Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-03075

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 26 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the employment destinations have been of those who have successfully completed a modern apprenticeship in the Lothians region in the last five years.

Question reference: S4W-02925

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 24 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider placing a duty on local authorities to set targets for, and report on, carbon emissions reductions and fuel poverty eradication in all housing in their area once the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 is repealed.

Question reference: S4W-02927

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 24 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to review the effectiveness of the repeal of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 in order to monitor whether voluntary arrangements are sufficient to ensure that local authorities are reducing carbon emissions and fuel poverty in all housing in their area.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02925 on 24 October 2011. Local housing strategies require local action on fuel poverty to be addressed and these are reviewed by Scottish Government. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places duties on public bodies relating to climate change. These duties require that a public body must, in exercising its functions, act in the way best calculated to contribute to delivery of the act’s emission reduction targets. This provides a robust framework to monitor the effectiveness of local action on climate change.

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.

Question reference: S4W-02926

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 24 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to strengthen guidance for local housing strategies on the promotion of energy efficiency and whether it will make this guidance statutory.

In March this year the Scottish Government and COSLA issued Supplementary Guidance on Addressing Climate Change in Local Housing Strategies (LHS). It provides advice to local authorities on how to address climate change in their LHS to help them meet the duties they have as public bodies under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, set out the financial and other resources available to assist them, and signposted sources of technical information and advice. It stressed the need to integrate their approach to the promotion of energy efficiency with related strategies on house condition and fuel poverty.

The Scottish Government's approach is to recognise and seek to build on the strong track record of Scottish local authorities in developing strategies and implementing programmes in this area. We will continue to work closely with councils to monitor the effectiveness of the guidance, share best practice, and identify areas for improvement.

Question reference: S4W-02928

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 24 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive which single outcome agreements include a commitment to improve home energy efficiency in the local authority area.

A Single Outcome Agreement (SOA) is the means by which Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) agree their strategic priorities, either individually or jointly, while showing how those outcomes contribute to the Scottish Government’s relevant National Outcomes.

All local authorities have local outcome targets for reducing energy consumption and emissions linked to National Outcome 14 (We reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production). The following table provides examples of local outcomes specific to domestic energy efficiency but is not a definitive list given that information is not held centrally in this format.

Local Authority

Local Outcome

Target

Aberdeen

Number of council owned households connected to low energy technology	1,249 households in 2011
Projects in place to showcase advantages of innovative energy technology	4 projects per annum

East Ayrshire	Percentage of housing stock that meets the Reduced Standard Assessment Procedure	Increase to 72% by 2011
Falkirk	Total number of dwellings brought up to SHQS by criteria: Energy efficiency	Increase
Orkney	Promote energy efficiency and all forms of sustainable local renewable energy	Total final energy consumption (kWh)/£GVA 2010-11 – 1.8 (Scottish average)
Perth and Kinross	Total domestic energy consumption/ capita/ consumption (kWh) for Perth and Kinross area	Reduce by 7.5% (2018)
Scottish Borders	Increase the number of households receiving energy efficiency advice from the Council’s Home Energy Advice Service	2011-12 - 782

Some local authorities have also included the Scottish Housing Quality Standard target (100% of social housing to comply by April 2015) which includes energy efficiency elements, in their SOAs.

SOAs reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes of each CPP. Copies of all SOAs, once agreed with local authorities, can be found on the Improvement Service website at:

www.improvementservice.org.uk/single-outcome-agreements/.

Question reference: S4O-00292

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the 20,000 socially rented homes that were announced by the Minister for Housing and Transport on 6 October 2011 will be built in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S4W-03005

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S4W-02238, which has received a holding answer.

Question reference: S4W-03040

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the impact that a failure to comply with the recommendation in A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland (The Sullivan Report) regarding the publication of energy standards in building regulations may have on the ability of building firms and others in the construction industry to accurately predict costs for the post-2013 construction of new buildings.

We have considered the recommendation that “future standards be set in advance”. We believe there is greater benefit in the approach currently taken, which signals the high level emissions reduction percentage around 16 months before the standards come into effect. There are similar agendas throughout the UK and it is useful for industry if the different administrations can harmonise on certain technical areas, before detailed measures come into effect.

Question reference: S4W-03039

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the impact that a failure to comply with the recommendation in A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland (The Sullivan Report) regarding the publication of energy standards in building regulations may have on building firms and others in the construction industry.

We have considered the recommendation that “future standards be set in advance”. We believe there is greater benefit in the approach currently taken, which signals the high level emissions reduction percentage around 16 months before the standards come into effect. There are similar agendas throughout the UK and it is useful for industry if the different administrations can harmonise on certain technical areas before detailed measures come into effect.

Question reference: S4W-03038

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the 2016 energy standards in building regulations in 2013, as recommended in A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland (The Sullivan Report).

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