Seòmar agus comataidhean

Whilst the UK's priority is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the activities of the forestry industry do, of course, create an important carbon sink through the sequestration of carbon by trees and its storage in wood products.

The Executive also recognises that raising public awareness of environmental issues, and of what we as individuals can do to help the environment, has an important role to play in influencing people to act in an environmentally sustainable way. That is why additional funding has been specifically allocated this financial year to help support the work of the Scottish Waste Awareness Group (£15,000); specific campaigns on business and biodiversity (£10,000) and wildlife crime (£10,000); the provision of information on genetically modified organisms (£10,000); training for implementing the new system for dealing with contaminated land (£5,000); and raising awareness of the Water Framework Directive (about £20,000). The remaining £50,000 will be used to fund publications and ad-hoc publicity initiatives.

The Executive is currently considering whether it can improve on the assistance provided to many low income households through the link between water and sewerage charges and council tax bands. We plan to publish a consultation paper on this shortly.

3. Figures in the special column include expenditure on local authority, grant-aided and independent special schools, and special classes in local authority primary and secondary schools.