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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

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Question reference: S2W-14077

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 22 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fatal and (b) serious road accidents have occurred in which speed was a significant factor in each police board area in each of the last five years, showing the year-on-year percentage change.

Question reference: S2W-14076

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 22 March 2005

Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the Stats 19 statistical report form.

Prior to January 2005, the Stats 19 returns did not record the causes of the accidents. Under a pilot scheme, 15 police forces across Great Britain voluntarily submitted information on contributory factors to accidents along with their Stats 19 returns. However, it is not possible to use the pilot contributory factor data to provide figures which are representative of accidents in Scotland because only two Scottish police forces took part in the scheme. An article which provides some of the overall results of the trial is available on the Department for Transport website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_031458.pdf.

With effect from 1 January 2005, a new set of questions on contributory factors was added to the Stats 19 injury road accident reporting system. Information about contributory factors should henceforth be supplied by all police forces for personal injury accidents which are reported either (a) following attendance at the scene by a police officer or (b) by a member of the public to police staff at a police station. There are separate codes for "exceeding speed limit" and "travelling too fast for conditions". However, it should be noted that the new information reflects the reporting officer's opinion at the time of reporting, and is not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Subsequent enquiries could lead to a change in the opinion of the reporting officer. There may also be accidents for which the reporting officer cannot identify any contributory factors.

Question reference: S2W-15157

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 22 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of (a) shops, (b) banks, (c) post offices and (d) other facilities there have been in rural communities in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

The following table shows the number of shops, banks, post offices and other businesses in rural areas in Scotland, and the employment of these businesses. The data is for 1999-2003 and is split by local authority.

Rural areas are defined as settlements with a population of less than 3,000.

Number of Businesses Located in Rural Areas and Employment, by Local Authority Area and Business Type, 1999-2003

