- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated value to Scotland is of decommissioning work being carried out in the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Answer
Scottish Enterprise Energy Team report Opportunities for Scottish Based Businesses 2001 and the update to that report in March 2002 concluded that the total estimated value for the entire North Sea decommissioning is likely to be no less than £20 billion and could easily run to £30 billion over an anticipated time period of some 20 to 30 years.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the Scottish Executive Fuel Poverty Forum are and how (a) the membership is selected and (b) prospective members may apply.
Answer
Organisations represented on the Scottish Executive Fuel Poverty Forum are as follows:
Age Concern
Citizens Advice Scotland
COSLA
West Lothian Council
Energy Action Scotland
Energy Saving Trust
Energywatch
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Help the Aged
National Grid Transco
Ofgem
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
Scottish Gas
ScottishPower
Scottish and Southern Energy.
Each member organisation selects its representative. The membership was selected from the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Group that helped establish the central heating initiative. Organisations wishing to participate in the forum should in the first instance contact the secretariat of the forum at the Scottish Executive Development Department.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 8 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that Scotland benefits from the decommissioning of North Sea oil platforms.
Answer
The Scottish Enterprise Energy Team actively supports business engagement within the decommissioning market through focused market assessment reports, workshops for businesses and active engagement with the main oil and gas operators. The team also works closely with regulatory bodies such as DTI in terms of future cessation programmes.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of emissions of (a) greenhouse gas and (b) carbon dioxide come from all buildings in Scotland.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. However, Scottish greenhouse gas emissions data is available in
Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1999-2002, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34590) and is also available on the Executive’s climate change website at
www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange. The inventory presents emissions data by source but does not allocate emissions to buildings in Scotland.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 7 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider providing funding to local authorities to run similar projects to the Debates Outreach Project being run in North Lanarkshire by the English-Speaking Union Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is committed to providing more out of school hours opportunities across a wide range of activities including debating to help young people develop their skills and confidence. We have allocated funding to local authorities under the Study Support programme since 1999 and have committed £12 million this year. It is for local authorities to determine, in the light of local needs and circumstances, what activities should be provided from the available funding.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has the power to intervene in respect of school closures and, if so, whether this power has been utilised.
Answer
Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, local authorities are responsible for school provision. The Scottish Executive has a role only in some prescribed categories of school closure proposal as set out in that act and the Education (Publication and Consultation etc) (Scotland) Regulations 1981. In summary, these are where the school is more than 80% full; over a certain distance from the alternative school, or in certain specified circumstances involving denominational schools. In such cases, an education authority cannot implement a closure decision without the consent of Scottish ministers.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it consults local authorities over school closures.
Answer
Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, local authorities are responsible for school provision. Under that Act and the Education (Publication and Consultation etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 1981 they are statutorily required to consult parents and school boards of affected schools and relevant church or denominational bodies if proposing school closures. The Scottish Executive has no role in such consultations. Under the same act and regulations, authorities cannot implement certain closure proposals without the consent of Scottish ministers.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 4 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to local authorities about the closure of rural schools.
Answer
The Executive’s Education Department issued Circular 2/2004: Additional Guidance on Local Authority Proposals for the School Estate, Including School Closures in September 2004. The guidance is relevant not just to schools in rural areas. A copy is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34126).
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage's new headquarters in Inverness will use energy from renewable sources.
Answer
The procurement of energy in its offices is an operational matter for Scottish Natural Heritage.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 07 February 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 3 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 18 have been identified as regularly consuming alcohol.
Answer
Alcohol consumption figures for children aged under 18 are not available centrally. Information on children aged 13 and 15 is available from the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle & Substance Use Survey. The interim report of the 2004 survey is available at the following web address www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/salsus.htm.
