Liam McArthur

26 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at what time on 20 April 2010 the MV Hamnavoe sailed from Stromness to Bergen.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: MV Hamnavoe departed Stromness for Bergen at midnight on 20 April 2010.</p> <p >On 22 April 2010, during the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on the impacts of the disruption to aviation caused by the volcanic eruption i…

26 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what date and at what time it (a) first contacted NorthLink Ferries Ltd to discuss the removal of the MV Hamnavoe from its Pentland Firth route in order to sail to Bergen, (b) made its decision to send the MV Hamnavoe to Bergen, (c) made public its decision to use the MV Hamnavoe to ev…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: (a) Scottish Government officials were first made aware of the emerging situation in Norway by NorthLink at 10:05 on 18 April 2010 when the company referred to this during its routine service update. The option of deploying a NorthLink vessel on this sailing …

21 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the European Commission, HM Government and other EU member states regarding the introduction of EU regulations to allow Scottish fish producer organisations to purchase or lease quotas and days at sea from fishermen in other member states.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: European Regulations (Article 20(5) of EC Regulation 2371/2002) already provide for the exchange of fishing opportunities between EU member states, which have traditionally been pursued through international quota swaps. The Scottish Government and Scottish F…

21 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with fisheries stakeholders on the implications of any early closure of white fish and nephrops fisheries due to 2010 quotas running out before the end of the year and what the outcome was.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Fish Producer Organisations are responsible for managing the uptake of quotas allocated to them in a way that best suits their members. The Scottish Government monitors their performance.</p> <p >The Scottish Government has drawn the attention of th…

21 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to action that it could take to help avoid early closure of white fish and nephrops fisheries due to 2010 quotas running out before the end of the year.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33300 on 6 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:<a href="../../../Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx">h…

21 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the potential impact on (a) fish catching, (b) fish processing and (c) ancillary fisheries support businesses of any early closure of white fish and nephrops fisheries due to 2010 quotas running out before the end of the year and what the outcome was.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33300 on 6 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:<a href="../../../Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx">h…

21 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the take-up to date of the Scottish quota for (a) haddock, (b) whiting, (c) cod, (d) saithe, (e) hake, (f) monkfish and (g) nephrops in the (i) North Sea and (ii) west coast fishing waters and what the result is.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33300 on 6 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/P…

9 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) energy reduction, (b) energy efficiency and (c) renewable energy budget reporting requirements it must fulfil under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Answer · Jim Mather: Section 94 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act requires an annual carbon assessment of the Scottish Budget, with the Scottish Government producing a report describing the direct and indirect impact on greenhouse gas emissions of its expenditure plans. </p> …

9 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spends on energy reduction initiatives, also broken down by (a) directorate and (b) funds channelled through agencies.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33123 on 6 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <u><a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/…

9 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spends on renewable energy initiatives, also broken down by (a) directorate and (b) funds channelled through agencies.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33123 on 6 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Scottish Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk…

9 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spends on energy efficiency initiatives, also broken down by (a) directorate and (b) funds channelled through agencies.

Answer · Jim Mather: The following table illustrates the expenditure allocated to energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives for financial year 2010-11. For the purposes of our policy and programme objectives, energy efficiency initiatives and energy reduction initiatives…

7 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways the WATERS fund will differ from the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme in terms of (a) project eligibility, (b) applicant eligibility, (c) the type of support available, (d) the distribution of payments and (e) the expected number of successful applicants.

Answer · Jim Mather: The eligibility criteria under WATERS are broadly similar to those which applied under WATES. The key difference with respect to projects is that there is no requirement to locate at EMEC, or to connect directly to the relevant local distribution network. Mea…

7 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will play in managing and administering the WATERS fund.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise will lead on the management and administration of the WATERS fund, working closely with the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.</p>

7 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the £12 million WATERS fund will be made up of unallocated, unclaimed or withdrawn funds from the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme and, in the case of unclaimed or withdrawn funds, what are the values of these funds and to whom were they originally allocated.

Answer · Jim Mather: The WATERS fund will comprise £10 million in new funding, plus a further £1.8 million representing funds which were originally allocated to AWS Ocean Energy Ltd prior to being withdrawn last year.</p>

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated to support micro-hydro renewable energy schemes in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has provided funding for micro-hydro schemes under the SCHRI - Energy Saving Scotland Home Renewable Scheme, under the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) and under the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).</p> <p >Th…

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it is allocating to support micro-hydro renewable energy schemes in 2010-11.

