Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scotland Rural DevelopmentProgramme will open up new opportunities for rural communities. We are looking forways to encourage capacity building within those communities to ensure they cantake full advantage of these opportunities.

Ministers have not yet been ableto consider the evaluation of the Rural Voices pilot programme. The evaluation reportwill be published as soon as they have done so.

Part of the proceeds of the aggregates levy is available to support communities affected by aggregates extraction through community environmental renewal grants. Grants are available to projects which address the environmental effects of past or present aggregates extraction involve the local community and have demonstrable social and/or economic benefit to the local community. It is open to any community affected by aggregates extraction to devise a project in accordance with the criteria.Grants were allocated according to merit by a Grants Panel, rather than on a geographical basis or in proportion to the amount raised by the levy in a particular area. The panel included representatives from COSLA, community councils, the aggregates industry, Scottish Natural Heritage and Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Any geographical or pro rata allocation of the proceeds of the levy would to some extent be arbitrary. For example, basing allocations on the current proceeds of the levy would disadvantage those areas that are affected by former extraction sites no longer in production. For that reason, we believe that a single national scheme to which all communities have equal access is the best approach.Further grants will be available in 2003-04. I will be looking to Forward Scotland, who will administer the 2003-04 scheme, to promote the scheme to communities which have not benefited from grants this year.

The Grants Panel allocated £922,000 for community environmental renewal grants to 38 projects. We believe that there is demand for the grant scheme and that there are good projects which can come forward. Were there to be any carry forward, then its use would be a matter for the incoming administration after the election.

I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:Castle Tioram was open to the public until its ownership changed hands in 1997. The question of allowing public access rests with the owner of the monument, not with Historic Scotland. Public access could be restored were consolidation works to the monument to be undertaken and the owner permitted such access.

I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:The undertaking of consolidation work, at an early date, would be advantageous for the monument. This is a matter for the owner of the monument, who will be aware of which works are most pressing. Historic Scotland would be happy to offer advice and would welcome an application for scheduled monument consent in respect of such consolidation works.

As stated in the White Paper Renewing Local Democracy: The Next Steps, published in March 2002, there are no plans to review local authority boundaries or the number of councils in the foreseeable future. The Review of Scotland's Cities published on 9 January 2003 identified that the prospects for Inverness's future are better than ever before, the city having established itself as the principal administrative and service centre for the Highlands. The wider Highlands benefits by having access to an unrivalled set of services in the region and the city benefits by the local jobs and growth its Highland Capital status brings. There is a clear and strong interdependence between the wider Highlands and the City of Inverness. The Review of Scotland's Cities made clear that cities can only be successful as part of a successful city-region and emphasised the importance of all city and regional stakeholders working in partnership. Inverness and the wider Highlands has the great advantage of having no artificial administrative boundaries to impede the development of a cohesive city-region. In that context the Scottish Executive has very strongly welcomed the recent establishment by local stakeholders, including Highland Council, of a City Partnership to address the particular needs of Inverness and its relationship with the surrounding region.

I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:Most listed buildings already have a contemporary use and listed building consent is the process by which necessary changes to allow on-going use are managed. The process is managed primarily by local authorities, with advice as requested, from Historic Scotland. Difficulties arise when listed buildings go out of use. In such circumstances the Scottish ministers' Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas encourages local authorities to display the greatest possible flexibility in considering alterations necessary to ensure a continuing future in a new use. This includes conversion to contemporary domestic use. In the case of a scheduled monument it is usually expected that the monument will be conserved in the state in which it is found. Restoration for whatever use, be it domestic, commercial or interpretative is a major departure from this. In assessing any such major intervention, consideration is given to the impact of the proposals on those aspects of the monument which lend it significance. A monument may be so outstandingly important for the evidence it embodies that nothing should be done which might compromise the integrity of that evidence. A monument may also be a significant source of artistic or literary inspiration, or may have particular resonances at a national or local level in its ruined state. The production of a Conservation Plan should identify those aspects of a particular monument's significance which should be safeguarded. Restoration, for whatever function, is considered acceptable in cases where such an action is compatible with this significance.

I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:Of the 66 representations received about the future of Castle Tioram, 62 were in favour and four objected to the plans put forward by the current owners to redevelop the castle.

The time taken for Eaga to respond depends on the kind and number of enquiries and it is not practicable to set a general time limit. Eaga answer all telephone enquiries immediately. Letters are acknowledged as soon as possible after receipt and a full reply is generally issued within another 10 working days.

This information is not collected. Information collected by Eaga about the central heating programme can be found on their website at www.eaga.co.uk/grants/scotland. Information not shown is not collected regularly.