Chamber and committees

In assessing such applications, the Scottish Government relies on advice from its statutory stakeholders namely, Local Planning Authorities, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish National Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland. In addition, subject to the details of the application, a wide range of other stakeholders may also be consulted where their specific expertise is required. Details of the individuals and resources utilised by these organisations is an operational matter for each of the bodies concerned and is not held centrally.

The Energy Consents Unit also utilises solicitors within Scottish Government Legal Directorate and on a project specific basis may also consult with Senior Counsel and the Lord Advocate.

As is usual for this type of contract, the project contractor does not receive payment for sections of the project until they are available and open to traffic.

There are no plans to phase out prescriptions for gluten-free food staples. Prescribing of these products are subject to ongoing monitoring and review as are all areas of prescribing activity. NHS prescriptions are not provided as a means of financial help, but are based on clinical need.

Rulings by the European Court of Human Rights against the UK Government (which is the state party) in relation to Scottish criminal cases are extremely rare, and that Court has not, at any point, made a finding in any such case that an individual has been wrongly accused or convicted.

The very few rulings against the UK Government on Scottish devolved matters have concerned individual procedural issues, dependent on the facts of each case.

The fact that there are very few such rulings reflects the robust safeguards which protect human rights and guard against miscarriages of justice, and are central to Scotland’s criminal justice system; notably comprehensive appeal provisions and the availability of review by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission - one of very few such bodies in the world.

The Scottish Government also strongly supports the right of individual application to the European Court of Human Rights. That right predates the Human Rights Act 1998 and has been available to everyone in Scotland since 1966.

Further to the answer to question S5W-05886, Dr Janet Brown, Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) wrote to Mr Burnett, at the Scottish Parliament, on 2 February 2017.

Scottish Government officials have asked SQA to reissue Dr Brown's reply.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W- 06882 on 20 February 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx”

From 1 April 2017, the Small Business Bonus Scheme threshold will increase by 50% to remove rates for eligible premises with rateable values up to £15,000, meaning that many properties which do improve their premises will retain the benefits of the Bonus Scheme after those improvements have been made.

The Scottish Assessors Association operates wholly independent of The Scottish Government and Scottish Ministers have no powers to direct them or locus to comment on their methodology used to determine rateable values, which may be subject to legal challenge. Draft practice notes used by the Assessors are available at: https://www.saa.gov.uk/practice_notes_2017/

The Scottish Government is fully committed to supporting primary care, including GPs, and ensuring that all communities in Scotland, including remote and rural, receive safe, reliable and sustainable health care services.

Over three years, the Scottish Government is investing £85 million, as part of the Primary Care Fund. As part of this, over £2million will be invested in work to explore with key stakeholders the issues surrounding GP recruitment and retention which can be particularly challenging in remote and rural areas. This will support a range of initiatives over the next two years including the establishment of a Scottish Rural Medicine Collaborative in eight health boards, including NHS Grampian and NHS Highland. This initiative will bring together recruitment strategies and support networks for GPs working in remote and rural areas.

We have committed to increasing the NHS revenue budget by £500 million more than inflation over the next five years and will, in every year of this parliament, increase the share of the NHS budget that goes to primary care.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to directly invest in wind farms anywhere in Scotland. Our draft Energy Strategy is due for publication shortly and will outline our aspirations for onshore wind in Scotland.

Through Local Energy Scotland, the Scottish Government offers start-up grants and pre-planning loans for community and locally owned projects. Due to unwelcome reductions in UK support for renewable energy technologies, as many as 14 previously viable projects are no longerviable, therefore in the North East we currently estimate that five onshore wind projects are likely to progress and will require a total of £220,000 of future investment.”