Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Executive is already successfully delivering its wide-ranging land reform agenda,which includes legislation to abolish Scotland’s archaic feudal system; to simplifyagricultural tenancies and provide an agricultural tenant’s right to buy; to establishstatutory rights of responsible access to land and inland water for recreationalpurposes; to provide opportunities for rural and crofting communities to purchaseland; to address local government issues, and to create National Parks in Scotland.Implementation of this programme is on-going and we have recently consulted on,and are now considering responses to, a draft of a Crofting Reform Bill, which Ihope will be introduced to Parliament in the 2005-06 legislative session.

The Scottish Executive has also delivered non-legislative measures, such as increasing local communityinvolvement in land management; introducing the Forestry Commission Scotland’s NationalForest Land Scheme; increasing awareness of compulsory purchase powers; providinginformation on sources of land ownership; co-ordination of activity between publiclandowning bodies; encouraging community management of croft land and tackling absenteeism;evaluating the impact of new planning guidance; reviewing compulsory purchase andcompensation legislation, and reviewing deer control measures.

I intend to take stock and toreport to Parliament next year on the effects of the measures already implemented.In taking stock, we will also look at the need and scope for, and the best way toachieve, any further land reform measures.

The Executive continues to buildon its success in delivering land reform for the benefit of the people of Scotland. Itis vital, therefore, that any new proposals are built upon secure foundations andare carefully considered and consulted upon in the same way as our present agenda.

The general dental services (GDS)allocation to NHS boards is calculated on historic spend and not a per capita basis.This is an indicative and not an actual allocation, as the GDS budget is non-cashlimited.

Information on NHS board’s indicativeallocations in the requested financial years is contained in the table.

NHS Board	2002-03 (£000)	2003-04 (£000)	2004-05 (£000)	2005-061 (£000)
Argyll and Clyde	16,704	17,363	17,866	18,473
Ayrshire and Arran	14,489	15,060	15,496	16,023
Borders	3,893	4,046	4,163	4,305
Dumfries and Galloway	4,486	4,663	4,798	4,961
Fife	12,275	12,759	13,129	13,575
Forth Valley	10,477	10,890	11,205	11,586
Grampian	18,819	19,561	20,128	20,812
Greater Glasgow	40,188	41,773	42,984	44,445
Highland	6,759	7,026	7,229	7,475
Lanarkshire	19,866	20,649	21,247	21,969
Lothian	31,372	32,609	33,554	34,695
Orkney	596	619	636	658
Shetland	497	518	533	551
Tayside	16,426	17,074	17,569	18,166
Western Isles	829	864	889	919
Total	197,676	205,474	211,426	218,613

Note: 1. The indicative allocations for 2005-06 do not includeat this stage the additional funding earmarked for implementation of the ActionPlan for Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services.

I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-18334 on 26 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be foundat http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Investment in research and developmentof energy technology is principally by the private sector. Energy technology researchis also supported by the Department of Trade and Industry.

No information is held centrallyby the Executive which analyses levels of investment in research and developmentinto energy technologies. However, the Executive indirectly supports energy researchand development through Scottish Enterprise and ITI Energy (£150 million over 10years), and through funding of the Carbon Trust’s Low Carbon Innovation Programme(around £1.5 million each year). The Executive also supported development of theEuropean Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.

Other programmes that supportresearch and development, but which are not aimed specifically at the energy sector,include SMART, SPUR, and the Executive’s funding of the higher education sector.

I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-18334 on 26 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be foundat http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-18334 on 26 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the searchfacility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Tables are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Table 1 (Bib. number 37263) shows the combined figures for acute and psychiatric hospital discharges with an explicit diagnosis of alcohol related conditions and drug misuse for the period 1999-2000 to 2001-02. Complete data on psychiatric discharges are unavailable for 2002-03 and 2003-04. This has been reported as discharge information because the detail is drawn from two datasets and one of these datasets records discharge data only.

Table 2 (Bib. number 37264) provides information on discharges from general acute hospitals only the period 2001-02 to 2003-04. The table with the 2003-04 figures are provisional. For acute hospitals, only discharge data exists.

