Details of the agenda and minutes of the Scottish Health Technologies Group can be found on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/programmes/clinical__cost_effectiveness/shtg/about_the_group/membership_and_meetings.aspx.

The Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 brought forward enhanced opportunities for people to get involved in planning and recent planning advice on wind turbines has been published online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/National-Planning-Policy/themes/renewables/Onshore.

With the exception of a number of support schemes to assist with the development and deployment of small scale renewable energy projects, including Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme, Wave and Tidal Energy: Research Development and Demonstration Support and Community and Renewable Energy Scheme, developers do not typically benefit from government subsidies.

In terms of financial impacts on consumers, under the existing Renewables Obligation Scotland (ROS), in evidence to the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee in March 2011 OFGEM stated, "The ROS creates additional costs for electricity suppliers, which they can then pass through to industrial, business and domestic consumers as part of their electricity bills. By way of illustration, estimates published in previous years by Ofgem, the industry regulator, have forecast that the Obligation added around £12 to annual electricity bills in 2009-10, and that these costs could rise to around £20 per year by 2015. However, the extent to which the additional costs incurred by suppliers are actually passed through to each consumer group is a matter for the suppliers themselves, meaning that robust estimates remain difficult."

In addition, OFGEM estimate that transmission charges account for around 3% of an average domestic dual fuel bill.

Wholesale prices are currently the main driver of changes in domestic bills, making up 60% of the total retail price. The cost to consumers will be determined by the outcome of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) and it is critical that the EMR does not deliver support mechanisms for nuclear generation in England at the expense of renewable energy sources and carbon capture and storage in Scotland.

Information on the incidence of mental illness among the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in the Scottish population is not collected.

However, research shows that LGBT people experience higher levels of mental illness, including higher rates of suicide and self-harm, than the general population.

The Scottish Government is currently funding the LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing in Edinburgh to run the Demonstration Project, in partnership with NHS Lothian. The main aim of the project is to provide learning and create the foundations for lasting and sustainable culture change in relation to responding to the needs of LGBT people who experience mental health problems, and to enhance the mental wellbeing and resilience of LGBT people. The project has been running since July 2010, with Scottish Government funding of £50,000 in 2010-11, and £120,000 in 2011-12.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-174 on 2 June 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities share mental health problems which are also present in the wider community, and which are well covered in the curriculum for both undergraduate medical students and the postgraduate medical trainees most likely to treat patients with these mental health problems.

Equality and diversity is specifically covered in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical training.

Doctors are specifically trained to work in partnership with their patients and this approach has been designed to ensure that the needs of all communities are met in a respectable and equitable manner.

The Scottish Government welcomes BBC ALBA’s availability on Freeview since 8 June 2011, and has frequently made clear to the BBC Trust its view that BBC ALBA should be available on Freeview. It has also stated that, if at all possible, this should not be at the expense of the availability of radio stations on Freeview. It has expressed this view in the following correspondence:

The Scottish Government’s response to the BBC Trust’s consultation on whether BBC ALBA should be placed on Freeview. This response, which was issued on 14 January 2010, can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at:

http://scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/Broadcasting/Broadcasting.

It set out the Scottish Government’s view that “given Scottish Ministers have consistently maintained that BBC ALBA should be made available on Freeview, the Scottish Government is sympathetic to Option A (placing ALBA on Freeview at the expense of radio stations while BBC ALBA is broadcasting) as a short-term option. However, the Scottish Government would prefer in the long-term if a more satisfactory option could be developed. This would enable radio listeners in Scotland to once again enjoy full access to radio stations, including through Freeview, in the same way (as) radio listeners throughout the rest of the UK.”

This view was reiterated in a letter from me to Sir Michael Lyons on 16 February 2010, following the Parliamentary debate on BBC ALBA on 11 February 2010, and a further letter from me to Sir Michael Lyons on 16 April 2010, following the BBC Trust’s announcement that it would delay taking a decision on whether to place BBC ALBA on Freeview until later in 2010.

The First Minister wrote to Sir Michael Lyons, the Chair of the BBC Trust, on 28 October 2010. In his letter he said that “I urge the BBC Trust to grant carriage on Freeview to BBC ALBA on the basis proposed. If it becomes possible in the future to find a technical solution which allows both BBC ALBA and all existing BBC services to be available on Freeview, then this would of course be welcome.”

The Scottish Government’s overarching broadband ambition, as set out in Scotland’s Digital Future: A Strategy for Scotland, published on 3 March 2011, is that next generation broadband will be available to all by 2020, with significant progress made by 2015. To achieve this ambition, the Scottish Government is developing a strategic infrastructure plan for Scotland, which will comprise regional broadband strategies, in partnership with local authorities, enterprise agencies and other stakeholders. Regional broadband strategies will outline how and when next generation broadband will be rolled out to the areas within each region.

The Scottish Government's approach has been to enhance the local ownership of energy by communities and the rural sector. It has not provided any funding for large scale fully commercial wind farm developments. No central database encompassing the funding arrangements of all onshore wind developments is held.

Over the last five years, Scottish Government community renewables grant schemes have included the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme and its predecessor the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative. Under these schemes, a range of renewable technologies were eligible, including community-owned onshore wind developments up to 1 megawatt in installed capacity. Under these schemes, the total capital funding given to projects which include wind turbines between July 2006 and February 2011 is approximately £4.2 million. This includes £3.9 million for wind-only projects, and £0.3 million for projects which are combinations of wind with solar water and heat pumps.

Support has also been provided to the rural sector via the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP). The SRDP includes the Development of Renewable Energy Provision, which can fund small-scale wind turbines where the electricity generated is primarily for the applicant's own consumption. Figures for the renewables support given to onshore wind turbines under SRDP are not readily available.

A Scottish Government Energy Directorate official met with Ofgem on 8 June 2011 to discuss energy market issues.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth met with the Scottish Power (UK) Retail Director on 14 June 2011, to discuss their recent price increases and the implications for consumers in Scotland.