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The Scottish Government is aware that the Big Lottery Fund has supported a number of renewable energy projects in Scotland. Scottish Government officials recently met with Big Lottery staff based in Scotland to emphasise the importance of continuing support for community renewable energy projects.

The Scottish Government supports the development of renewable energy projects for charities and not-for-profit community-based organisations through the Community And Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). The scheme provides eligible organisations with free advice and potentially grant funding for the installation of devices such as small wind turbines, micro hydro, solar energy systems, heat pumps and woodfuel boilers. A network of CARES Development Officers covers the whole of Scotland.

In March this year the Scottish Government published guidance to help communities develop their own renewable energy projects. The Community Renewable Energy Toolkit includes advice on the available technologies and highlights some of the issues which communities may need to address. It also signposts potential sources of funding, including the Big Lottery Fund. The Toolkit is available online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/03/20155542/0.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK''s statutory fund of last resort for customers of financial services firms, banks and building societies, and credit unions. The FSCS is an independent body, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If a financial services firm is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it, the FSCS can pay compensation to consumers. This means that credit unions enjoy exactly the same protection as banks and building societies.

In order to benefit from the safety net provided by the FSCS, all financial services firms and credit unions must pay a levy. There is a limit to the amount that FSCS can levy and it is proportionate to the size and nature of the individual financial institution or credit union.

Credit unions have an important role to play in addressing financial exclusion. Without the protection offered by the FSCS, should a credit union fail, its members would suffer disproportionately from the loss of their savings.

On 28 January 2008, Linda Fabiani, the then Minister for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, wrote to Andy Burnham, the then UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Linda Fabiani''s letter, which followed a debate on the televising of Scottish football matches held in the Parliament on 9 January 2008, emphasised the dissatisfaction felt by many people in Scotland about Scottish men''s football qualifying matches being available only on subscription television services. The letter also encouraged the UK Government to make progress as soon as possible with establishing its review of Free-to-air events.

The Scottish Government submitted its response to the UK Government''s Free-to-air Events Review consultation on 15 July 2009. Its response stated that qualifying matches (home and away) by the Scottish men''s national football team for the European Championships and the World Cup should be broadcast live on free-to-air television.

Compliance is a matter for the local authority and its PPP partner. A new Health and Safety (Offences) Act came into force in January, following which the Health and Safety Executive issued a detailed new Enforcement Policy Statement.

There have been discussions between officials, although local authorities recognise that these are matters to be resolved with their PPP partners.

The Scottish Government will publish the findings of the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland consultation document in November. The findings will help to inform the recently announced inquiry into Active Travel being undertaken by the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee this year. We will consider the Committee''s report before publishing the final Cycling Action for Scotland document.

In the meantime, we will continue to support the seven Smarter Choices, Smarter Places communities in Scotland which aim to increase active travel, including cycling and to encourage healthier lifestyles. We will fund and provide support to the eight Healthy Weight Communities projects whose objectives are to engage families and young people in particular, in programmes that embrace healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weight initiatives.

We will also continue to provide funding to Sustrans to maintain and extend the National Cycle Network and provide safe routes to schools for children who wish to cycle to school. We will provide grant funding to local authorities for Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets projects to increase physical activity through more active travel. We will provide funding to Cycling Scotland to increase numbers taking part in the Pedal for Scotland bike ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh, which on 13 September saw 7,003 participants of all ages undertake the 51 mile route. And we will continue to monitor the increase in the growth in numbers of cyclists in order to achieve the proposed target in the Cycling Action Plan consultation of 10% modal share for bikes by 2020.

The Scottish Government does not allocate funding to local authorities for the treatment of epilepsy. However, each local area health board is required to determine the amount of funding required for the treatment of epilepsy within its own area from within the baseline funding it is allocated by the Scottish Government.

The tables below show the amount of funding allocated for cycling projects to individual local authorities in each of the last five years.

Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets Grant

	2004-05 (£000''s)	2005-06 (£000''s)	2006-07 (£000''s)	2007-08 (£000''s)	2008-09 (£000''s)
Aberdeen City	343	362	358	365	365
Aberdeenshire	367	388	402	412	412
Angus	175	185	187	191	191
Argyll and Bute	148	156	160	163	163
Clackmannanshire	78	82	84	86	86
Dumfries and Galloway	240	252	256	262	262
Dundee City	236	248	245	249	249
East Ayrshire	195	205	208	212	212
East Dunbartonshire	175	185	187	191	191
East Lothian	146	154	165	170	170
East Renfrewshire	145	153	160	165	165
Edinburgh, city of	727	767	796	818	818
Eilean Siar	43	45	44	45	45
Falkirk	235	248	259	267	267
Fife	566	597	622	639	639
Glasgow City	937	988	1,000	1,021	1,021
Highland	338	357	365	374	374
Inverclyde	136	144	143	146	146
Midlothian	131	138	144	149	149
Moray	141	149	150	154	154
North Ayrshire	220	232	236	241	241
North Lanarkshire	520	549	565	579	579
Orkney	31	33	33	34	34
Perth and Kinross	219	231	240	247	247
Renfrewshire	280	295	298	304	304
Scottish Borders	173	183	191	196	196
Shetland	36	38	39	40	40
South Ayrshire	182	192	194	199	199
South Lanarkshire	490	516	531	544	544
Stirling	140	147	155	160	160
West Dunbartonshire	151	159	160	164	164
West Lothian	258	272	293	303	303

School Run and NCN Funding

	2004-05 (£000s)	2005-06 (£000s)	2006-07 (£000s)	2007-08 (£000s)	2008-09 (£000s)
Aberdeen City	210	227	201	203	27
Aberdeenshire	84	89	84	228	166
Angus	105	9	10	25	84
Argyll and Bute	113	16	867	1391	1174
Clackmannanshire	168	49	55	286	65
Dumfries and Galloway	115	251	120	427	210
Dundee City	95	11	100	176	154
East Ayrshire		49	378	124
East Dunbartonshire			160	108	132
East Lothian	163	96	144	253	14
East Renfrewshire		2	110	47	30
Edinburgh, city of	198	44	905	143	179
Eilean Siar			22	54	13
Falkirk		28	24	255	123
Fife	278	39	486	499	302
Glasgow City	24	7	229	400	238
Highland	126	101	505	250	56
Inverclyde	169	63	86	362	12
Midlothian	51		83	79	38
Moray		8	315	181	132
North Ayrshire	210	39	50	125	28
North Lanarkshire	42	91		221	70
Orkney				112	59
Perth and Kinross	51	131	119	87	77
Renfrewshire	240	1	168	310	16
Scottish Borders	155	29	71	100	31
Shetland		15	130	9	23
South Ayrshire		29	270	164	42
South Lanarkshire	158		109	32	45
Stirling	249	283	289	192	130
West Dunbartonshire	58		139	140	142
West Lothian	53	22	224	136	49

 

The Scottish Government has no plans to issue specific guidance to NHS boards on the issue of multiple chemical sensitivity. In reviewing evidence relating to such concerns, UK government''s committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) commented in 2000 that multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) was a condition largely defined by the patient, and that there was no consistent pattern of symptoms or exposure data to define the condition. People concerned about allergies to chemicals should discuss these with their GP in the first instance, to allow for proper assessment of individual needs.

Free access to dyslexia assessment is available, in certain circumstances, for adults depending on their individual circumstances. Those in higher and further education may have access to free assessment; unemployed adults may be referred for assessment to an occupational psychologist through Jobcentre Plus and, where an individual''s health is adversely affected by possible dyslexia, a general practitioner may refer for free assessment.