Parliamentary questions
Shiona Baird
294 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been charged by the police for fly-tipping not as a result of information from the "Dumb Dumpers" hotline since the hotline was established.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
11 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been charged by the police as a result of information from the "Dumb Dumpers" hotline.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
11 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls the "Dumb Dumpers" hotline has received in each month since it was established.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The amount of calls received monthly by the “Dumb Dumpers” stop line since it commenced on 9 March 2004 is as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p>March 2004</p> </td> <td> <p>266</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>April 200…
9 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the full potential of biomass as a source of electricity, heat and fuel is maximised.
Answer · Jim Wallace: We asked our Forum for RenewableEnergy Development in Scotland (FREDS) to advise on the actions that needed to betaken to develop the biomass energy sector with particular reference to wood fuel.A sub-group considered this and FREDS published a report on 31 J…
12 Jan 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what part the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning will play in ensuring that Scottish Enterprise delivers environmentally-sustainable development.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive provides strategicguidance to Scottish Enterprise through <i>A Smart, Successful </i><i>Scotland</i><i> </i>(SSS). The refreshed strategyplaces sustainability at the heart of enterprise and competitiveness, and makesit clear that the Enterprise …
12 Jan 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is, and terms of reference are, for its assessment of the impact of the proposed wind farm on the Lewis Special Protected Area (SPA).
Answer · Allan Wilson: The consultation for this ElectricityAct application, submitted in November 2004 is still underway and the final response is not expected until the end of June. At this stage it is not possible to say whena decision will be made, but the time to determination…
16 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the report to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development on progress being made towards meeting waste indicator targets.
Answer · Ross Finnie: No. Papers for meetings of the Scottish Cabinet and its Sub-Committees are exempt from disclosure under section 29 (1) (a) and 30(a) and 30(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. However, information about progress towards meeting the waste ind…
15 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the next meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Scotland will take place.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The next meeting of the CabinetSub Committee on Sustainable Scotland takes place on Tuesday, 1 February 2005.</p>
15 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publicise progress made on its work on environmental justice.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive intends to publishinformation on the progress of its work on environmental justice by the summer.</p>
15 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Scotland plans to give further consideration to "a zero based approach and supporting more locally based solutions" with regard to waste indicators, as noted in the report of its meeting on 5 October 2004.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Scotland will continue to regularly review progress with regard to waste indicators and intends to discuss the issues of zero waste and local solutions at a future meeting.</p>
15 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made towards meeting each waste indicator target.
Answer · Ross Finnie: There are three sustainable development indicators relating to waste: the amount of municipal waste arisings, the recycling rate for household waste and the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfilled. </p><p>The Scottish Environment Protection Agency’…
15 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it selects members of the steering group to develop the Scottish Sustainable Development Strategy and who the group's members are.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive has established an advisory group to assist in preparing a new Scottish strategy for sustainable development. Membership of the group consists of representatives from each Executive department (nominated by their departmental head) and the exter…
7 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held between representatives of independent grocery retail groups and ministers in the last two years; which groups were involved; when any such meetings were held; what issues were discussed, and what the outcomes were.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Ministers and officials maintain contact with the Scottish Grocers’ Federation to discuss matters of mutual interest. I shall meet the Council of the Scottish Retail Consortium in the spring.</p>
7 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held between representatives of supermarkets and ministers in the last two years; when any such meetings were held; which supermarkets were involved; what issues were discussed, and what the outcomes were.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I have met representatives from supermarkets on several occasions over the last two years, as have officials of the Executive. The main topic for discussion has been these companies’ sourcing policy in Scotland and their relationship with suppliers. I have al…
7 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many independent grocery retailers have gone out of business in the last two years and in which areas.
