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The number of hospital admissions, as a result of unintentional injury incurred in the home, for children aged 0-14, for year of discharge year ending 31 March, are shown in the following table:

Year	Number of Admissions
2005-06	3,573
2006-07	3,472
2007-08	3,148

Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. These statistics are based on data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (Scottish Morbidity Record 01, SMR01). Patient injury categories are identified in SMR01 by admission codes 32-35. Category 33 is used to describe injuries that occur in the home.

The number of hospital admissions as a result of unintentional injury caused by a road traffic accident (RTA), for children aged 0-14, for year of discharge ending 31 March 2006 to 2008, are shown in the following table:

Year	Number of Admissions
2005-06	707
2006-07	648
2007-08	463

Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. These statistics are based on data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (Scottish Morbidity Record 01, SMR01). Patient injury categories are identified in SMR01 by admission codes 32-35. Category 32 is used to describe road traffic accidents (RTA''s).

The Scottish Government is taking forward a number of cross-cutting policies to address the issue of child accident prevention. In December 2008, it published Good Places, Better Health: A New approach to the Environment and Health in Scotland. This project, stemming from the Strategic Framework for Environment and Health in Scotland, is a collaboration led by health interests and ranging over policy interests across the Scottish Government as well as external stakeholders with an interest in unintentional injury and accident prevention, particularly among children. This project has attracted attention within Scotland and in the wider EU.

Through this project, Scotland is being recognised as a country taking an innovative approach to national policy-making, connecting the environment to better health and well-being.

Other initiatives include Equally Well, which recognises the importance of children''s earliest years and how critical they are to their future development. The inequalities which are experienced by some parents and their lifestyles, including drug and alcohol use, can significantly harm their children. In order to give every child in Scotland the best possible chance of experiencing a long and happy life, the most vulnerable children and their families need to be given the support to improve their physical and mental health and their life prospects. Those most vulnerable children also need to be supported as they move into and through education to ensure that they are given an equal chance of progressing through school and onto further education.

Starting Well was the national health demonstration project for early years. Established in Glasgow in 2000, initially for a three-year period, as a flagship initiative flowing from the white paper Towards a Healthier Scotland, it aimed to act as a test bed for action and a learning resource for the rest of Scotland. Starting Well aimed to demonstrate that child health in Glasgow could be improved by a programme of activities that both supported families and provided them with access to enhanced community-based resources.

In 2003, Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge signalled the Scottish Executive''s commitment to a second phase of Starting Well. Phase Two was launched in spring 2005 “ it ended its demonstration period at the end of March 2006. It has been independently evaluated and the learning is being shared across Scotland through NHS Health Scotland.

Through Road Safety Scotland, the Scottish Government is delivering a cohesive and coordinated suite of educational resources for children in Scottish schools, as well as road safety publicity campaigns and materials.

With respect to planning, on 15 June 2009 the Scottish Government published Scotland''s Road Safety Framework to 2020. The framework sets new targets for child road casualty reduction and details the commitments to deliver the framework over the next decade. The range of commitments include: scrutinising the circumstances of each child road fatality and reporting to Scottish ministers with recommendations for action; funding Road Safety Scotland to develop innovative road safety educational resources; undertaking an audit of our road safety education resources to ensure that they address the specific issues which Scotland''s child road casualty record presents; commissioning new research to investigate the links between road safety and disadvantaged children and those in ethnic minority groups; continuing to support the use of school travel plans, fully involving the local community, through grant funding to Sustrans School Run Team and cycle training resources from Road Safety Scotland and Cycling Scotland; and investigating reporting and implementing ways to enhance school children''s safety when getting on and off school buses.

The Concordat between Scottish Government and local government provides an opportunity for local authorities and partners to be given greater autonomy to deliver their services more effectively, including the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) have been forged between Scottish Government and each local authority. From 2009-10, all SOAs will cover the range of community planning partnership responsibilities.

The Scottish Government provides funding from the Health and Justice Directorates to promote a range of child home safety initiatives, which underpins the Scottish Government''s overarching objectives of keeping the people of Scotland healthier, safer and stronger.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24972 on 13 July 2009. 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.

The Scottish Government has not carried out any research into this matter.

The changes to the notification procedure in no way diminish the opportunity for the public or communities to be involved in the planning process. This administrative change was therefore not subject to consultation.

There are no appeal procedures in planning legislation which allow for communities to challenge decisions that have been made by planning authorities. However, objections and representations from consultees and the public are an essential part of the decision-making process on planning applications. It is for planning authorities to give due consideration to such views when reaching a decision on planning applications. Forthcoming changes to the planning system will provide the public with greater opportunities to influence proposals through pre-applications consultation and decision making through pre-determination hearings on larger scale developments. Changes will also involve more information being available on applications and on decisions and how they were reached.

Individuals can challenge planning decisions made by local authorities through the courts.

Figures supplied by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency suggest burning one tonne of coal would produce a range of between 2.5 to 2.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Coal used in power stations in Scotland comes from various geographical locations. Due to the differing composition and moisture content of coal types, it is not possible to provide a more precise figure.

Carbon Capture and Storage Technology (CCS) has the potential to reduce emissions from power stations by up to 90 per cent. The Scottish Government supports CCS as a critical new technology that would make a significant contribution towards carbon emission reductions.

Delivering Planning Reform was published on 28 October 2008. It contained a range of commitments across the public and private sectors to accelerate the pace of planning reform. This included commitments from Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to more proportionate involvement in the planning process to focus on matters of genuine national interest. The intention to issue a revised Notification Direction and Circular was signalled in Delivering Planning Reform.