- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 14 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost has been of measures issued under the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10, broken down by area.
Answer
Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) assessors began visits to every house in a HIS area in November, with the exception of those households who have previously responded by other means such as in response to a direct mailing. The assessors are currently working to invite householders to sign up for HIS measures and given that the scheme is in an early stage the majority of referrals remain at the technical survey stage.
It will be possible to provide further information on costs when significant numbers of measures have been installed.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 14 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many households have received support from the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10, broken down by area.
Answer
Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) assessors began visits to houses in the 10 HIS areas in November. In the period to 6 December, which covers the first month of activity by assessors, 12,091 households had received an energy audit generating 4,667 referrals for the measures available. This includes referrals generated by HIS assessors for 1,193 measures provided under the Energy Assistance Package. The position by area is shown in the following table.
Measures Requested
| Area | Home Energy Check reports requested | HIS Cavity Wall Insulation | HIS Top-Up Loft Insulation | HIS Virgin Loft Insulation | EAP Benefit Checks |
| Angus | 1,102 | 22 | 188 | 31 | 7 |
| Dundee | 548 | 64 | 185 | 37 | 1 |
| Edinburgh | 1,708 | 365 | 330 | 57 | 47 |
| Fife | 1,729 | 230 | 439 | 40 | 31 |
| Glasgow | 1,696 | 89 | 153 | 39 | 6 |
| Highland | 654 | 90 | 256 | 14 | 19 |
| Orkney | 148 | 31 | 65 | 12 | 8 |
| South Lanarkshire | 703 | 38 | 28 | 17 | 0 |
| Stirling | 2,683 | 34 | 38 | 50 | 5 |
| Western Isles (Lewis and Harris) | 1,120 | 151 | 331 | 50 | 32 |
| Overall Total | 12,091 | 1,114 | 2,013 | 347 | 156 |
| Area | EAP Social Tariff | CERT and EAP Cavity Wall Insulation | CERT and EAP Virgin Loft Insulation | EAP Stage 4 | Total Measures Referred |
| Angus | 20 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 314 |
| Dundee | 6 | 11 | 21 | 7 | 332 |
| Edinburgh | 88 | 42 | 33 | 25 | 987 |
| Fife | 64 | 64 | 55 | 57 | 980 |
| Glasgow | 17 | 31 | 18 | 26 | 379 |
| Highland | 23 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 466 |
| Orkney | 11 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 142 |
| South Lanarkshire | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 101 |
| Stirling | 13 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 166 |
| Western Isles (Lewis and Harris) | 56 | 49 | 42 | 89 | 800 |
| Overall Total | 308 | 246 | 223 | 260 | 4,667 |
Note: The data relates to the period 2 November 2009 to 6 December 2009.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 14 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost per recipient has been of measures issued under the Home Insulation Scheme in 2009-10, broken down by area.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29733 on 14 December 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.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 3 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on Orkney of the planned introduction of car parking charges at Kirkwall Airport.
Answer
We have not made such an assessment. Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd consulted interested parties prior to taking the decision to introduce car parking charges.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what capital investment was made by the Scottish Agricultural College in its Thurso Disease Surveillance Centre in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 and will be made in 2010-11; what work was or will be carried out in each case, and what proportion of the funding came or will come from the Scottish Government funding to the Scottish Agricultural College for its animal disease surveillance work.
Answer
| 2004-05 | £113,000 (SEERAD) and £15,000 (SAC). |
| 2005-06 | No spend. |
| 2006-07 | No spend. |
| 2007-08 | £99,500 (SEERAD), a refurbishment of the centre including new windows, flooring, redecoration, electrical works, blinds, furniture and DDA compliance. |
| 2008-09 | No spend. |
| 2009-10 | £71,190.44 (SAC), the refurbishment of the sheep shed into a large file/ equipment store, refurbishment of the centre to provide office accommodation for the SAC Farm Business Service advisors, additional parking, redecoration and furniture. |
| 2010-11 | Any planned spend has yet to be announced. |
This information was provided by SAC.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2014, Scottish Water will have a responsibility under a Priority 1 objective to address external flooding and, if not, whether it will take action to address its causes and effects.
Answer
During the period 2010-15, Scottish Water is directed to create and maintain a register of properties affected by external sewer flooding. Details of the objectives set for Scottish Water are available at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/waterindustryscot/latest-news/swdirections.
Scottish Water will be expected where possible to address issues of external sewer flooding through operational means.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when the ministerial objectives for Scottish Water for 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2014 will be finalised.
Answer
The Ministerial Objectives for the period 2010-15 were published on the 27 October 2009 and are available on the government''s website at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/waterindustryscot/latest-news/swdirections.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken in the last two years to address the causes and effects of external flooding.
Answer
External flooding can be caused by insufficient capacity of the sewers to take the required volumes of sewerage or by operational issues such as blockages. In 2008-09, Scottish Water removed over 6,000 blockages, many of which were caused by customers disposing (illegally) of cooking fat down their sink or by flushing away sanitary waste. In most cases, instances of external flooding due to blockages are resolved through operational measures. For capacity issues, Scottish Water deals with some external sewer flooding as a consequence of investing to address internal flooding problems. In addition, where possible, Scottish Water speaks to local authorities about external sewer flooding when there are issues of surface water entering the sewers, as there can be practicable alternatives which divert this water away from the sewers in a safe manner.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 11 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation process was undertaken regarding the ministerial objectives for Scottish Water for 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2014.
Answer
The Ministerial Objectives for Scottish Water for the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2014 were originally set following a public consultation by the previous administration in 2005. Minor alterations have been made to those original Objectives to reflect the requirements of new legislation and improved data. Stakeholders were consulted in July 2008 on these amendments.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 10 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on farmers and veterinary practices in Orkney and Caithness of the decision by the Scottish Agricultural College not to appoint a successor to the manager of the Thurso Disease Surveillance Centre and what the outcome was of any such assessment.
Answer
Scottish Agricultural College review the work done at Thurso Disease Surveillance Centre on a quarterly basis. There have been significant year to year fluctuations that are related to market prices for cattle and sheep, the weather and the decline in livestock numbers which has been a particular concern in the north of Scotland.
For comparable periods January to September from 2006 to 2009 there has been downward trend in the number of carcases submitted for post mortem examination. The figures for clinical diagnostic submissions are more erratic but numbers and income are up from £28,620 in January to September 2008 to £39,920 for the same period in 2009.
