Chamber and committees

Customer satisfaction rates of rail users are obtained during the National Passenger Survey (NPS) carried out by Passenger Focus bi-annually.

Transport Scotland monitors the results and works with ScotRail in addressing areas highlighted in the survey as areas of concern highlighted by passengers.

The current ScotRail franchise agreement also contains an obligation for ScotRail to utilise the NPS results when considering the training needs of its staff.

As part of our engagement on the Scotland Bill in 2010 and 2011, the Scottish Government has repeatedly made the case to the UK Government for early devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD). In our regular discussions over the last
3 years with the main Scottish airports and with airlines, we have also raised the devolution of APD and the opportunities that this would present for them and for Scotland.

The issue of the protection of access to slot-constrained airports such as Heathrow is always at the forefront of our dialogue with the UK Government and its Regulators, both at Ministerial and at official level. I had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport in February on this issue in the wake of bmi’s announcement to withdraw its Glasgow/Heathrow service. This was followed up by an exchange of correspondence.

Continuing access to global hub airports is essential for Scottish business and to maintain our competitiveness and to sustain economic growth. We will continue to lobby for an adequate protection mechanism, including through the current UK Government consultation on a new sustainable aviation policy framework.

There is no central comprehensive record of funding allocated specifically to support district heating. However, as highlighted in the answer to question S4W-01468 on 27 July 2011, district heating schemes have benefited from around £23 million funding from UK Government and Scottish Government sources during this time.

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/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

There is no central comprehensive record of funding allocated to, or received by, district heating schemes in Scotland each year since 1999.

However, district heating schemes have benefited from around £23 million funding from UK Government and Scottish Government during this time. Some examples of the recorded programmes are detailed in the following tables.

UK Government Community Energy Programme

Under this UK Government Programme, in addition to the capital grants, Scottish schemes were awarded a total of £372,842 development funding between
2002-2005 to help with feasibility studies and business planning. Unfortunately, there is no record of how this is broken down between schemes.

Scottish Clean Energy Demonstration Scheme (SCEDS)

SCHRI Householder/Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant funding (specifically provided to owner occupiers connecting to the Lerwick District Heating Scheme)

Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (Community)

Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (Highlands and Islands)

Scottish Biomass Support Scheme

Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP)

Scottish Biomass Heat Scheme (SBHS)

Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES)

Energy Efficiency Design Awards

Energy Efficiency Budgets

Powers are already available to local authorities under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to intervene where owners allow their building to become defective or dangerous.

This information is not held centrally. I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to reply to you.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-218 on 2 June 2011. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

This information is not centrally available. However, published information showing the whole time equivalent of allied health professions, including physiotherapy, by NHS board and region, is available on the ISD website at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health%2DTopics/Workforce/Allied%2DHealth%2DProfessions/Allied%20health%20professions%202010.xls.

The Scottish Government sets the national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities to support implementation of these policies. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and decisions on local spending priorities are the responsibility of relevant local agencies.

Under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, advocacy is provided, or its provision secured, at local level by local authorities and the NHS. As recognised in the 2010 report by the Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee, significant resources were given to local government and health boards as part of the implementation of the 2003 Act. Since 2005-06, overall funding for local authorities has included £13 million per year to help them implement the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, of which advocacy is an important part. Similarly, £5 million per year has been made available to NHS boards to help them deliver the Act.