Answer · Jim Mather: The majority of funding for renewable energy schemes is not allocated by technology type, so it is not possible to give a set figure for micro-hydro.</p> <p >However, the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme has a budget of  £7.5 million for the provision o…

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it is taking to support micro-hydro renewable energy schemes.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has ensured that Scotland can benefit from the UK-wide feed in tariff for renewable energy schemes, including micro-hydro. The Feed in Tariff came into force on 1 April 2010.</p> <p >Support is also provided to agricultural, forestry …

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many micro-hydro renewable energy installations are operating, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jim Mather: Planning applications for small scale hydro schemes are handled at a local authority level and these figures are not held centrally.</p>

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it intends to distribute in the form of grants to support marine renewable research and development in 2010-11.

Answer · Jim Mather: As things stand, we expect to pay a further £4.8 million during 2010-11 in support of the remaining WATES projects.</p> <p >We will also be transferring to Scottish Enterprise the funds which will deliver our £12 million Wave and Tidal Energy: Research, Deve…

6 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has distributed in the form of grants to support marine renewable research and development in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Jim Mather: The first research and development grants to marine projects and developers were awarded in February 2007, under the Wave and Tidal Energy Scheme (WATES). Payments under the scheme have been as follows (based on financial years):</p> <table border=1 cellspa…

29 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many trees it expects will be (a) planted and (b) felled in each of the next five years, broken down by Forestry Commission conservancy area.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We published our <i >Rationale for Woodland Expansion </i>early in 2009. It reaffirmed the Scottish Forestry Strategy''s vision for a 650,000 hectares increase in Scotland''s woodland area by the second half of the century. Our <i >Climate Change Delivery Pla…

29 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of trees it expects will be (a) planted and (b) cleared in each of the next five years, broken down by Forestry Commission conservancy area.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We published our <i >Rationale for Woodland Expansion </i>early in 2009. It reaffirmed the Scottish Forestry Strategy''s vision for a 650,000 hectares increase in Scotland''s woodland area by the second half of the century. Our <i >Climate Change Delivery Pla…

29 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many trees have been (a) planted and (b) felled in each of the last five years, broken down by Forestry Commission conservancy area.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The first two tables show the areas of planting, and the areas approved for felling, in private woodlands in each of the last five years, broken down by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) Conservancy regions.</p> <p >The third and fourth tables show the area…

29 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of trees have been (a) planted and (b) cleared in each of the last five years, broken down by Forestry Commission conservancy area.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The first two tables show the areas of planting, and the areas approved for felling, in private woodlands in each of the last five years, broken down by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) Conservancy regions.</p> <p >The third and fourth tables show the area…

19 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what role it sees the development of electric cars playing in helping to meet Scotland’s carbon emissions reduction targets in the period (a) up to 2020, (b) from 2021 to 2030, (c) from 2031 to 2040 and (d) from 2041 to 2050.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Emissions from transport can be expected to decrease significantly but only in the medium-term. Our Climate Change Delivery Plan, published in June 2009, includes the Transformational Outcome of almost complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2050, with …

19 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fund a study into the feasibility of an island community, such as Orkney, being made a pilot area for the development of the use of electric vehicles by public bodies, private companies and individuals, given the relatively short distances generally travelled on such islan…

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Our Climate Challenge Fund has provided support for communities wishing to take action to reduce their carbon emissions, including funding for feasibility studies such as this. Unfortunately the funding for the 2008-11 Climate Challenge Fund has all been allo…

19 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would support Scottish communities applying for funding to HM Government’s Plugged-In Places Infrastructure Framework scheme to provide the infrastructure for electric vehicles.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Yes. The Scottish Government recognises that the early market for electric vehicles needs to be supported with the necessary infrastructure, and my officials are bringing this opportunity to the attention of Scottish consortia that might wish to bid.</p>

19 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the use of electric vehicles.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We set out our intention to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in our <i >Climate Change Delivery Plan</i>, published in June 2009. This includes the Transformational Outcome of almost complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2050, with significan…

19 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the provision of recharging points for electric vehicles.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We set out our intention to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in our <i >Climate Change Delivery Plan</i>, published in June 2009. The delivery plan also recognises that electric vehicle charging infrastructure will need to be planned and developed to…

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide detailed information on awards made under the Rural Priorities scheme since its inception, including location and work undertaken, broken down by Regional Proposal Assessment Committee region.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Details of committed awards under the Rural Priorities scheme are published on the Scottish Government website. Over £260 million has been committed to date with the seventh approval round commencing this month.</p>