Answer · Jim Wallace: We do not have information on the number of independent grocery retailers that have gone out of business in the last two years. However, the following table reports the number of independent businesses that closed in the grocery retail sector between 2001 and…
2 Dec 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11453 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 November 2004, what the (a) output of all hydro schemes was prior to down-rating, (b) estimated output will be following down-rating and whether it will explain the statement that "down-rating does not necessarily me…
Answer · Jim Wallace: Information is available only in respect of calendar years. In 2001, the last year before down-rating, the output of all hydro schemes, including pump storage, was 4,258 GWh. The figure for 2002, the last year for which information is available, is 5,077 GWh.…
29 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much energy the domestic sector consumes per annum.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Figures for gas and electricity consumed by domestic customers are given in the following table (in terawatt hours).</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Year </p> </td> <td> <p>2001</p> </td> <td> <p>2002</p…
29 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much carbon is emitted per annum as a result of domestic energy use.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published data on carbon dioxide emissions by final user, which <em>includes an estimate for aggregate emissions attributable to the domestic sector,</em> for the United Kingdom. This data is…
29 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Scotland.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Minutes of Cabinet sub committees are not published. However, a report of the most recent meeting of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Sustainable Scotland which was held on 5 October is available on the Scottish Executive website.</p>
5 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which agency monitors air emissions from road traffic at sites where residential or business properties lie outwith a 10-metre radius of the sites.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the question S2W-12047 answered on 19 November 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…
5 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which agency has responsibility to monitor, and regulatory powers to control, air emissions from road traffic at sites which lie in close proximity to residential properties.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: All local authorities in Scotland have a duty under the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess air quality in their areas against the air quality objectives contained in the <i>Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland</i>.</p>…
27 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to amend section 39(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 in respect of local authority powers regarding enforcement orders for breaches of planning controls.
Answer · Johann Lamont: Section 39(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 gives planning authorities the power to decline to determine applications for planning permission if, within the previous two years the development proposal was subject to refusal of planning …
20 Oct 2004 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when guidance on the biodiversity provisions of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 will be issued.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The biodiversity provisions of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 place a new duty on all public bodies to further the conservation of biodiversity. Section 54 of the act which allows for the issuing of guidance, came into force on 1 October. Step-by…
14 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Renewables Obligation – Ofgem’s first annual report: February 2004, why there is a planned reduction in hydro-electric output of up to 60mw.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Only hydro schemes with a declared net capacity of up to 20 MW in size are eligible for support under the Renewables Obligations. A number of hydro schemes were down-rated in order to be eligible for such assistance; the decision to do so was a matter for the…
27 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications Disclosure Scotland has taken more than 30 days to process, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of applications, and how long it will take to clear the backlog.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure Scotland has cleared the backlog of applications which had built up earlier this year.</p><p>Information about the number of applications processed in more than 30 days is not available at present. We are, however, examining with Disclosure Scotla…
27 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Disclosure Scotland is meeting its service level target to process 90% of applications within 14 calendar days.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The service level target of processing 90% of applications within 14 calendar days relates to applications for Standard and Enhanced Disclosures which are correctly completed, have the appropriate payment and do not require enquiries to be made of police forc…
13 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding is being allocated to support marine energy development in 2004.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The investment plan of £7.5 million announced earlier this year by one of Scotland’s leading marine energy developers includes an equity investment of over £1.5 million by the Carbon Trust, a company whose investment activities in Scotland are funded by the S…
10 Sep 2004 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to what extent goods and services have been procured from suppliers that can “demonstrate that they have action plans and results in terms of environmental improvement”, as referred to in Annex D, Environmental Procurement Policy Statement, of The Scottish Par…
Answer · Duncan McNeil: During the competitive tenderingprocess for SPCB contracts, suppliers are routinely asked detailed questions inrelation to their environmental credentials, including action plans, initiativesand results achieved in terms of environmental improvement. Supplier…
10 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions in the last year fuel was jettisoned by aircraft over Scotland and whether there is a protocol for investigating the outcome of any such spillages.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has recorded one incident of an aircraft jettisoning fuel over Scotland in the last year. It is an offence under the Air Navigation Order to jettison fuel other than in an emergency. The CAA will investigate possible offence…
17 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route will be built as a PPP project or will be directly funded.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The procurement method has still to be decided.</p>