Local Authority	Business Type		1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Aberdeen City	Shop	Businesses	15	15	20	20	20
	Shop	Employment	*	*	50	70	60
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	235	240	245	265	270
	Other	Employment	*	*	2,590	2,260	2,850
	Total	Businesses	250	260	265	285	290
	Total	Employment	2,820	2,280	2,650	2,330	2,910
Aberdeenshire	Shop	Businesses	425	440	405	505	520
	Shop	Employment	1,620	1,590	1,370	2,280	2,270
	Bank	Businesses	10	10	10	15	20
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	5	10	10	10	10
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	4,370	4,510	4,635	6,815	7,015
	Other	Employment	16,610	17,880	18,500	27,620	27,840
	Total	Businesses	4,810	4,970	5,060	7,345	7,565
	Total	Employment	18,320	19,580	19,990	30,050	30,250
Angus	Shop	Businesses	85	95	85	85	90
	Shop	Employment	380	430	370	370	400
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	1,470	1,480	1,480	1,465	1,440
	Other	Employment	6,550	6,620	6,350	6,440	6,400
	Total	Businesses	1,560	1,575	1,565	1,550	1,525
	Total	Employment	6,920	7,050	6,720	6,810	6,800
Argyll and Bute	Shop	Businesses	265	265	250	265	280
	Shop	Employment	1,030	1,030	930	1,050	1,060
	Bank	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	25	25	25	25	25
	Post Office	Employment	50	50	50	60	50
	Other	Businesses	2,335	2,340	2,360	2,355	2,320
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	2,630	2,635	2,640	2,655	2,630
	Total	Employment	9,580	9,420	9,810	9,750	9,920
Clackmannanshire	Shop	Businesses	15	15	15	15	20
	Shop	Employment	*	*	*	*	50
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	145	150	150	155	165
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	1,100
	Total	Businesses	155	165	165	170	185
	Total	Employment	1,680	2,340	1,050	1,100	1,160
Dumfries and Galloway	Shop	Businesses	365	365	345	350	350
	Shop	Employment	1,320	1,310	1,350	1,400	1,440
	Bank	Businesses	10	10	10	10	15
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	15	15	10	15	10
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	4,280	4,250	4,290	4,325	4,370
	Other	Employment	17,670	17,420	16,930	17,370	17,500
	Total	Businesses	4,665	4,640	4,655	4,700	4,745
	Total	Employment	19,090	18,820	18,370	18,870	19,070
Dundee City	Shop	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Shop	Employment	*	0	*	0	0
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	20	15	20	20	20
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	480	440
	Total	Businesses	20	15	25	25	20
	Total	Employment	250	*	450	480	440
East Ayrshire	Shop	Businesses	140	135	125	130	130
	Shop	Employment	860	930	800	480	890
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	5
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	1,220	1,210	1,210	1,240	1,225
	Other	Employment	*	6,490	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	1,365	1,350	1,340	1,370	1,355
	Total	Employment	7,750	*	6,910	7,450	7,850
East Dunbartonshire	Shop	Businesses	25	30	25	30	35
	Shop	Employment	110	150	120	200	210
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	255	260	265	270	275
	Other	Employment	1,700	1,620	1,450	1,770	1,710
	Total	Businesses	280	290	295	300	305
	Total	Employment	1,810	1,760	1,570	1,970	1,930
East Lothian	Shop	Businesses	95	100	90	95	85
	Shop	Employment	330	340	310	320	330
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	5	0	0	5	0
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	955	975	980	995	1,005
	Other	Employment	5,810	5,570	5,510	5,680	5,820
	Total	Businesses	1,055	1,080	1,075	1,095	1,095
	Total	Employment	6,150	5,920	5,830	6,010	6,180
East Renfrewshire	Shop	Businesses	15	10	10	10	15
	Shop	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	230	240	230	230	235
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	240	250	240	245	250
	Total	Employment	1,090	1,060	1,380	1,630	1,600
Edinburgh, City of	Shop	Businesses	40	40	45	55	60
	Shop	Employment	470	310	380	600	400
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	450	445	450	450	465
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	495	490	500	505	525
	Total	Employment	7,600	7,080	6,930	7,870	7,900
Falkirk	Shop	Businesses	55	60	55	65	60
	Shop	Employment	190	180	170	190	190
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	450	440	455	455	465
	Other	Employment	3,030	3,030	3,190	2,790	2,860
	Total	Businesses	505	500	515	520	530
	Total	Employment	3,210	3,200	3,360	2,980	3,050
Fife	Shop	Businesses	270	270	235	250	245
	Shop	Employment	2,150	2,220	1,070	2,220	2,150
	Bank	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	2,250	2,295	2,350	2,345	2,400
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	2,525	2,570	2,590	2,600	2,650
	Total	Employment	14,390	14,890	13,760	15,070	15,790
Glasgow City	Shop	Businesses	10	10	10	10	10
	Shop	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	50	50	50	55	60
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	60	60	60	65	70
	Total	Employment	740	920	900	1,030	1,020
Highland	Shop	Businesses	610	630	635	655	665
	Shop	Employment	3,080	3,140	3,030	3,220	3,300
	Bank	Businesses	20	20	20	20	30
	Bank	Employment	150	150	150	130	170
	Post Office	Businesses	75	75	75	70	75
	Post Office	Employment	220	220	210	210	240
	Other	Businesses	5,925	5,990	6,040	6,085	6,050
	Other	Employment	22,550	22,770	22,410	22,730	22,930
	Total	Businesses	6,630	6,715	6,765	6,830	6,815
	Total	Employment	26,000	26,270	25,790	26,300	26,630
Inverclyde	Shop	Businesses	10	20	20	30	25
	Shop	Employment	*	80	70	70	60
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	*	*	0
	Other	Businesses	165	175	170	175	180
	Other	Employment	*	910	*	*	1,120
	Total	Businesses	175	195	190	205	205
	Total	Employment	860	990	1,150	1,200	1,190
Midlothian	Shop	Businesses	45	45	45	50	55
