- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 25 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth will make a statement about progress with regard to the effectiveness of the Central Energy Efficiency Fund, in particular its extension to the further and higher education sector, as referred to in paragraph 7.7 of Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration: Achieving a Low Carbon Future: A Strategy for Scotland - draft for consultation, March 2007.
Answer
The Central Energy Efficiency Fund continues to be an effective way of delivering financial savings and carbon emission reductions across the public sector. Over 900 discrete projects have been implemented to date by Scottish local authorities, the NHS and Scottish Water, a 50% increase in the last 18 months.
Officials are currently finalising arrangements with stakeholders to set up the £4 million energy efficiency fund for Scotland''s universities and colleges which will be operational before the end of the current financial year.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 25 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support, as referred to in paragraph 3.18 of Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration: Achieving a Low Carbon Future: A Strategy for Scotland - draft for consultation, March 2007.
Answer
The independent Review of Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Support was commissioned in April 2007 and completed in December. We are aiming to publish the report before the end of March 2008.
We are already considering the results and recommendations of the review and these have helped and are helping to inform action for improving, simplifying and streamlining delivery whilst ensuring that support is effectively targeted.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive why its new waste targets only include waste collected by local authorities.
Answer
The parliamentary statement on waste policy in January announced the Scottish Government's intention to review the National Waste Plan. The statement also indicated that as part of this review the government would consult on new targets to reduce the amount of commercial waste that goes to landfill.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 21 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to develop a carbon assessment tool that will be capable of operation across central and local government in the United Kingdom or whether it will use a separate methodology for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is developing a tool to assess the carbon impact of all government spending in Scotland. This tool will be based on the guidance recently issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on how to value greenhouse gas emissions in government appraisals using the Shadow Price of Carbon. Further information on the Defra guidance is available at:
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/research/carboncost/index.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 21 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations are providing advice to the Scottish Government on the development of the carbon assessment tool referred to by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 23 January 2008 (Official Report, c. 5290).
Answer
Work on the development of a carbon impact assessment tool is at an early stage. We are in discussion with the Sustainable Development Commission and considering what other organisations can assist us in this work.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the 60% efficiency targets for waste-to-energy plants, referred to in the ministerial statement on 24 January 2008, will be enforced from day one of the operation of the plants or whether the targets relate to the theoretical ability of such plants to achieve high efficiency levels.
Answer
The government''s intention is that energy from waste plants should have efficiency levels of at least 60%. However, the government recognises that in some cases developments such as planned housing or factories to take the heat generated by the energy from waste plants may not be in place when any plants start to operate. In these cases, the government would expect the operators of the plants to have clear plans in place to use the heat once other developments are in place. The operators would, of course, be expected to develop facilities capable of utilising waste heat at the outset.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, as referred to in paragraph 7.25 of Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration: Achieving a Low Carbon Future: A Strategy for Scotland - draft for consultation, March 2007.
Answer
The proposed content of the Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan is with the cross-sectoral Public Procurement Policy Forum for comments. Their views are being considered at present.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in respect of its targets on waste, it will pay the fines of local authorities that now have to change their plans for dealing with waste, following the ministerial statement on 24 January 2008.
Answer
No. The Landfill Allowance Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2005 set maximum amounts of biodegradable municipal waste that can be disposed of by local authorities to landfill each year and any penalty liabilities that are notified by the Scottish ministers under the regulations fall to the local authorities themselves. In any event, the distribution of year-on-year allowances has only been set up until 2010 and none of the local authority plans envisaged delivery of infrastructure before this time.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in respect of its new targets on waste, it will pay the fines of local authorities that have submitted plans to it which the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has not approved.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9129 on 20 February 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 20 February 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive why, following the recommendations of the Sustainable Development Commission, it has not extended its waste strategy to include commercial waste.
Answer
The Parliamentary Statement on waste policy on 24 January announced the government''s intention to review the National Waste Plan. The review will consider commercial and industrial waste and, as indicated in the statement, the government will consult on new targets to reduce the amount of commercial waste that goes to landfill.
Landfill Tax, a key policy lever in relation to commercial and industrial waste, is a reserved matter. However, the Scottish Government is carrying out or supporting a wide range of work on commercial waste including producer responsibility, the report by the Wood Fuel Task Force and Envirowise, which provides advice to business on waste prevention:
http://www.usewoodfuel.co.uk/Docs/WFTF%20final%20report%20for%20web.pdf, http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland.
