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The Public Transport Users’ Committee for Scotland (PTUC) is a Ministerial Advisory Committee which has been in existence for five years. I have commissioned an internal review of the body. That review is underway and I shall consider its analysis and any recommendations for the future when it is complete.

The SPCB is happy to consider installing a clock in the Garden Lobby. This is being investigated and options will be presented to the SPCB shortly.

The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 gives local authorities the power to licence free to enter public entertainment. This is entirely discretionary and it is for local authorities to decide what types of entertainment they wish to licence. It is also for local authorities to determine the cost of any public entertainment licence fee and limit any provision to the large-scale events which the act now allows to be licensed. For the Year of Creative Scotland and beyond, we would encourage local authorities to interpret the new legislation to the benefit of artists and their creative communities. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has written to licensing authorities to assist their implementation of the changes and stressing the importance of support for artistic and creative communities.

Many public bodies already own and operate renewable energy technologies manufactured, installed and supplied by third parties and which generate power that can either be exported to the national grid or used on site. The Scottish Futures Trust is working with COSLA to build on the public sector’s experience to date of taking forward renewables projects and to explore a range of potential commercial structures and funding sources for future projects.

Issues for consideration are likely to include the need for specialist knowledge of the energy market and trading requirements, the need to obtain a supply licence from the energy regulator and to comply with the associated regulatory requirements and conditions.

The Scottish Government is committed to promoting exemplary community benefits from renewables developments on the public estate and would encourage local authorities to consider this when developing any future renewables schemes.

The Scottish Government has commissioned work to produce a database on community and locally owned renewable energy projects in Scotland which will show how much renewable generation by technology is currently operational in Scotland. The report will be available shortly and will be published on the Scottish Government website.

To help achieve our target for 500 MW of community and locally owned renewables by 2020, we will continue to provide the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) loan scheme which provides finance at the high risk pre-planning stage, and which has a budget of 23.5 million over the next three years. The CARES support will also include advice to communities on technical and financial issues and governance structures.

The Scottish Government does not hold this detailed information centrally.

Yes, local licensing authorities have discretion both over the level of fees they charge and over what events they choose to licence.

Legislation permits local authorities to borrow for capital expenditure, and places a statutory duty on a local authority to have regard to the CIPFA Prudential Code when determining the maximum amount it can afford to allocate to capital expenditure. Whether a local authority is able to borrow in order to invest in renewable energy generation will depend on the nature of the investment and if the expenditure can be capitalised in accordance with proper accounting practices.

The Edinburgh Glasgow Rail Improvement Programme (EGIP) is a comprehensive programme of improvements to Scotland’s railway infrastructure, rolling stock and service provision which will provide a major boost to the wealth of Scotland and its long term economic sustainability.

The EGIP timetable is currently under development, this work will continue up to the introduction of services. The current operating assumptions include Cumbernauld Line services operating from Glasgow Queen Street Low level station, and the introduction of a suite of new Glasgow to Croy local services.