We said in Homes Fit for the 21st Century, our Strategy and Action Plan for Housing in the Next Decade, that we would develop a strategy for sustainable housing in Scotland in 2012. We intend to publish the strategy by the end of 2012.

Details of the applications made broken down by local authority area are in the following table.

Source: The Energy Saving Trust.

The Scottish Government is currently working with a group of local authorities, initially in the JESSICA Fund area, to develop the potential for solar photovoltaic projects using Feed-in Tariffs for renewable electricity. A similar workstream with a steering group of registered social landlords from across Scotland is also promoting the use of solar photovoltaics and Feed-in Tariffs. Housing Associations can get free independent help by contacting the Energy Saving Trust.

The Climate Challenge Fund and the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme are supporting registered social landlords and communities access renewable energy technologies, including photovoltaics and the benefits from Feed-in Tariffs.

We will publish a microgeneration strategy for Scotland by the end of 2011. It will set out our plans to build on the range of support already in place.

The Sustainable Housing Strategy Group is a new group convened by the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment. The group will bring together leaders in the sector as champions for emission reduction, housing quality and fuel poverty. It will meet for the first time on 4 October. Minutes of the meeting will be published in due course on the Sustainable Housing section of the Scottish Government website.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02236 on 14 September 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Detailed analysis of the environmental impacts arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident is still awaited. The Scottish regulatory community take very seriously the need to apply any lessons as they emerge, albeit that some of these will be relevant only to incidents of a similar nature in a similar environment. Scottish Government officials are participating in the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG), which provides a focal point for review of the industry’s practices in advance of the conclusion of investigations into the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Marine Scotland officials also participated in Exercise Sula, which was carried out in Aberdeen and Shetland in May, following the request of the First Minister. This covered scenarios around the immediate aftermath of a deep-water oil spill and oil potentially coming ashore one week later. This included a practical demonstration of response equipment and procedures. A report of the Exercise is being prepared by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and will be published shortly.

The National Contingency Plan is also currently being reviewed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in order to take account of lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon and Exercise Sula. Marine Scotland will participate in this review.

On 22 June 2011, the Scottish Government published its case for full devolution of powers and responsibilities of the Crown Estate in Scotland. We propose an approach based on returning 100% of the revenues for the direct benefit of Scotland and its local communities, as opposed to 50% as planned by the less ambitious Coastal Communities Fund.

In response to the announcement of the Coastal Communities Fund, my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 10 August seeking further discussions about delivery arrangements and powers. Mr Swinney also spoke to the Director of Big Lottery Fund Scotland about the UK Government’s proposals to distribute funds through the BIG Fund. There will be further discussions about funding criteria and bids once details of the fund are provided by UK Treasury. Scottish Government officials discussed the Coastal Communities Fund with Crown Estate Commissioners on 13 July at which time they advised although linked to Crown Estate revenues they have no involvement.

The First Minister and myself spoke directly to Shell senior management regarding their response to the spill and to stress the importance of clear communication. Scottish Government officials have also contributed to the Operations Control Unit established by the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention, alongside a range of bodies including Shell.

The National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations sets out the roles and responsibilities of the wide range of agencies involved in responding to such an incident. Marine Scotland’s primary role in this context is to assess and advise on environmental impacts. This includes chairing the Environment Group if one is established. The National Contingency Plan is currently being reviewed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which has overall responsibility for its maintenance and implementation on a UK wide basis. Marine Scotland will be contributing to this review to ensure that Scottish interests are properly reflected.

Scottish ministers do not specify the level of contingency plans that the rail industry makes for any type of event. However, it is expected that the rail industry has sufficient and robust plans in place so that the effects of forseeable disruptive events are minimised. This has been the case since rail powers were devolved in 2005, and was also the case prior to 2005 under the management of the (GB) Strategic Rail Authority.