	Shop	Employment	160	160	150	160	170
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	465	485	490	520	550
	Other	Employment	2,600	3,040	3,030	3,020	2,940
	Total	Businesses	510	530	535	565	605
	Total	Employment	2,760	3,200	3,180	3,180	3,110
Moray	Shop	Businesses	120	130	125	145	150
	Shop	Employment	440	450	430	510	530
	Bank	Businesses	5	5	5	5	10
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	1,025	1,035	1,105	1,440	1,475
	Other	Employment	4,490	4,400	4,290	5,760	5,850
	Total	Businesses	1,150	1,175	1,240	1,595	1,640
	Total	Employment	4,970	4,890	4,770	6,320	6,440
North Ayrshire	Shop	Businesses	95	95	90	100	100
	Shop	Employment	320	340	320	330	370
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	915	925	925	930	920
	Other	Employment	5,980	5,900	5,840	5,750	5,680
	Total	Businesses	1,010	1,020	1,020	1,025	1,020
	Total	Employment	6,300	6,240	6,160	6,080	6,050
North Lanarkshire	Shop	Businesses	95	90	80	75	80
	Shop	Employment	420	400	440	460	370
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	*	*	0	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	5	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	*	*	0
	Other	Businesses	675	680	700	720	710
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	6,000	*
	Total	Businesses	770	770	785	800	790
	Total	Employment	6,520	6,690	7,080	6,550	6,240
Orkney Islands	Shop	Businesses	65	65	65	65	70
	Shop	Employment	250	210	240	230	260
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	20	20	20	20	20
	Post Office	Employment	40	40	40	40	30
	Other	Businesses	1,285	1,265	1,265	1,260	1,215
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	1,375	1,350	1,350	1,345	1,305
	Total	Employment	3,970	3,900	4,010	4,050	3,950
Perth and Kinross	Shop	Businesses	335	335	330	335	315
	Shop	Employment	1,470	1,510	1,450	1,470	1,350
	Bank	Businesses	10	10	10	10	10
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	3,075	3,130	3,100	3,120	3,125
	Other	Employment	11,640	11,950	12,300	12,540	12,580
	Total	Businesses	3,425	3,480	3,440	3,465	3,455
	Total	Employment	13,200	13,550	13,810	14,060	13,980
Renfrewshire	Shop	Businesses	35	35	30	30	30
	Shop	Employment	720	720	290	690	280
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	360	370	385	365	360
	Other	Employment	4,700	5,460	5,580	4,070	3,640
	Total	Businesses	400	410	415	400	390
	Total	Employment	5,420	6,190	5,870	4,760	3,920
The Scottish Borders	Shop	Businesses	245	245	235	240	260
	Shop	Employment	930	930	870	910	950
	Bank	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	2,935	2,960	2,910	2,925	3,025
	Other	Employment	12,460	12,530	12,120	11,500	12,020
	Total	Businesses	3,190	3,215	3,155	3,175	3,295
	Total	Employment	13,440	13,520	13,040	12,450	13,040
Shetland Islands	Shop	Businesses	55	65	65	60	60
	Shop	Employment	260	270	280	270	260
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	20	20	20	15	15
	Post Office	Employment	50	40	50	*	*
	Other	Businesses	965	970	980	975	925
	Other	Employment	3,330	3,360	3,600	*	*
	Total	Businesses	1,040	1,055	1,065	1,055	1,000
	Total	Employment	3,640	3,680	3,930	4,080	3,840
South Ayrshire	Shop	Businesses	80	80	80	75	85
	Shop	Employment	820	270	290	280	320
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	5
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	*
	Other	Businesses	1,005	1,015	1,015	1,005	995
	Other	Employment	6,560	6,420	6,320	5,170	*
	Total	Businesses	1,090	1,095	1,095	1,085	1,085
	Total	Employment	7,380	6,700	6,610	5,460	5,780
South Lanarkshire	Shop	Businesses	200	185	185	185	165
	Shop	Employment	990	820	800	840	770
	Bank	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	1,800	1,785	1,805	1,845	1,815
	Other	Employment	10,340	10,040	10,320	11,140	11,260
	Total	Businesses	2,005	1,980	2,000	2,040	1,990
	Total	Employment	11,390	10,930	11,200	12,050	12,090
Stirling	Shop	Businesses	185	190	190	200	200
	Shop	Employment	790	760	800	850	830
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	5
	Bank	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	10	15	15	15	15
	Post Office	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Other	Businesses	1,500	1,505	1,535	1,535	1,560
	Other	Employment	6,640	6,540	7,120	6,730	6,640
	Total	Businesses	1,700	1,710	1,740	1,750	1,780
	Total	Employment	7,490	7,370	7,980	7,660	7,550
West Dunbartonshire	Shop	Businesses	5	5	5	5	5
	Shop	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	85	90	90	90	95
	Other	Employment	*	*	*	*	*
	Total	Businesses	95	95	95	95	100
	Total	Employment	380	350	360	340	400
West Lothian	Shop	Businesses	80	80	75	70	75
	Shop	Employment	360	420	350	270	280
	Bank	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Businesses	0	0	0	0	0
	Post Office	Employment	0	0	0	0	0
	Other	Businesses	730	730	740	720	735
	Other	Employment	11,770	12,280	14,300	9,900	9,190
	Total	Businesses	810	815	810	790	810
	Total	Employment	12,130	12,710	14,650	10,170	9,460
Western Isles	Shop	Businesses	65	65	70	75	75
	Shop	Employment	230	230	200	260	270
	Bank	Businesses	5	5	0	5	5
	Bank	Employment	*	*	0	*	*
	Post Office	Businesses	25	25	20	20	25
	Post Office	Employment	50	50	40	50	50
	Other	Businesses	760	745	720	695	675
	Other	Employment	*	*	2,430	*	*
	Total	Businesses	850	840	810	795	780
	Total	Employment	3,080	2,780	2,670	2,730	2,900
Scotland total(rural areas)	Shop	Businesses	4,150	4,220	4,050	4,275	4,345
	Shop	Employment	19,990	19,490	17,620	20,700	20,440
	Bank	Businesses	80	80	75	90	115
	Bank	Employment	540	530	510	520	620
	Post Office	Businesses	225	230	220	225	225
	Post Office	Employment	680	670	710	790	700
	Other	Businesses	42,385	42,760	43,165	45,850	46,135
	Other	Employment	209,110	211,270	213,090	218,800	220,630
	Total	Businesses	46,835	47,280	47,510	50,435	50,815
	Total	Employment	230,320	231,955	231,920	240,810	242,390

