Liam McArthur

15 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward its energy efficiency and microgeneration action plan, as described in its response to the Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration: Achieving a Low Carbon Future: A Strategy for Scotland consultation in June 2008.

Answer · Jim Mather: We have included a mandatory provision within our ambitious Climate Change Bill to introduce an energy efficiency action plan for Scotland within one year of the Bill coming into force. We will publish an outline of the action plan in Spring 2009 and will pub…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will bring forward plans to reform the agricultural subsidy appeals procedure and, if so, when.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I set up an independent review of the EU Agricultural Subsidy appeals procedure in November 2007. Following extensive consultation and assessment of the current process I received the Report <i >A review of the European Union Agricultural Subsidy Appeals Proc…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the recommendations of the independent review into the agricultural subsidy appeals procedure.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I received the Report <i >A review of the European Union Agricultural Subsidy Appeals Procedure in </i><i >Scotland</i><i ></i> on 4 November which I have carefully considered.</p> <p >I have accepted 16 of the 17 recommendations made by the review team l…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the statement of intent process under the Scotland Rural Development Programme to be working effectively.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Statement of Intent is the first of a two stage application process to the Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities. The statement of intent allows applicants to register their interest in Rural Priorities and give an outline of their ideas under th…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated overspend or underspend is on the Rural Priorities element of the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Spending on new projects under Rural Priorities could not begin until after the Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-13 was approved by the European Commission earlier this year. The programme as approved fixes budgets by measure, for example those for s…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is assisting farmers and crofters with the online application only process for gaining approval for Rural Priorities projects.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Rural Priorities can only be applied for on-line and one of the main advantages of this is that it helps guide people to the information that is relevant to their particular situation, thereby making it more straightforward to complete. The Scottish Governmen…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated under the competitive elements of the Scotland Rural Development Programme in the last year, broken down by (a) SGRPID office area, (b) type of scheme, (c) amount awarded and (d) month.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: There are eight delivery mechanisms within the Scotland Rural Development Programme, five of which are competitive. The competitive elements are:</p> <p >Rural Priorities</p> <p >LEADER</p> <p >Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC)</p> <p …

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been made under the competitive elements of the Scotland Rural Development Programme in the last year, broken down by (a) SGRPID office area, (b) type of scheme and (c) month

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2007-2013 has eight delivery mechanisms. These are:</p> <p align=left >Crofting Counties Agricultural Grant Scheme</p> <p align=left >Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation Grant Scheme</p> <p align=l…

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers and crofters have submitted statements of intent to make applications for funding under the Scotland Rural Development Programme in the last year and how many of the applications have received (a) red, (b) amber and (c) green light responses, broken down into (i) SGRPID o…

Answer · Michael Russell: Since the opening of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) “ Regional Priorities (RP) in April 2008, we have received 4,447 statement of intent submissions by 31 December 2008. The monthly submission profile is detailed in the following table.</p> …

11 Dec 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make public its proposals arising from the Safeguarding Our Fishing Rights: The Future of Quota Management and Licensing in Scotland consultation, which was launched in May and closed in August 2008.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I wrote to stakeholders on 16 December providing an update on our plans for quota management and licensing in Scotland. This set out in broad terms our plans to have a phased implementation of quota and licensing arrangements in Scotland during 2009. A report…

11 Dec 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Orkney Islands Council, the Scottish Crofting Foundation and the NFU Scotland regarding the impact on small farmers in the crofting counties of losing access to the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme and what views were expressed during discussio…

Answer · Michael Russell: We had no formal discussions with any external stakeholders about our proposals prior to the publication of the Scottish Government Response, to the final report of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting, because no small farmer needs to be worse off as a resul…

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what formal requirement there will be for the Scottish European Green Energy Centre to engage with (a) the European Commission, (b) the UK Government, (c) other government departments and agencies, (d) developers and (e) environmental bodies and non-governmental organisations.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish European Green Energy Centre business plan sets out how the Centre will work in partnership with these organisations. This partnership working will be essential to the activities of the Centre in practice, although the business plan does not envi…

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish European Green Energy Centre’s work programme is for the next 12 months.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish European Green Energy Centre''s work programme for the next 12 months is set out in its business plan (under the heading Three Year Plan). A copy of the business plan has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 4716…

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish European Green Energy Centre will be funded.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish European Green Energy Centre business plan envisages funding from a range of sources, including the Scottish Government, other public and private bodies, and European Structural Funds, where applications have been submitted to the current round i…

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) set-up and (b) annual running costs will be of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre.