The Commission is currently investigating a scheme in France designed directly to assist fishermen cope with high fuel costs and to decide as to whether it is state aid compliant. We are not aware of any other scheme being operated by other EU member states.

Scottish greenhouse gas emissionsdata are available in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1999-2002, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 34590) and is also available on the Executive’sclimate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange. The inventory enables a directcomparison with emissions in England andWales. The inventory covering the period1990 to 2003 is currently in draft and is expected to be available soon.

Emissionsdata for each EU member state is available from the European Environment Agencyin the report entitled Annual EuropeanCommunity greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2003 and inventory report 2005. An equivalent report is availablefor the period 1990-2002. Both reports are available on the European EnvironmentAgency website at www.eea.eu.int. Data drawnfrom different publications may not be directly comparable and care should be takenin making comparisons.

The latest available information on unoccupied dwellings – i.e. dwellings which are not the sole or main residence of a household – comes from information supplied by councils to the Executive from council tax billing systems at 6 September 2004. This source cannot distinguish (a) empty homes from (b) homes where the owner is not a permanent resident. The available information shown in the following table for (i) each council area and (ii) nationally and expressed as a percentage of all dwellings in each council area; distinguishes unoccupied dwellings which were exempt from council tax and dwellings in receipt of 50% discount. Unoccupied exempt dwellings include dwellings awaiting improvement or demolition and dwellings unoccupied for less than six months. Dwellings in receipt of 50% discount include dwellings unoccupied for more than six months, second homes and some dwellings let as holiday accommodation.

Local Authority	Number of Unoccupied Dwellings		As a Percentage of all Dwellings in the Council Area
	Unoccupied Exemptions	50% Discount*	Unoccupied Exemptions	50% Discount*
	Number	Number	Percentage	Percentage
Aberdeen City	2,094	3,165	2.0	3.0
Aberdeenshire	1,446	3,485	1.4	3.4
Angus	852	1,956	1.7	3.8
Argyll and Bute	726	4,716	1.6	10.4
Clackmannanshire	339	396	1.5	1.8
Dumfries and Galloway	834	2,650	1.2	3.8
Dundee City	3,449	1,714	4.8	2.4
East Ayrshire	469	798	0.9	1.5
East Dunbartonshire	192	290	0.4	0.7
East Lothian	432	891	1.1	2.2
East Renfrewshire	612	295	1.7	0.8
Edinburgh, City of	3,093	6,372	1.4	2.9
Eilean Siar	668	1,317	4.9	9.6
Falkirk	601	969	0.9	1.4
Fife	2,294	5,180	1.4	3.2
Glasgow City	11,036	4,282	3.8	1.5
Highland	3,071	6,748	2.9	6.5
Inverclyde	1,237	1,375	3.1	3.5
Midlothian	313	221	0.9	0.7
Moray	652	1,464	1.6	3.7
North Ayrshire	651	2,405	1.0	3.8
North Lanarkshire	1,153	1,031	0.8	0.7
Orkney Isles	159	687	1.7	7.2
Perth and Kinross	1,119	2,899	1.7	4.5
Renfrewshire	2,039	1,242	2.5	1.5
Scottish Borders	1,128	2,157	2.1	4.1
Shetland	192	645	1.9	6.4
South Ayrshire	467	1,178	0.9	2.3
South Lanarkshire	2,153	1,452	1.6	1.1
Stirling	594	1,014	1.6	2.7
West Dunbartonshire	693	903	1.6	2.1
West Lothian	423	513	0.6	0.7
Scotland	45,181	64,410	1.9	2.7

Source: As reported by local authorities in the statistical return “Council Tax Base 2004”.

Note: Dwellings in receipt of 50% discount include holiday homes let for less than 140 days in the year. Dwellings let as holiday accommodation for 140 days or more are liable for non-domestic rates rather than council tax and are therefore not included in the table.

The analysis covers dwellings of all tenures. Available information from the council tax base on occupied and vacant dwellings does not distinguish tenures.