Notes:

1. *Denotes disclosive data. The Office for National Statistics regulations do not permit us to publish employment details for a group of less than 20 businesses. Additional data also has to be suppressed so employment details cannot be calculated by deduction.

2. Counts of the number of businesses are rounded to the nearest five and employment figures are rounded to the nearest 10. This means counts of one or two businesses will appear as zero.

3. Totals may not equal the sum of the constituent parts due to rounding.

Question reference: S2W-15021

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the affordability of homes is not adversely affected by any decision to pass the cost of connection to the water and sewerage network to developers and whether it will provide details of any such proposed decision.

In my statement on 9 February in Parliament, I outlined our objectives for Scottish Water’s next investment programme.

My announcement noted that funding of £14 million would be made available in each year of the next investment programme specifically to reflect the cost of local water and sewerage infrastructure required by affordable housing projects developed by registered social landlords.

The Minister for Communities made an announcement on the 8 March giving details of the plans for affordable housing in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-15022

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 18 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a step-by-step explanation or flow chart showing how expenditure decisions that are designed to achieve policy objectives but take into account the impact on climate change are reached.

Sustainable development, of which climate change is a key element, has been a cross-cutting theme in the last two spending reviews. It is, therefore, central to our decisions on spending allocations. In Spending Review 2004, all portfolios had to show how they were taking this issue forward and mainstreaming it within their work, taking particular account of the sustainable development priority areas of resource use, energy and travel.

There are also many initiatives taking place within departments. Other mechanisms by which projects and spending programmes are assessed for environmental impact include Pre-expenditure Assessments, the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and Environmental Impact Assessment. The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill, which will extend the scope of environmental assessment, was introduced to Parliament on 2 March.

For further detail, I refer the member to my statement to the Environment and Rural Development Committee on 2 March.

Question reference: S2W-14914

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 17 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated administrative costs are of implementing the Parliament's tax-varying powers.

Question reference: S2O-05850

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 17 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the execution of Sir William Wallace.

Question reference: S2W-15092

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 16 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the decision by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to withdraw a leaflet, "Do a Little, Save the Loch", relating to the pollution of Loch Lomond after receiving representations from the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association and, if so, whether it will give details of the investigation and publish the results.

Question reference: S2W-15020

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will prioritise the projects that will benefit under the recently-announced plans to connect 120,000 homes to the water and sewerage network and who will make the final decision on the matter.

Question reference: S2W-14493

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 14 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the division of powers is between it and the UK Government in relation to the location and regulation of offshore wind farms.

Consent for projects proposed within Scottish territorial waters are the responsibility of Scottish ministers in terms of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Following the introduction of the Energy Act in 2004, the granting of consent under the Electricity Act for offshore renewable projects beyond territorial waters is to be executively devolved into the Renewable Energy Zone adjacent to Scotland, created by the act.