Answer · Jim Mather: We anticipate that the set-up costs of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre, including the economic report establishing the business case for the centre and the official costs involved in the centre''s study visit to Norway, will be less than £50,000 in …

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it received, and from whom, on the benefits of establishing the Scottish European Green Energy Centre.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government received advice on the benefits of establishing the Scottish European Green Energy Centre from a range of organisations. In particular, the economic rationale for intervention was established through independent consultancy advice and …

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it conducted into the benefits of establishing the Scottish European Green Energy Centre.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government commissioned an independent economic appraisal of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre from EKOS Ltd, which set out the economic impact, strategic fit, and rationale for market intervention of the Centre.</p>

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what work will be undertaken by the Scottish European Green Energy Centre that is not carried out by the Scottish Government’s existing departments and agencies.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish European Green Energy Centre will complement and co-ordinate the range of work already undertaken by the Scottish Government''s existing departments and agencies in the development of green energy, with a specifically European dimension.</p> <p …

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff the Scottish European Green Energy Centre will have.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish European Green Energy Centre business plan envisages a full staff complement of 10. A copy of the business plan has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47164)</p>

27 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit will be of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre.

Answer · Jim Mather: The principal remit of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre is set out in the centre''s three strategic aims:</p> <p >Promoting the internationalisation of sustainable energy research</p> <p >Fostering good practice in the development and deployment of…

27 Nov 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it can offer to groups trying to strengthen partnerships between communities in Scotland and Malawi by bringing small groups of Malawians to Scotland or vice versa.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:</p> <p >http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-08/sor1127-01.htm</p>

26 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the average household’s annual fuel bill has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The average fuel bill for the last 10 years has to be derived from two sources, the Scottish House Condition Survey and the Department for Business, Enterprise &amp; Regulatory Reform. Combining these sources and making an adjustment for higher fuel bills in …

24 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether people on low incomes and pensioners are entitled to receive loft and cavity wall insulation and energy-saving devices free of charge and, if not, whether such entitlements are planned and when they will be introduced.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: As part of the Energy Assistance Package, due to begin in April 2009, energy companies have agreed to provide people on income-related benefits and pensioners aged 70 or over with loft insulation (where there is currently less than 60mm of insulation) and cav…

24 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its review of the Rural Priorities scheme following the first round of awards will examine the possibility of shifting funding into alternative agricultural support schemes.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: When reviewing the Rural Priorities and other parts of the Scottish Rural Development Plan, the Scottish Government has the option to look at the balance of funding across the different measures as well as other issues such as application procedures. We inten…

21 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consult on implementing the recommendations of the Sullivan report, A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Sullivan Report work programme being taken forward by the Scottish Government''s Building Standards Division covers the 56 recommendations, some of which require public consultation and others which do not require formal consultation.</p> <p >A consultat…

21 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on which fuel poverty schemes will be funded under the UK Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme and which will be funded by the Scottish Government.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: As the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing set out in her statement on 19 November 2008, the Scottish Government has decided to implement the Energy Assistance Package as recommended by the Fuel Poverty Forum from April 2009. This integrated new packag…

21 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s report, published on Monday 10 November, calling for the European Union to change its approach to vaccination procedures across Europe in order to reduce the spread of viral pathogens and what discussions the Scottish Gover…

Answer · Richard Lochhead: This report is highly relevant to the current situation in Europe, and now Scotland, regarding bluetongue vaccination.</p> <p >The Scottish Government has long understood that the best way to secure Scotland''s long-term protection against bluetongue is to …

21 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that adequate support is being received by the agricultural industry through the Scottish Rural Development Plan.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: With £1.6 billion available over the programme period 2007-13, the Scottish Rural Development Plan offers a substantial level of resources to land managers, including those engaging in agricultural activities, to meet the demands placed on it. The case for ad…

21 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the success of the Scottish Rural Development Plan.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) was approved in February 2008. Resultant proposals for funding from programme resources have only been made on projects and proposals since then. It is therefore too early to provide an evidence based assessment…

21 Nov 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the Scottish Rural Development Plan provides adequate and effective support for the agricultural industry.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme was designed in consultation with stakeholders and is monitored continuously by a programme monitoring committee. The Scottish Government has already in 2008 submitted to the European Commission modifications to the pr…