an equivalent area of compensatory planting be undertaken to offset this small reduction in forest cover. Further details on the control of woodland policy are available on the Forestry Commission website at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7HYHWE.

No compensatory replanting has yet taken place on the national forest estate but is being sought by Forest Enterprise Scotland for schemes submitted since the Scottish Government''s policy on control of woodland removal was published in June 2008.

Forestry Commission Scotland does not hold this data by year (construction typically takes place over several years).

Since 1999, woodland removal on the national forest estate has taken place for the following schemes, all of which have been built or are under construction:

Name of Wind Farm	Local Authority Area(s)	Area of Woodland Removal (ha)
Beinn an Tuirc 1	Argyll and Bute	329
Beinn an Tuirc 2	Argyll and Bute	550
Deucheran	Argyll and Bute	9
An Suidhe	Argyll and Bute	3
Clachan Flats	Argyll and Bute	1
Cruach Mhor	Argyll and Bute	400
Kingshill (Blacklaw)	S. Lanarkshire N. Lanarkshire	9
Whitelee	S. Lanarkshire E. Renfrewshire E. Ayrshire	393
Clyde	S. Lanarkshire	193
Arecleoch	South Ayrshire	210
Achairn	Highland	339
	Total	2,436

 

Of the total area of woodland removal, 1,250hectares was for priority habitat restoration associated with environmental mitigation.

A further 2,750 hectares of woodland removal on the national forest estate is currently being considered within the planning system. Final details are not yet concluded with Forestry Commission Scotland and nor has the level of compensatory planting.

Transport Scotland does not hold data for all accidents. However, the following table shows the number of injury road accidents reported to the police where a poor or defective road surface was recorded as one of the contributory factors.

Local Authority	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Aberdeen City	4	1	1
Aberdeenshire	10	6	6
Angus	3	1	4
Argyll and Bute	1	7	5
Clackmannanshire	-	-	3
Dumfries and Galloway	3	-	4
Dundee City	2	-	-
East Ayrshire	1	3	1
East Dunbartonshire	-	1	2
East Lothian	-	1	-
East Renfrewshire	-	-	1
Edinburgh, City of	3	3	-
Eilean Siar	-	1	2
Falkirk	2	2	2
Fife	8	2	-
Glasgow City	4	6	7
Highland	10	5	8
Inverclyde	1	-	-
Midlothian	-	-	1
Moray	3	1	1
North Ayrshire	3	1	2
North Lanarkshire	1	6	2
Orkney Islands	1	-	-
Perth and Kinross	3	1	3
Renfrewshire	4	2	1
Scottish Borders	-	1	2
South Ayrshire	3	0	2
South Lanarkshire	10	12	2
Stirling	9	13	5
West Dunbartonshire	0	2	0
West Lothian	3	1	1
Total	92	79	68

 

The Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act 2006 provides a package of powers to enable the authorised undertaker, Transport Scotland, to deliver the Borders Railway project. The act does not however preclude the submission of planning applications to permit alternative development and no penalties for proceeding with development in accordance with such planning permission are applicable.

It is not expected that works will be undertaken outwith the Limits of Deviation (LOD), unless they provide value for money for the public purse, and following consultation with affected parties specific to that solution. Currently, the potential works that may occur outwith the LOD are the Falahill alternative road and rail alignment proposal, and a local car parking arrangement and access at Eskbank station, however this is still to be finalised.

Part of the Falahill alternative road and rail alignment lies outwith the Limits of Deviation (LOD). I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39815 on 3 March 2011. 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.

The Scottish Good Practice Statement and its supporting documents were developed over a period of more than five years, and a wide range of clinicians, people with ME-CFS and voluntary sector organisations were involved in the process. In our view, the documents blend the clinical effectiveness evidence with evidence drawn from the experience of those living with the condition. They also exemplify the principles of empathy and working in partnership with patients that are at the heart of our approach to all long-term conditions management.

The Good Practice Statement has been formally endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland and the Scottish Neurosciences Council, and is expected to help ensure that people living with ME-CFS get better and more consistent standards of care, including quicker and more reliable diagnosis. The documents were issued, under cover of a letter from the Chief Medical Officer, to NHSScotland on 18 November 2010.

We are currently considering how best to take forward the three-tier service model described in the needs assessment of ME-CFS that we commissioned from the Scottish Public Health Network. As the first stage in the process, the Scottish Government Health Directorates are discussing implementation with a range of bodies representing clinicians and NHS managers. Once we have their views, we will be better able to offer guidance to NHS boards on the most effective ways in which the service model can be put in place.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38588 on 26 January 2011. 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.