- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27386 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, how many installations have been carried out under the Home Insulation Scheme.
Answer
The Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) provides intensive promotion of a range of energy efficiency programmes and related support to householders on the door-step in specific areas to assist in tackling climate change and fuel poverty and increase Carbon Emissions Reduction Target investment in Scotland. In addition to insulation measures, HIS ensures that households in targeted areas are also systematically offered:
Energy efficiency advice linked to Home Energy Checks;
Benefits and tariff checks to increase incomes and tackle fuel poverty (through the Energy Assistance Package (EAP))
Heating systems and other measures (through EAP, where households are eligible)
Interest free loans for more expensive energy efficiency measures, for example, in hard to treat properties.
There were 14,416 installations of Home Insulation Scheme insulation measures in the period to 5 December 2010. Reports providing an overview of all Home Insulation Scheme activity, including referrals to other programmes and support are published monthly on the Energy Saving Trust website at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27379 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, in what areas the Universal Home Insulation Scheme will be deployed in 2010-11 and what proportion of the population resides in those areas.
Answer
Participating areas were announced on 6 October 2010. Details are as follows:
| Local Authority | Properties | Area |
| Aberdeen City | 8,700 | Torry, Nigg and Cove |
| Aberdeenshire | 5,590 | Fraserburgh |
| Argyll and Bute | 2,345 | Milton and Ardenslate, Dunoon |
| Dundee | 727 | Watson Street, Wellgate, Crescent Lane, Hilltown West |
| East Ayrshire | 5,500 | Rural West Kilmarnock |
| East Dunbartonshire | 3,000 | Within East Dunbartonshire (to be targeted via thermal imaging) |
| East Lothian | 6,100 | Musselburgh |
| East Renfrewshire | 1,789 | Barrhead, Busby, Clarkston, Giffnock, Neilston, Thornliebank |
| Edinburgh | 5,920 | Tollcross |
| Eilean Siar | 10,450 | Lewis and Harris |
| Falkirk | 3,000 | Stenhousemuir, Larbert and Rural North Falkirk |
| Fife | 24,000 | Dunfermline |
| Glasgow | 6,740 | Dennistoun and Kelvindale |
| Highland | 12,458 | Badenoch & Strathspey, East Sutherland and Edderton and Skye |
| Inverclyde | 2,000 | Upper Port Glasgow |
| Midlothian | 506 | Pathhead |
| Moray | 260 | Forres |
| North Ayrshire | 4,443 | Stevenston |
| North Lanarkshire | 564 | Salsburgh |
| Renfrewshire | 9,462 | Paisley (south) |
| Orkney | 25 | Westray, Sanday, Stronsay, Eday, Rousay, Shapinsay, Hoy, Ronaldsay |
| Perth and Kinross | 6,000 | Highland Perthshire |
| Scottish Borders | 5,967 | Tweedale |
| South Ayrshire | 4,963 | Annbank, Coylton, Mossblown, Tarbolton, Dundonald, Loans and Symington |
| South Lanarkshire | 4,240 | Various “ based on specific property types |
| Stirling | 2,431 | Cultenhove, Cowie, Fallin, Raploch |
| West Dunbartonshire | 2,145 | Alexandria |
| Total | 139,325 | |
The number of participating properties is around 6% of the Scottish housing stock.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27371 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, whether it achieved its target date for insulating all homes eligible under the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10 and, if so, to what minimum standard these homes were insulated and by what date the work was completed.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38532 on 25 January 2011. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 25 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-27376 and S3W-27375 by Alex Neil on 24 September 2009, what additional external partners were selected to help deliver the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10.
Answer
| Home Insulation Scheme Area | Successful Bidder |
| Glasgow/ South Lanarkshire | Solas |
| Edinburgh | EAGA/ Scottish Power |
| Stirling | EAGA/ Scottish Power |
| Fife | EAGA/ Scottish Power |
| Dundee | Miller Pattison |
| Angus | Miller Pattison |
| Highland 1 | Miller Pattison |
| Highland 2 | Miller Pattison |
| Western Isles | Miller Pattison |
| Orkney | Insta Group |
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be able to provide a Scotland-wide multi-modal smartcard ticket for public transport and, if so, by what date.
Answer
The Scottish Government has provided smart enabled electronic ticket machines to the entire Scottish bus fleet, as part of its administration of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme, and is working with First Scotrail on a trial of similar systems for the rail industry. We will continue to work with transport operators, local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships to support the creation of a multi-modal smartcard ticket for public transport.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to further refine the existing on-bus smartcard system and, if so, what the nature of the refinements will be.
Answer
The roll-out of smart enabled electronic ticket machines to the entire Scottish bus fleet has allowed Transport Scotland to introduce processes that enable it to manage the National Concessionary Travel Scheme more efficiently and more effectively. Transport Scotland will continue to review these processes and introduce further improvements as appropriate.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what activity will be funded by the additional expenditure shown for the smartcard programme in Table 7.05 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.
Answer
The £9.5 million allocated to the smartcard programme quoted in the draft budget 2011-12 paper will be used to fund the managed services that support the current ITSO interoperable smart systems, ITSO fees and charges, necessary software and hardware upgrades including back office systems development as well as supporting further development of smart and integrated ticketing.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 20 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the creation of a not-for-profit bidder for the ScotRail franchise and what action it has taken to explore the practicality of this.
Answer
All contract models for the future franchise are being fully explored, including not-for-profit models. Discussions with the Scottish Trades Union Congress and its affiliate rail unions have already taken place as part of the preparatory work currently being undertaken to launch a full consultation exercise on the form and content of the next franchise.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on students taking a non-traditional route toward a degree qualification and who move from one institution to another over a summer break benefiting from the same council tax discounts during the summer as other students.
Answer
The Scottish Government is supportive of students accessing education through all routes. Students leaving one institution before enrolling at another to commence further studies are not deemed to be students during that period. Consequently, they may be liable to council tax. However, where they are liable, they may be eligible for council tax benefit of up to 100% to help pay their council tax bill.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 January 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the forthcoming Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2011 can make it possible for students, including those who take non-traditional routes to university, to benefit equally from council tax discounts and, if so, whether it plans to use these powers to do so.
Answer
All students who meet the relevant qualifying criteria will be eligible for an exemption from council tax charges and thus will benefit equally.
