- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 26 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to minimise the impact of wind farms on aviation, including radar interference, physical obstruction of aircraft or impact on low flying.
Answer
We have established a South West Scotland Regional Aviation Solution Sub Group with airport radar operators and developers to investigate the development and application of a regional solution in the south west of Scotland and that such an endeavour should be concentrated where it is likely to free up the most megawatts of electricity by the alleviation of aviation objections. Information on the discussions so far, is available on the Energy Consents website:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energy-Consents/Guidance.
In a UK national context, Scottish Government officials are also actively participating in the Aviation Advisory Panel discussions in partnership with key stakeholders in the aviation sector to resolve the potential impacts of wind farms on radar systems.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 26 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the wind farm applications that have been rejected due to aviation issues in the last five years.
Answer
The following section 36 wind farm applications were refused by Scottish ministers.
| Wind Farm | Number of Turbines | Megawatt Capacity |
| Greenock | 22 | 55 |
| Kyle | 85 | 255 |
Other smaller scale wind farm applications of 50MW or less are considered under the Town and Country Planning Act 1997 by the relevant planning authorities throughout Scotland. Information on these applications is not centrally held.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 26 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, in collaboration with industry and others, to develop a means of addressing concerns about the potential impact of wind farms on aviation.
Answer
We have established a South West Scotland Regional Aviation Solution Sub Group with airport radar operators and developers to investigate the development and application of a regional solution in the south west of Scotland and that such an endeavour should be concentrated where it is likely to free up the most megawatts of electricity by the alleviation of aviation objections. Information on the discussions so far, is available on the Energy Consents website:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energy-Consents/Guidance.
In a UK national context, Scottish Government officials are also actively participating in the Aviation Advisory Panel discussions in partnership with key stakeholders in the aviation sector to resolve the potential impacts of wind farms on radar systems.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 26 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23065 by Stewart Stevenson on 30 April 2009, what its reasons are for not making available copies of its submission to the European Commission regarding the state aid investigation into support for ferry services in Scotland.
Answer
The European Commission has previously agreed that it would not be appropriate for information relating to its investigations to be published whilst investigations are live. The decision not to provide the information requested reflects that practice as well as EC Regulation No 1049/2001 and the freedom of information legislation.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it is undertaking regarding badgers and the transmission of bovine tuberculosis and whether it intends to publish the results.
Answer
The Scottish Government is not currently undertaking any research relating to badgers and the transmission of bovine TB. There is no evidence to date that suggests any significant reservoir of infection in wildlife and in particular the badger population in Scotland.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to prevent the widespread re-emergence of bovine tuberculosis.
Answer
Scotland continues to have a relatively low and stable incidence of bovine TB. Current policy remains effective in identifying and eradicating new incidents of TB in Scotland.
Current controls include:
Zero tolerance of overdue tests;
Pre and post movement testing of all cattle coming to Scotland from high incidence areas of GB, and
Gamma Interferon testing applied to all cattle over six weeks of age on holdings as identified as new confirmed breakdowns.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received on the need to introduce further measures to prevent the widespread re-emergence of bovine tuberculosis.
Answer
Scotland continues to have a relatively low and stable incidence of bovine tuberculosis. Current control policy, introduced with industry support, continues to effectively identify and eradicate any new incidents of bovine tuberculosis and no representations have been received to introduce further measures.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of bovine tuberculosis have been identified in each year since 2004.
Answer
The numbers of new confirmed incidents since 2004 are:
2004 - 23 cases
2005 - 13 cases
2006 - 18 cases
2007 “ 21 cases
2008 “ 14 cases.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has carried out of the impact on proposals currently under consideration of an increase in the rateable value of wind farms to (a) £10,000, (b) £15,000 and (c) £20,000 per megawatt.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23849 on 20 May 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: Monday, 11 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 20 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what average cost increase there would be over the life of a wind farm if the rateable value were increased from £5,000 to (a) £10,000, (b) £15,000 and (c) £20,000 per megawatt.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23849 on 20 May 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.
